These past two weekends had back to back cross races for us here in Alabama, but I was sick for the most recent one. I gotta tell ya, it was pretty nice just to sit back and watch the race without the stress/nerves/flutterings/hyperventilation associated with my own racing preparations. Also, that course was a bitch and I am GLAD I didn’t have the pleasure of racing on it. Ew.

But the weekend before was our annual Halloween race and it was a blast! I wore my slutty french maid costume again this year (because when else am I going to wear it), but this year I decided I was Magenta from Rocky Horror Picture Show to go along with Rossitron’s costume. You’ll see who he went as below!

The course had a fair few barriers, some steep climbing areas, and there was a long and tricky single track section through the woods, but I took it easy and just enjoyed the ride. Lo and behold, I got 5th! Wahoo moving up in the pack…or something.

There was a great showing of costumes among the women – zombie school girl won best costume of the day. A few of the Bici dudes dressed up as well (BACON AND EGGS!), but overall the dudes seemed to think that racing was more important than having some fun for once. LAME. Rossitron did greatin his race and looked mighty sexy as Dr. Frankenfurter while doing it. Delicious!

Our next race will be the Anniston night race. Things are gonna get crazy!

Here’s a video from the race – not mine, but the course I rode on. The boys in baby blue are my team. Don’t they look great?

Dusty! Terribly Dusty! (Photo via Boris)

We got new jerseys this year and they are wonderful! Baby blue really stands out in the crowd. We also got quite a few new folks on the team this year, including another female – welcome to the team Brooke (and the other guys, whatevs this is a blog about girls). Brooke ended up getting 2nd, and Kate, who is in the class above, got 3rd. Way to go ladies!

Brooke is very funny (Photo via Theresa)

Really, the dust just clogged me up too much. We had an epic sand pit that by the third or fourth lap was covered by a giant dusty cloud, and once I got myself out of there I was done for. Pulled over, leaned to the side, you know the rest. Alas this cost my a few positions in the pack that I was not able to recover. I ended in 5th (aka last meh), and when I got back to the tent it was time for round two of pukeyness. But once that was over it was party tiiiime!

Rossitron will destroy you (photo via Boris)

The highlight of this race was the beer-ups. First race of the season I suppose people were a little confused about what was in those cups. One of our team members proceeded to dump it on his head, and another took one sip and the spewed it out while simultaneously throwing the cup back at us. Come on guys, who would give out free water to strangers? IT’S BEER OR NOTHING!

Sometimes I wish Cyclocross was just about riding and not so much racing. It’s totally fun when you’re just cruising around and drinking beer, but I suppose there’s that whole sense of accomplishment thing whenever you puke your guts out while attempting to attain glory. Here’s to another season of pain and misery!!

Here were our guys in the single speed class. They totally rocked it, and raced in the 1/2/3 race as well. Because they’re bad ass like that.

Travis was all over the messy parts. He knows how to get down with that. Uh huh.

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Kate suffered through the pleasure of this race, reppin it for all the ladies out there (ahem ME) who were too much of a weenie to get out. Kicked that guy’s ass…by the looks of this picture. Who knows, I was too drunk most of the time to know what was going on.

I really think all the mayhem we caused added much to this event – mid-race wheelie competitions, beer costume, waffles (!), drinking before noon, yelling like crazy people, cowbelling like there’s no tomorrow. Also, the weather was really unbelievable that weekend, so everyone was just generally happy.

Cyclocross season is over in most places, but you should really think about going out to a race or two next season just to yell and scream at some folks on bikes. I can’t think of a much more enjoyable way to spend a Sunday.

(Photos ganked from Russell Fulmer’s facebook)

(The look on the kid’s face is very similar to what I looked like at this point. A whole lotta “oh shit”)

Sunday had us at Sloss Furnaces, bundled up, drinking Red Bike Coffee, and embrocating. I think I jumped the gun on the medium embro (mine is Russian Thee from Mad Alchemy) – while I was racing it felt awesome, but when the midday sun came out my legs were burning with an uncomfortable ferocity. The grill was busy churning out delicious burgers courtesy of Barton’s Nursery and the beer was flowing; another successful week for our team in both fun points and winner points.

BBC (Birmingham Bicycle Company, to be clear) set up a great course for this week. After the hell we’ve been through with the previous courses, Sloss was nice and flat with some playful twists, turns, and roundabouts, a few obsticle laden trails, and a vicious little back side. Sloss is also a picturesque venue. There’s nothing like imagining the grueling manual labour under sweltering heat for steel and iron work to really get you going. Let’s hope we weren’t huffing through any terrifying dust particles.

Kate rocked the Women’s 4s once again this week with a strong 2nd place finish. She’ll be up there making cash money with the 1/2/3 soon enough! Unfortunately she bonked her knee during a dismount, so lets hope that heals up soon. I felt a little bit better with this course (unsurprisingly I prefer flat sprints to hill climbs), and didn’t get last. Hoorah!

