Although the first cyclocross race in New England was some weeks ago, Palmer felt like the first true cyclocross madness. Non-stop rain (which, mind you, stopped when the racing was over), chilly, mud-mud-mud, more mud and roots and wet grass and up-and-down sharp S-turns.
There was even one thing I have never encountered in a cylcocross race beofre. We all know about run-ups. Right? Right. Now, how about a run-down? huh?

Yes, you absolutely had to run down a steep-ish descent because (well, first of all because you just made it up a steep run-up which curves 180 at the top and becomes a said descent) because if you slided down staying on your bike, you would only face the necessity to make a sharp turn which instantly led you into a short run-up (which some 3 races before mine was possible to ride, but you know, with many tires and rain…)

And the PUDDLE. The mightly puddle that was the cause of drop-outs, mechanicals, crashes, missing remounts, giggles, wars, and so much more. I honestly tried to RUN it every time, but a midget like me could only walk it with weird limping-like jumps that were intended to convince the hecklers (who by the way were offering 5 bucks and beer to anyone who would attempt to ride the puddle) that I indeed tried to run.

Anyway, that was my short summary of the race. A more full report on this can be found at RMM’s blog

Here are some shots I took at the war-place.
All of them are up for grabs (with proper credit if you’re reposting them elsewhere, of course), but if you feel grateful enough, you can TIP THE PHOTO GAL.

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