Be Ready Winter Series, Round Five, 5 March

 Disappointing? Well, regrettably so; there were probably better ways to spend the morning hours. I mean what were there - eight racers? Perhaps there were more and I just didn't see them...

What? you're saying, how could you not see people racing their bikes right in front of you? Yeah... let me tell you. There I was, in my spot, the spot I usually stake out for the first round of photos. It is a spot the race has never failed to go past (least ways not during the times I have been there), the first, lowest down, mildly technical spot along the loop. It was 9:00, and I thought, cool, they'll be coming along any time now. Then it was 9:10 and I thought, hmm, I wonder what's going on, what's the delay? Then it was 9:15, and a horrible thought crossed my mind, what if they've switched up the course? I put that thought out of my mind, naw, surely they would come by here. At 9:20 I remembered someone at the other end of pa system loudspeaker saying something about the XC race starting at the cul-de-sac, whatever that means, I thought. At 9:25 I said damnit, convinced that the first part of the course had been switched up and I had been left stranded for twenty-five minutes for nothing, and was obviously missing the race. Well, at least I can get a hike in, I thought, climb this hill, if nothing else.

So, yeah, even though the opening of the race took a slightly different route, I did get back on familiar terms, so I could take a handful of photos. But really, were there any more than eight racers? Has gravel killed the cross country mountain bike race? I'm not sure about either of those, yet can't discount them either. This was the fifth weekend of the Southridge Be Ready Winter Series, with one more to go, and it is very likely that most, if not all of the series competitors have raced twice, fulfilling the minimum requirement for the series' overall in each respective category. Perhaps some of those categories are already decided, and thus, people did not feel compelled to come out on a cloudy, cold, blustery morning to race their bikes. Bummer. With the Bonelli races long gone, I would hate to see the Southridge races disappear due to lack of interest too.

What's happening?