The second Bamacross race of the season when a little better for me than the first. As in, although I had the inclination to upchuck, I was able to resist this time around. There were a few more women out; I got 5th again, but this time out of 7! I call that an improvement. Maybe next week I’ll move up a spot…although I won’t hold my breath. As long as I’m having fun, right?!
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?
This weekend Rubarb (Rusted Up Beyond All Repair Bikes) is having an alleycat! I have yet to do an alleycat since I moved here so I am pretty excited. The best part? It is PIRATE THEMED! My skull and crossbones leggings will have their day to shine.
RUBARB is a great shop with cool people running it. We met them at Bike! Bike! SE a few years ago and have loved running into them every year since.
New Orleans, I better see your ass there. In pirate gear. DO IT. Sunday. 3:00, Pirates Alley (the French Quarter). Be there. Or risk having my kick your ass.
Every Wednesday night in the Fall, New Orleans has Harvest the Music. This is a free concert in Lafayette Square to raise money and awareness for Second Harvest Food Bank of New Orleans. The concerts feature great musicians (Irma Thomas, Blind Boys of Alabama, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, and more) and this week was no exception. I had been looking forward to it since they made the announcement: Trombone Shorty! For those who don’t know, Trombone Shorty is a local star who is good looking, a great singer and a killer brass player.He in gaining recognition and fame far from New Orleans as well. A free show with him is a gift.
Clearly, I rode my bike to the concert as parking is a total bitch downtown. Riding home in the night air, a bit cool and windy, was the perfect end to the evening. Finding friends at the concert and dancing outside was the perfect way to spend a Wednesday night.
New Orleans, if you haven’t come out to Harvest the Music yet this season, hurry! There are a few left and it is the best thing in this city right now.
Which do you think is worse – dust, or mud? After race 1 I’m going to say dust. Why? Well I’ve never puked at a race before, and at this one I managed to twice. That makes me hardcore, right? Right??!
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!!
Rossitron and I recently returned from a vacation for the ages. Wedding in Atlanta! Final beach visit of the season in Pensacola! ELISA TIME IN NEW ORLEANS!!
Our plan was this: beer.
Ok, we did ride our bikes a bit. We enjoyed an afternoon road ride from Pensacola Beach to Navarre and back with my dad, who recently got a road bike of his own and seems to have been bitten by the bike bug! The wind was great when it was at our backs on the way to Navarre, but the way back was pretty brutal.
Side note: Boys are good to have around in many cycling situations. For this ride, Rossitron made a great wind breaker. Thanks babe!
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Of course we rode around New Orleans with Elisa as well, mostly on the quest for food. If you find yourself in Nola in need of a good breakfast, get yoself to Slim Goodies and get the Creole Slammer – crawfish etouffee over hasbrowns with a fried egg on top. HEAVEN.
This time around we decided to enjoyed the glorious street car for a day as well, which made it much easier to view the beautiful city and drink Daiquiris.
But lest we forget the most important thing: beer. Drinking in the streets is the way to live (on vacation anyway)! Abita Fall Fest = delicious.
