2017 NABRA District Championships: Climbing Those Stacks of Hate Mail

Looks can be deceiving. After all, many red cap-wearers were deceived into believing he was on their side, if you know what I mean. But we get enough of that hate every other day during the week. Today's (yesterday's, by now) hate was different.

"Too much climbing." Jeff said it simply, almost casually. So casually, in fact that I, at first, didn't understand what he was talking about, misinterpreted the meaning. I thought, "how could he know I was going to take a break, go for a ride up in the hills?" Hmmm. "Either too much or too little. I'm going to get hate mail." There was so much seriousness in the statement that anyone within earshot might easily have missed the thin sliver of the joke piercing through. There... was a thin sliver, right?

Well, it's all a matter of perspective, I guess. If there is one thing in cycling I have forever favored it is a good long climb. As I looked around the course, from one end to the other, I didn't really see anything that looked remotely liked a good long climb. Racers these days must be getting soft echoed 'round inside my head, occasionally smashing into the thought that I have not done a good long climb in a good long time. It ain't no l'Alpe d' Huez but that long drag up the main canyon, and the two little appendage canyons, add up to far more climbing than we see in a typical cross course around here. After all, you don't need a good long climb to do a lot of climbing; a lot of short climbs will stick it to you, especially when done on grass, and that is exactly what the course at Griffith Park has given each year. Rumor has it this years' race may have been the swan song for the big park as a cyclocross venue - if so it will be difficult to find a worthy successor, though Jeff may be relieved by the halt in the flow of hate mail. 

So you've got some photos here (below, mostly), a selection of another 108 in the album.

Greg Goodwine gets the Men's B race off to a fast start