Michelle Blake
As I was watching the Miami cyclocross, it came to my attention that there was a massive, white iceberg floating in the bay behind us. When I pointed it out to my mother however, her response was "You mean that yacht?" "Oh, could've fooled me. It's so cold that I wouldn't be surprised if I started seeing penguins and polar bears too."
Considering that this weekend's race was in Miami, it seems just morally
wrong for it to have been as cold as it was. Saturday morning before the race, we were sitting in IHOP eating breakfast and wondering when the rain was going to stop, or at least, when it was going to turn into snow. In preparation for the race we piled on layer after layer of warm clothing; shorts, leg warmers, tights, jersey, arm warmers, jacket, rain jacket, hat, gloves, etc. The only problem came when considering which layer to pin the number to. My warm up consisted of a cycle, huddling around the fire, huddling in the car with the heater on, and huddling around my mother and teammates near the start line. I was actually extremely thankful when the race finally started because it meant we were going to get a little warmer. I sprinted off the line, away from my few opponents and fell in behind my teammate Brandon into the first turn. The cold must have given us both tunnel vision because we almost missed it and we went careening into the marking tape. Aside from that, and a few other mishaps, and excluding the freezing rain and wind, it was a great race. I did not go for a cool down lap.
Have you ever heard the song that goes: "the sun will come out, tomorrow"? Biggest Lie Ever. Sunday was colder, winder, and just as overcast as the day before. The only saving grace was that it wasn't raining, but who needs rain when you've got 20 mph winds and its
the coldest day ever in the history of Miami! So we woke up and put on even more clothes than Saturday; Earmuffs, balaclavas, shoe covers, the whole shebang. Again, I couldn't wait for the race to start but the proceedings were held up by a frozen pelican who decided to cross the course right in front of the start line. After a bunch of oohing and ahhing over the bird, we finally got going. It was a mountain biker's type course, with a lot of technical turns, and once I got to the loose rock sections, it was easy to loose my opponents (snicker, snicker). I loved going through the start finish area every lap too. The race promoter had made it mandatory that anyone standing there had to have a free cowbell in their hand and cheer like crazy for every racer who came through. After my race I also made sure to stop in for my free Belgian waffle as well.
It took me an hour of sitting in the car with the heater on full blast to finally thaw out from the weekend and I'm still a little worried that my toes are going to fall off and they already turned blue. (oh wait, that's the nail polish)
CAN'T WAIT TO DO IT AGAIN NEXT WEEKEND!
Results
Saturday and Sunday (they're the same)
JuniorsBrandon Forman 1st
James Mertens 2nd
Women BMichelle Blake 1st
Women ADiane Blake 2nd
