So as the rest of the East Coast is experiencing some pretty intense cold, I’m still sweating it out in a short-sleeve skinsuit; One life, embrocation-free. I don’t mean to rub it in, but holy hell, this is what I’ve got to do every. Single. Year.
Picking up where I left off: The race in West Palm Beach. It was a four-or-so hour and boring-ass drive from Tampa. I think every southbound trip from here is less than engaging, in a geographical sense. The everglades are beautiful, I’m sure, but the highways cutting through them are the embodiment of visual monotony. Kinda like the highways cutting through CT or Ohio or Upstate NY. Wide-spanning swaths of nothing. I’m sure, though, that their night skies are gorgeous, like most places with little going on.
The race itself, well… how to put this.. It was decently-attended, somewhat decently organized, but the course left a lot to be desired. Perhaps my take on the course is partially based on the physical discomfort I was going through due to the still-hurt hamstring, and hopefully it will improve in years to come, but it seemed to me like the cyclocross version of a highway through the everglades. Not much in varied terrain, nothing very technical, and sorta in the middle of an open field. Whatever - gripes aside: I had fun (despite the pain), did well (finished 2nd in the elite field, again behind Mr. Myerson), and there were some great photos taken:
Due to my hamstring, I decided to take the next day off, rather than participate in another nearby race. No sense in risking long-term health for short-term fun! Anyway, the next two weeks were spent recuperating & enjoying a lot of this:
Yeah, there’s some fancy beer to be had in Tampa, thank fucking god!
Two days ago, I raced in Coral Gables, just south of Miami, in a race called Tropical Cyclocross. It was the most fun I’ve had racing down here; The course was brilliant, the promoters super-friendly, and you could very easily tell that a lot of love & passion went into putting it together. I’ll get into that later on, though; I’m not feeling particularly verbose at the moment…
