A New Kind of Race

James did a new kind of race back in October. I find it a little silly that I am going to try to explain it to you because neither I nor Keith were able to make it to the race. But, when has lack of knowledge ever stopped me from trying to explain something so here goes. (I can rest in the knowledge that if I get anything wrong, my genetically identical kid will correct me.)

First of all, you will notice that they are not racing on a road. Not only are they not racing on a road, they are not racing on asphalt or any other kind of solid, stable surface.

Those of you that have been paying very close attention over the past three years, especially those of you who memorized the cycling primer, will notice another key difference. They spend a decent amount of time off the bike. The new term for the week is Cyclocross. Similar to motorcross except there is no motor so it's much harder (i.e., impossible) to do the high-flying tricks.

Not only do they spend time pushing and running with the bike, they have to pick it up and haul it over obstacles. For anyone that has not hit that ever elusive "growth spurt" (a.k.a. slightly height challenged), this can be difficult and a competitive disadvantage. It's been a while since my freshman economics class, but I distinctly remember that you wanted to have competitive advantages.

Did I mention that this type of race also requires a different kind of bike (and a different kind of shoes)? Under the perspective of God works all things....James's teammate Zoe got mono and couldn't race "cross" so she let James borrow her bike.

He got the hang of it pretty quickly, especially with the help of teammate Philip. He did some quick coaching James on how to mount and dismount the bike. (That sounds like a mistake could really be painful.)

James took the gold in his first and probably only cross race of the season. Wish I could have made it - apparently, the scenery is usually phenomenal.