StarCrossed...

Was TWO WEEKS AGO...I know I know I know, but I can't let that race go by with out a posting. After all, it was the first time my new cross bike got to see some racing and StarCrossed proved to be the perfect place for it to debut.

Temperature...45 degrees
Chance of Rain...100%
Seattle Cross Crowds...Awesome!
Amount of mud ingested...2lbs
Number of Tall Boys provided by Rainier for the race...96

We arrived early to the race on Saturday as one of our crew jumped into her very first Cross race ever. She was freak'n out before the race started, but a quick shot of encouragement and hit the course with a fresh layer of lipstick and a huge smile. She didn't win...but that wasn't the point. I'm super proud of her for just jumping into the fray...

After her race I was wandering around the pits and I came across an old nemesis of mine. Phil. (Some of you may remember Phil from a previous race in which I got booted out early for wearing coveralls)

As I stood there, looking coolly at him, in my brand new White Coveralls with Rainier styled graphics he looked me over and a forced smile appeared on his face. I finally broke the silence...

"I'm alright in this get up here...right?" Referring to a comment he had made earlier about my 'antics' being better appreciated in the cross scene.

He laughed and as he walked away all I heard him say was 'yup'.

As our start time got closer, the rain fell harder, and the lines of people signing up grew shorter. So I went over to register and ran into Phil once again...

"You know you can't race in that...right?!"
"Whoa Phil, you told me I would be alright in this get up in the cross races."
"This isn't Portland" he retorted.
"Maybe it should be"
"Let me think about this..."
"If I may interject Phil. If I remember the rule correctly...this suit does NOT provide an aerodynamic advantage, and it has sleeves"
He thought long and hard...and as he grinned he let an "alright" pass though his lips.

Whew.

With a little more time to go we "warmed up" in the pits. This involved some chain-less spins on the bike to warm up the legs, and some Rainier Curls to lighten up the cooler. Then, to our surpise, we had a visitor...another Cross soldier swung by our tent with a present. Much like a knight of old he knelt before our crew and presented a pair of Rainier Arm Warmers like he was presenting us Excalibur. With great joy our crew accepted his gift, only after he promised to join us after his battle on the field, fill his cup and regale us with stories of times gone past. There was much rejoice.

Race numbers mean everything in cross. The higher the number the worse your starting position. In the Cat 3 men they started with number 200. I got lucky and got #288 out of 296! I was stoked.

With a crack of the gun the wheel spray began and our bleach white coveralls were christened.


Bumping, rubbing, crashing, sliding, pushing, tripping, ass grabbing, beer drinking, and heckling. And all that was from the spectators and supporters! How can you not love this sport?!

{Tell me that ain't a good look'n support crew...I dare ya}

{It takes a lot of work to support, and a sweet ass ta-boot}

{This silly punk flew all the way from sunny CO for a little WA fun}

{This kid had the time of his life!}

{Me? I can't figure out why I do this stuff}

{This cleaning bill is going to be through the roof!}

{Now that's how a cross bike should look after it's first race}

With the race wrapped up and the Elite crew warming up our rag tag crew broke down our base camp and headed for the city. Looking at the time I barely enough time to eat, wipe down my bike before boxing it up, share stories from the race, and pack for InterBike and CrossVegas. Which is another story all in itself...

Much thanks goes out to our good friend Dave Roth who was on hand to snap photos of the sillyness. More of the photos can be found here.