I'm a mudder

I feel at home in slop. Trails turned to organic soup. Clinging, gluey, gooey, gummy, tacky, tenacious, viscid, viscous mud. Maybe because when I started mountain biking, fifteen years ago, I had to bike when I could regardless of the weather. It was normal to start a ride in the rain. Maybe it's because of my 24hr racing experience. Again when it was my turn to take a lap, I took a lap regardless of the conditions – and there have been some really nasty conditions.

This year's Supercross had some nastiness. The nastiness, I believe, helped me pull off adecent Masters finish. I found myself racing with a group that was different than the usual suspects.  My rabbit was a racer I've never finished close enough to to even be listed as a nemeses in Crossresults. The closest I've ever finish to this rabbit was eleven places back – but there he was right ahead of me on lap two. The next three laps proved to be a test of bike handling skill, quick decisions and mettle.

Supercross is held at the Anthony Wayne Recreation Area near Stony Point NY. Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was a United States Army officer, statesman, and member of the United States House of Representatives. Wayne adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his military exploits and fiery personality quickly earned him promotion to brigadier general and the sobriquet Mad Anthony. Wayne's successful attack on British positions at Stony Point, New York was the high point of his revolutionary war service. On July 16, 1779, Wayne personally led a bayonets-only night attack lasting thirty minutes. Wayne's three columns of light infantry stormed and captured British fortifications at Stony Point, a cliffside redoubt commanding the southern Hudson River. 

You're probably thinking that I'm going to draw a correlation between Mad Anthony's heroic attack and capture of the British fortifications at Stony Point and my hugely successful pursuit and overtake of my rabbit (who could very well be of British descent) at Stony Point. I'm not – I wasn't carrying a bayonet.

Last year I considered Supercross a post-season event – This year Jen and I are going the distance – we're racing in the cyclocross Nationals in Asheville NC. Jen, because she's trained, podium-ed and upgraded to Cat 3 – i.e., earned it. Me, because I had a birthday. Men's 60 and over championship racing is “open”... and I'm going to be Jen's Chauffeur. I've overheard conventional wisdom has it that the Nationals are going to be wet and nasty. Music to the ears of a mudder.

More Photos Here: http://www.pbase.com/j_harvey/supercross_2015

One last thought – I swear the Super cross course is designed to look like the Grinch.