Cross Season: my super-hot-cool ex-girlfriend...

Dear Readers,

If you follow the social medias of cycling at all, then you are starting to hear the not so quiet roar that cross season is coming. Pictures of cross bikes, awesome shops asking if you have your equipment ready. I have seen emails on the DCCoD list that some folks are starting up Wednesday night cross rides this week. While normally I would be one of the cyclists saying, "I can't wait for cross", this year I find myself thinking: "The TOUR HASN'T EVEN STARTED!"

Now, I will admit. I have had a very passionate love affair with cyclocross since 1997. I am one of those guys who when folks asked "do you race mountain or road?" I would answer, "cross". All year long any race I did I would say, "was building for cross. it's all about cross..." That's honestly how I looked at it.  This year not so much...

After more years than I would like to admit promoting cross races and proudly serving on the MAC board Diane and I hit the wall last fall. The time and energy we were putting in was frankly taking  the joy and our love of the sport away. The politics of sport are not fun, and as cross has become a viable cash cow, have grown.. I don't fault a promoter for trying to make some coin from cross, but we never put a single dollar in our pockets from our efforts. For us it was always the love affair, not the dollar... I got tired of being the sandbagger police and handling those emails, as well as the SSCX stuff had me torn at times, and frankly was/is exhausting to me.  But I digress: feeling frankly very drained and a little beaten: we resigned our positions from the MAC board.

Did you ever have a super hot girlfriend? Not only was she super hot, but super cool and you really liked her? And the truth is you got on really well, but not in a life time relationship kinda way? The super-hot-cool-girlfriend is an awesome person, but not your be all soul mate. So you and the super-hot-cool girlfriend broke up, but still remain friends.  And while you still admire the super-hot-cool girl friend you know you need a little time and space away.

While I expect in the future that the super-hot-cool girl friend and I will be friends, we'll always just be good friends.  In a nut shell, that's how I feel about cross right now. The upside is that my super-hot-cool girlfriend has lots of new suitors. Some who I think will look out for her and help her grow as a person, some who I think will get her hooked on meth and end up in porn. She's also got lots of big brothers with more energy, and patience and love for her to help her stay on track. I'm waiting for those brothers to put some boots to asses of the less caring suitors...


So what's the season look like? I expect that I'll do a few cross races this year (I have 5 in mind...) but I am also really enjoying racing my mountainbike, and frankly focusing on cross country. For the first time since maybe 2007, I haven't planned my year around cyclocross in the fall.  I know that I got a late start on the season this year, but I also just feel like I'm just getting into the heart of my mountainbike season, I'm just feeling like I'm starting to find my legs. So I'll admit when I turn on the social medias and I hear everyone clamoring about my super-hot-cool ex girlfriend--- I mean cyclocross, I'm kinda like- damn can we just enjoy the spring and summer a bit?  Yeah she's cool, but really....Cross will be here soon enough...

Hope that analogy makes some sense...

Either that or my mtb season is totally my rebound girl... which would change the analogy maybe... am I over thinking? Too much? hmmm...

Anyway, thanks for reading and happy cyclocrossing!

respect
vanderbacon