A Date With a Cowbell.

I’ve been racing Cyclocross since I was 14, when Guy McInnis and Bob Hawboldt were running local Saskatoon race series – and a Cyclocross bike couldn’t even be bought in Canada (but converted mountain bikes or your wife’s hybrid would do). 15 years, 5 National Champs Podiums, One gold, and several cold starts later – Nothing quite excites me like the anticipation of a Cyclocross season.

Maybe my October birthday makes me one of the “Fall Children”. Maybe it’s the slight to strong eccentricity of the discipline, which still remains even after its explosion into the cycling mainstream. Maybe the combination of technical and physical strength keeps me intrigued. But either way, Cyclocross runs in my veins.

So with a World Championships to be contested in North America for the first time ever (and probably last time for a decade) the choice was clear. At first the logic hit me stronger than the feeling this year – so I booked the tickets early and would figure the rest out later. Now its days to go and I feel the excitement starting to hit me – this is where I need to be this weekend.

It’s about seeing “the Belgians” up close, in real winter Cyclocross conditions. Seeing the speed of a world class field in person, for the first time. Cheering for the Canadian “locals” who I know, and the excitement they must also feel. It’s about 10 other Calgary locals who will be sharing this experience. And there will be beer and cowbell, party and after-party. For the perverse cycling fan, it has the perfect ingredients of one fun trip – cant wait!