My favorite ‘cross race has come and gone. This was the two day Uncle Sam Cyclocross Gran Prix. Two days of racing on a challenging and fun course in Troy, NY’s Prospect Park. The event is part of the NYCROSS.com Cyclocross Series and has been a staple for years. This was my forth year at this event and it has been my favorite ‘cross event since the first time I raced it in 2009.

Day 1 brought some typical cyclocross weather…cold. At race time, 9:15, the temperature was still in the low 30’s. There were about 45 racers in our field. Many of the usuals, some friends I haven’t seen in a while, and some riders that I haven’t raced against before. The course was fairly dry and fast. Or, fast for the fast guys. As you may have read from some of my other posts, I haven’t been one of the fast guys for a few years now. But fast, not so fast, or slow, it was a fun race that seems to grow each year.

Uncle Sam Cyclocross Gran Prix day 2 was all the mud you could handle.

Now, day 2 was a different story. The temperatures rose overnight and the rain moved in. Steady rain and sometimes hard rain. The Uncle Sam race for day 2 was again, typical cyclocross weather, but this time mud. And if you like mud, there was more mud. Personally I don’t mind a muddy course, it brings out the mountain biker in me. Bike handling skills are sometime more important than power and speed. That’s good for me. Although power and speed are still needed.

Both days I finished somewhere in the mid to lower mid pack. But I never have the ambitions thinking that I might crack the top 10. With cyclocross, I race for the love of the sport. If I do well…great. If I don’t do well, it doesn’t really matter. Either way I had a great time just being there on the bike and racing.