The guys in the Men’s 4s performed AMAZINGLY, their best week yet! Ross took 1st, Alan 4th, and Daniel 5th. Hell Yes. This was Ross’ last week with the 4′s – rules dictate that next race he’ll be up with Sam in the 1/2/3s, and we will all be entertained watching their brother race dynamics.

There was an absolutely adorable kids race mixed in somewhere. We screamed for them all, and I remember Brent’s youngest in particular was very excited about the whole thing. Finally, Sam and Lee got our there and powered through the course with brute force and excellent form. I think Sam finished up nicely in the top 10? We’ll find out soon enough!

Right now we’re sitting comfortably around 4th place in terms of team points, which I think is saying something considering we’re a bunch of rag tag hoodlums. Way to go team!!!

EDIT: Sam had an 8th place finish, and we have a new team memeber that I was unaware of! John placed 3rd in the Men’s 4, and we welcome you with open arms and hands full of PBR.

Skirted working girl riding her sweet bike around, ready to make salted caramel brownies, cuddle her cat Sylvia, and listen to old episodes of This American Life

To this…

Pissed off Cyclocross girl who doesn’t want to be practicing right after work

Well, I’ve got one word for you: KATE

Kate happens to be the new female rider on the Bici Cyclocross team this year, and she is kicking ass! While I was hanging out in Kentucky drinking too much beer and being a general slob this past weekend, she was winning the freaking Bamacross women’s 4. My belief is that she has accomplished this through a combination of running, spinning classes, general gym attendance, and practice. Ugh.

Last year I just hung out and rode around, barely getting on my cx bike when not racing and having a grande old time. I was nowhere near as fast or skilled as the top women in our class, and I was enough ahead of the others, so overall not too bothered. Now Kate’s come along and showing me that she is legitimately better than me because she actually works out and stuff. Why is she doing this to me?!

Thanks a lot, Kate. Thanks for setting the bar high. Yeah. This is the face of someone not amused. Whatever, Bici Coop team will dominate all fields at that next race. GRRRRR

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P.S. Anna is the one racing Cyclocross, not Elisa. Elisa has a busted foot, Anna races Cyclocross.

P.P.S. I did make those brownies last week, and they were ungodly delicious.

Worst Cities – Birmingham, Alabama

“It turns out Alabama’s largerst city has a hip bike community: alley cats, cyclocross races and nice singletrack.  There’s a road scene, too.  The problem is Birmingham has built only 10 miles of bike lanes over the past two decades while allowing multilane highways and shoulderless suburban streets to dominate the sprawl.  Less than 1.3 percent of Greater Birmingham bikes or walks regularly, a lower rate than any other larger metro area in the country, according to 2000 census data (the latest available, but in our experience, not much has changed). ‘We have a lot of motorists who think cyclists belong on the sidewalk,’ says Tom Maxwell, a senior planner there.  The appetite for change exists, but with no strong bike-minded leadership – in City Hall or the advocacy community – progress has been negligible.”

If you’ve been following us for a while then you know how aggrivated we sometimes get riding in the ‘ham.  With Bici, I’ve lately been feeling more and more upset about the apathy among cyclists and the lack of commitment we’re coming up against as rabble-rousers.  Reading about how Birmingham is the lowest of the low in a nationally recognized magazine makes me even more depressed.  It would be so easy just to give up.

At least they gave us a pseudo shout out.  The hip bicycle community that is putting on alleycats and doing cyclocross races?  That would be us.

From here on out I think that Fall will forever be knows instead as Cross Season.  Today I spent a sunny day drinking beer, hanging out and watching CYCLOCROSS! at Sloss Furnace.  Sloss is the only publicly held industrial site in the world, as well as a killer spot for a cross race.   I, unlike Anna, was not racing so I came out ready to take in all the glory that is a bike race. Glorious it was.

Bici Coop team did very well, with Sam (took 2nd!), Alan (flatted out 2nd lap and had to run it in), Jesse Heath, Heath, Aaron Lane and Sean Malone in the mens 4-5 class and Anna (got 4th, maybe 3rd…jury is still out!) for the ladies.

The course wasn’t too muddy but had it’s share of gravel, hills, switchbacks and obstacles.  The site of bikes kicking up dirt in front of the huge foundry was beautiful.  Add beer and some good friends and I had a Sunday to write home about.  Oh and lots of bloody knees and elbow.  I am weird, sue me.

Anna will be writing about her experiences during her first cross race in Part 2.  Thanks to everyone at Bamacross for putting this together.  Besides the beer situation (Blackwell‘s I am looking at you for your no show!), everything seemed to go off without a hitch.

How was your weekend?