Thursday, September 18, 2008

Spontaneity

If any of you have laboured through reading this blog over the last year you'll have noted that It's pretty biased towards cyclocross. Not sorry for that, it is the best sport around, especially in any of the cycling disciplines. Which brings me to something else I noted at cross practice last night. Spontaneity. CX Practice started pretty much as usual, heart rate out the top of my head on the first lap of the pretty hilly course, trying to keep up with the faster guys, letting out air in the tires, running barriers, general asphyxiating fun! After about four laps I noticed a group forming near the barriers, people just chatting not really wanting to go as hard as we were. Demonstarting dismounting and remounting to new comers, doing crazy stuff like trying to dismount and remount on the right side of the bike. Over the course of conversation, people started riding as slow as possible around in tight overlapping circles, track standing when your path was blocked by another rider seeing who could stand the longest. Good hearted fun and laughter. We must of looked really strange to other people in the park ( if you are a cyclist of any stripe you are used to that though). Eventually, Mike Seek our unofficial leader and one of the Wise Micheals, started riding around light poles that formed a triangle and people started to follow. Spontaneity happened, and everyone followed suit riding around like crazy meeting in the middle heading toward the next light pole, whipping left an right to avoid colliding with each. Faster and faster we rode, all right hand turns, and the like a square dance everyone turned a rode in the opposite direction. Soon we were just riding in one big loop around two of the poles, and jumping the barrier at the third point of the triangle. Racing each other to the turn, cutting each other off, and laughing the whole way. This went on until the sun was setting. That's the longest I can remember staying on Wednesday nights. It was spontaneous! Imagine trying to do something like that on a road ride, and I know it's a different animal, but cross is so open to creativity and freedom of movement and such a social thing. You actually get to know the people that show up each week. Sometimes when I'm riding the road a lot I feel like I'm in a coloring book and can't go outside the lines. Thank goodness it's only three weeks till cross season starts, where the lines are constantly moving.

2 comments:

SCOOBY'S SNACKS said...

Dwayne,
I had a good time wed. It was hard but fun. I put a link on my blog to yours, hope you dont mind.

Alan

Dwayne said...

Thanks Alan, I had a great time to, and by all means add me to your blog.