Rebecca, J and I traveled to the Eastside (the other side of Lake Washington) on a rainy afternoon to watch cyclocross at the Marymoor Park. It is a large event with great spectator viewing. I heard about it last year, but wasn't able to go. Due to other commitments, we were only able to stay for an hour. Due to the rainy weather, it wasn't too hard to leave though.
We brought an umbrella and Rebecca carried J in her Ergo carrier (which I highly recommend)(carrying the baby in the Ergo)(and having Rebecca do the work). There were many other umbrellas out too.
...but eventually gave it up because we were worried about poking other peoples eyes out. J really was fascinated by all the bright colors on the bikes and jersies, but eventually tried to take a nap. She would get a few moments of shuteye, then someone nearby would ring a cowbell and she would be startled awake.
The race took place about and around the velodrome. Here is a photo of a later race of guys. The big blue stripe caused a few wrecks because it was a painted stripe that was super slick in the rain. The next photo shows more of the course laid out inside the velodrome.
There were alot of spectators, even for the early races. We were there for the very first race that was the lower category women's race. The starting lineup for this race gives you an idea of how popular the sport is becoming.
Every cyclocross course has an obstacle with logs that requires the riders to dismount. I wish this picture was not fuzzy, but it shows the sequence of how to do it. The guy on the right is starting the dismount, the guy in the middle is preparing to pick up his bike as heading for the first log and the guy on the left has his bike picked up.
Here is another picture of the log obstacle...
Here is a random race picture...
Here is an action shot of somebody on the back side of the course. The route was marked by caution tape set up with poles. This was an early race, the course was probably pretty goopy for the elite races that started about 5 hours later in the day after all the other races.
It was a fun day out in the rain, and J took it all in stride. She is a very mellow and happy baby that open to whatever activity we take her on.
