Wednesday, November 20, 2013

2013 A season in haiku

We didn't take any photographs this weekend at Indian Lakes.  We have both been working hard this year on our photography, and felt like we needed to take a weekend off and just enjoy being at races together.  The injury Morleigh sustained at Woodstock when an errant rider crashed into her and broke her rib didn't help either.  Our camera is not a "one-handed" kind of operation.  The weather also made it a pretty easy decision to leave the expensive weather-sensitive equipment in the safety of the car.  An umbrella does little to protect against sideways rain.

As such I find myself with a lot of extra time this week.  In past years I have written detailed race reports about every race, but this year my post-race effort has been put into photography.  At the suggestion of a friend on Facebook, I have decided to summarize my season of Cyclocross racing with a series of Haikus.

Jackson Park - Relay Cross, Cat 1/2/3 Open, 33rd of 34 teams
I won the Le Mans!
Boom! Just keep on running man.
Fat man, little bike.

Lake Geneva Cross, Cat 3, 41 of 53. 
Pouring rain all day.
Medicine clogs the engine
A muddy good time.

Trek Cup Day 1, Cat 2/3, 72 of 88
A very fast field,
Tangled in tape, dropped my chain.
Never recovered.

Trek Cup Day 2, Cat 2/3, 72 of 79
A solid first lap,
Boom! Hard crash into the ground.
Run to pit, get pulled.

xXx Jackson Park, Cat 3, 31 of 99
Start seventy sixth.
Turn, turn, turn, turn, turn, turn, turn
Drop chain, just miss points.

xXx Jackson Park, Cat 1/2/3, 50 of 73
Gambling for points,
5 sec intervals? All day.
Let the Wookie win.

BBVP Dan Ryan Woods, Cat 3, 42 of 89
Bottleneck at woods.
Watch the leaders ride away,
Sat up, no bell lap.

Psychocross, Cat 3, 24 of 57
Surprised at how fun,
I rode a clean and fast race.
Best finish in years.

Carpenter Park Cat 3, 19 of 68
A wide open start,
As if running from Sasquatch.
Hammer hard all race.

Sunrise Park, Cat 3, 21 of 69
The course runs backwards,
Bunny hop here, brake check there.
Sprint hard to hold place.

Campton Cross, Cat 3, 21 of 69
A tactical race,
Battling for position,
Out of gas last lap.

Psi-clocross for life, Cat 3, 33 of 58
Third place into woods,
Lungs sieze up, no oxygen.
Free falling backwards.

Indian Lakes Day 1, Cat 3, 22 of 74
The mud changes things,
Wind is howling from the south,
Only one mistake.

Indian Lakes Day 2, Cat 3, Race Cancelled
Wrestle with the storm,
Enthusiasm waining,
Happy to be safe.

Melas Park, Cat 3, 14/63
Dress to invade Hoth,
six point five laps, no rear brake.
Best finish ever.

NorgeCX, Cat 3, 23/41
Very bump course.
Unlike me to fall so much,
My soul, it doth hurt.