Patty's Cakes, Patty's Cakes

November 24, 2019

Patty's Cakes, Patty's Cakes

Baker man,

Bake me a cake

As fast as you can...

Alright, now that you're singing that old rhyme...

For those of you who may be unfamiliar with cyclocross, one of the unique (and endearing?) features of the sport is known as the hand-up. Road racing has the feed zone, and mountain bike races often have the same; the feed zone is a place where racers can take on water or food, energy, fuel to finish the race. It is a tactical thing.

The cyclocross hand-up is a different matter. While food and liquids are handed-up to the competitors, the purpose is more for entertainment value; in fact I would go so far as to say that hand-ups are more for the benefit of the spectators than the racers. Rarely do the riders battling for position in the race take hand-ups

Hand-ups can be anything really - there are no rules, no limit to the possibilities. The most common hand-up is beer, but anything will do - donuts, sushi, little sandwiches, sure. You stir-frying some shrimp on the camp stove over there? Give that a try.

One of the event sponsors of this year's Turkey Trot Cross, in Costa Mesa, was Patty's Cakes and Desserts, located in Fullerton. When some boxes of little cupcakes showed up at the venue, I figured it would not be long before someone got the idea to start handing them up. Maybe that was the intention all along. Anyway, Dorothy must have noticed me standing around not doing my photo taking job; the next thing I know my name is being called over the PA system suggesting that straight stretch of course where the cakes are being handed up might be a good place to be: "Michael Wagner. We need Michael Wagner at the hand-ups." And it was - thanks Dot!

Some of these photos will also find their way into the race album - it and the usual race post should be ready Tuesday or Wednesday depending on how many after work rides I get this week before the rains arrive. Until then, enjoy: