CX Double Header – Next Weekend!

Time to stuff ourselves with turkey in preparation for next weekend’s back-to-back CX racing extravaganza! Warm up (or kill yourself) Saturday with a race at my summer stomping grounds, St. Malo, a French community southeast of the city. Pick your swear words accordingly. I’ve seen some preview shots of the course, looks very nice. Of particular note is this bit of nastiness:

I’m not sure if it actually possible to ride a bike through a sandy beach, but at least it will be a soft landing when I wipe out. Also not sure what all that sand will do to a drive train. Should be interesting… and messy.

If you survive the St. Malo race, pack up your tired ass and your sandy bike on Sunday and head west to Altona, home of the Southern Cross race, hosted by the Altona Bicycle Enthusiasts Society (ABES). This one looks like a goody. There is an ongoing, yet mostly friendly rivalry between the ABES and the FGBC boys who host Menno Cross, to put on the biggest and most awesome cross race. So after a stellar Menno Cross this year you can bet the ABES are going to pull out all the stops. Can the ABES beat the mud bath? Will there be faspa? I’m told the course is always pretty technical and awesome. In fact, after barely completing Menno Cross with my life in tact (the dignity was not so lucky) someone looked at me and said “wait ’til you do Altona!!”. Good times.

There are incentives to race both days as part of a Grand Prix series, so the extra pain of two races in one weekend just might be worth your while. So eat a turkey or two this weekend, then it’s time to practice your dismounts, clean the last bit of mud out of your nose from Menno Cross, and shine up that cow bell.