Early Morning Cyclist Inspiration

 First winter storm of the season. My wife said she was going to take a trail ride in and that sounded like a good idea. The wet mushy dirt roads on the way to the trails that sprayed mud in my face didn't seem like  a great idea.

Hard to see the Trail from the Trees

Once I finally got to he trails they were challenging with big clumps of snow that looked like rocks but weren't and smooth sections of snow that looked benign but weren't.  Nothing too bad, just a few pucker moments.

Wet Heavy Snow Was Just  A Little Slow

The real trouble is that the temp was just above freezing and the ground wasn't frozen.  I'm looking for ward to the mornings to come where frozen trails will make for clean woods commutes.

My Bike Gained Some Weight Over The Ride

Downeast Cyclocross

My second attempt at cyclocross went much better than my first.  I'm not sure I'm that much more fit than I was 2 years ago but a Felt F4X is significantly more competitive than a steel Surly Cross Check.  Based on my last performance I started absolutely dead last in the back of the pack, no need to hold up the others.  I had taken a 1 lap preview of the course and found it to be slightly hilly and not too technical.  Probably good for me since my stamina is better than my mad skills. 
 

The Barrier Crosses were well suited for taller folk, Photo by Maine Cycling Club

For reference, I'm the one in tights that shows up in all of these photos.  The weather was as good as it could get for a day in October.

Weaving Through The Turns, No Crashes For Me

 The Cat 4 race went for 40 minutes for a total of 5 laps which seemed merciful. 

Gasping Cross Racers, Photo by Maine Cycling Club

One by one I picked off 25 of the 41 starters to come in 16th: Downeast Cyclocross 2014 Results

My wife had her first cross race ever and was totally thrilled to not finish DFL.

All Smiles, the whole race,  Photo by Maine Cycling Club

Those USA Cycling 1 day licenses are killer.  The Maine Cycling Club was there to take pictures and an excellent Video of the day  .In all it was a great day despite the relatively high cost of entry for the 2 of us. I'll probably do it again next year as well as some low key races with some easier entry fees.