Hopkins CX

Went out to spectate the annual cyclocross race at Hopkins Park in the good ol' town of DeKalb, IL. Historically, this race has always been a wild time. As with most cyclocross races, people come out, grill out, drink the drinks, hoot and holler and have a great time. This year it seemed quite a bit more low key. There was a lot less hooting and hollering, but we still had a good time hangin in the woods and handing off refreshments to the victims of torment that willingly participated this year. We even found ourselves on the podium. Joel won the "fun" category. Way to go Joel. My SLR camera seems to have either a battery that's dead forever, or a charger that's dead forever. Not sure which one yet. Could even be both. Until I get that taken care of, here are some iPhone snaps from the races:

Hopkins Park Cyclocross

Once again, Hopkins Park hosted a cyclocross race, as part of the Chicago Cyclocross Cup. I went out to DeKalb to watch the race, as I've done for the last few years. Last year, I actually raced, and I thought about doing it again, but I've just been too busy lately to actually prepare for it. Watching the races and hanging out is just as much fun (if not more) though. It was great to see all my favorite DeKalb folks again and indulge in some delicious Malort. So, here are, like, way too many photos:

I brought a boom box in my basket so that we could blast gypsy tunes and songs from Phantom of the Paradise, the musical.

Hard-boiled egg hand-up. Nobody wanted it.

2 marshmallows between 2 beef patties. #crossfood

The cutest kiddos.

Double hard-boiled egg hand-up. Still, nobody wanted it.

T.J. was Grillmaster, as usual.

Pete.

La Kruz and The Nectar.

Warcus and The Nectar.

Pete and The Nectar.

Warc, warc.

See ya next year, Flyover!

Hopkins Cyclocross 2012

It's cyclocross season once again! For the past few years I've always attended the Hopkins race, which is sponsored by our shop, and I've always had fun standing by the course heckling the racers and drinking beers with friends, but this year I decided it was actually time for me to start racing. Being the owner of an All-City Nature Buy left me without any excuses. This was my first race ever and I honestly had a blast. It was painfully exhausting, my gear ratio was a bit too high and I spent most of the single speed race out of the saddle, but I enjoyed every minute of it. The single-speed category includes racers of every skill level (Cat 1-4) and so I was up against some tough competition. I started out in the very back of the pack, but somehow worked my way up to 21st out of 28. I'm pretty satisfied with my results, although next time I'll probably just race in the 4B category. Yes, I'm definitely racing again. It was too much fun not to.

  Pre-race beer to get the legs loosened up!

 
A portion of my "support crew", and fellow members of The Barb City Dandies.


The Llama cruisin' down the flyover on his SS Bianchi MTB





My last lap. I was feelin' the burn.




Post-race, looking extremely exhausted with an excited Jakey La Kruz in the background.


Big hug from T.J.


One of the best cycling kits: Team Kinky Llama.


T.J. grillin' up a storm.


Jakey's Fuji Porteur bike. The frame came from our dear Ari.


Kiddie race with Derek and Agatha cheering them on.


Picnic courtesy of T.J., with Darrien, Derek, Agatha and the Llama.









Derek and The Malort Princess. You can't see it in this photo, but she found a "princess dress" at a garage sale on the way over to the park and bought it for 50 cents. She then wore it all afternoon. We had a really fun day...