Wildwood Race Report

Old pains, new places. The MB cyclocross season is officially open. Olli added a bit to the familiar course (I'm told, first time for me) but there was still nowhere to catch your breath and rest. There were some notable absences, but the FGBC racing division represented well; especially on the female and rural fronts. Three women were flying the black flag: Charlene, the Fraggle and, in her debut race appearance, Mrs. Cricket. Johnny S and Cousin Thomas made the trek into the big city, to join G, Vic, Luke, and yours truly on the mens side in the first cross race of the 2010 calendar.
Best showing of the day: The Seamstress won the Womens B race and took home a hoody for her efforts. The Cricket placed a respectable 3rd, behind a yellow home team pair. To my mind, he looked a bit lonely without a black-clad teammate, which should be remedied next weekend.
Best mechanical: Johnny S made a convincing case for alloy seatposts when he snapped his carbon one off mid-race. It was a clean break at the clamp (nothing jagged aimed at his tender bits) and thankfully Johnny avoided injury. He finished the race on Ian's rig. A few rolled tires and dropped chains, otherwise.
The Red River folk also put up a decent effort. In addition to usual (and reviled) white, some sported a kind of maroon and blue jersey (the away version?). This was no doubt calculated to make them harder to mark.
No one I talked to felt particularly good afterward; the consensus was that it was good first race to have behind us and over with. It is worth mentioning that both A and B races were quite large. Including men, women and citizens, there were over 40 people lining up at the start of the B race, including many first time crossers, and about 25 in the A. That was great to see. There were also almost as many photographers as racers, so there should be plenty of pictures popping up soon.