Bourkevale Report

Four cx races are in the books. The season is almost half done. And yet it feels like we're just getting started.

The Training Co-op treated us to their version of good times yesterday. Food, live music, mugs and coffee for all competitors, and belgian truffles for the winners. And a short but tricky course. With few opportunities to shift into high gear, you had to take your opportunities when they presented themselves. Unfortunately, it was not always easy to discern when those situations arose. Take, for example, the first lap of the A race. Gilles and I were jostling for position behind Luc. I tried to pass him before the singletrack, and ended up crashing rather spectacularly upon misjudging the pitch of that little hump. Suddenly airborne, and with all my weight shifted forward, let's just say I did not stick the landing. Fortunately, I did not get run over. Unfortunately, I lost contact with the front of the race and was not able regain it. Just like he did last weekend, Dylan set the early pace and quickly gained a big lead on a group of chasers that eventually came down to Don, Craig, Greg, and Olli. Unlike last weekend, Dylan held onto his lead and pulled off an impressive solo win. Don took the sprint for second, ahead of Craig. Greg and Olli were 4th and 5th. I finished 6th. Jonny G was 17th. And the Fraggle was 4th in the women's race. Full results here. Unfortunately, I have no pictures to substantiate any of these claims. But Chris A has posted a few, along with a short video of the barriers.

As for the B race, Bill and Ian were not there. They promoted themselves to the A race. So it was Wayne's race to lose. He did not. Rather, he put the boots to the field and made it look easy. A minute or so behind him, however, we were treated to an entertaining battle for second place between Cousin Adam, The Impaler, and Rod V. Each of them took turns leading at times. And it looked like Cousin Adam had it in the bag with a couple of laps to go. But then he had a lap he'd no doubt just as soon forget. First it was a not-so-smooth pass through the barriers (see below) that allowed Brad and Rod to get back on. And then he performed an inadvertent somersault in the horseshoe pit. Rod took advantage of the confusion and grapped them to solo his way to second place. But Adam was able to catch the Impaler and frustrate RRR's dreams of the podium. Third place for the FGBC. And for the first time this season, we finished ahead of RRR in both the B and A races. Right on. Unger, Luke, and Darryl were 8th, 9th, and 10th. Vic was 14th. And Charlene won the women's race.

Once again, the dark side had a respectable turnout. I think there were 10 of us. In the B race, we had Adam, Unger, Vic, Charlene and, in thick wool socks, Darryl and Luke. Craig, Jonny G, LeAnn and I did the A race.

How about some photos?

Vic was fast, but Wayne was a little faster.



Unger continues to look stronger with each race.



And he's perfecting his Bart Wellens style leg kick too. While going over the barriers, no less. Heckle at your own risk.



Nice socks, part I.



Nice socks, part II.



The Secretary's fixie skillz had the spectators talking.



Charlene was deemed the best of the B race in negotiating the tough hairpin turn at the bottom of KK's Leg Breaker Hill.



And her confidence with the barriers is getting so high that she tried a few with her eyes closed.



Aside from his one bad lap . . .



. . . Cousin Adam looked strong.



Good times all around. Next week, we're back at the Belgian Club. The forecast is calling for a chance of snow! Bring it on.