2015 Incycle Hammer Time

Late in the month of September, indeed it is Hammer Time, and there were plenty of blows to go around. In fact, and though the usual categories were out pounding the pedals, there actually seemed to be a mere two groups of riders - those doing the pounding, and those receiving a pounding.

Rocket Man - seriously, #349 flew up this riser by the lake far faster than anyone else, as if he did have rockets strapped to that pack. It was one of those times I could only smile at the guy he just passed, and guess we were thinking the same thing - "nothing to be done about that."

The much maligned first lap mechanical

That's gotta sting, but the bike seems okay.

Every so often I will read about how, like the "late, great Rock 'n Roll, mountain biking has one foot in the grave; the clattering over rocks, like a death rattle deep in the lungs.  At best, some people say, the sport is but a weak shadow of its former self. 

While I don't have the numbers to either refute or corroborate those assertions, there is evidence to suggest that the core of the sport is as strong as ever. It is evident virtually any weekend a race is held. You can see it in the promoters who direct all their free energies into organizing the local race, or race series, in the retailers and other bicycle industry who throw in their support year after year and, of course, you see it in the racers themselves, who toe the line from the beginning of January to the end of October (and contrary to popular belief, mountain bike riders do not hibernate the final two months of the year). 

I sense that things are getting off topic now, and though it is a topic I may want to examine in more depth, it is best to save it for another time. For now, lets just say, I witnessed no lack of determination during the morning's race. As long as people continue to realize the true value and rewards of spinning a pair of knobby tires, mountain biking will be just fine. To everyone who persevered to the end under, sometimes adverse conditions, congratulations. See you all at Glendora's South Hills Park in a couple weeks.

The one hundred twenty-eight photos in the Flickr album are about a quarter of the number I took. The photos are not a complete catalog, but are representative of all the others taken during the day, so if you don't see what, or who, you were looking for in the album, let me know and I will see what I can find. If you see a photo you like, feel free to download it (credit where credit due, of course). You can also contact me via email and I will gladly send a full size jpeg file of the image.