So Sunday morning found me at Mud Island's Greenbelt Park, coffee cup in gloved hand, watching some truly amazing cyclists peddle up hills, glide down them, jump off their bikes (without stopping) to run up another hill with little obstacles, and then jump back on their bikes and ride away.
"Part of the sport is getting off the bike smoothly, because you come into the dismount going 15 to 20 miles per hour," Outdoors Inc. owner Joe Royer was quoted as saying in this week's Flyer. "Riders have to go over the hurdles, which are about 15 inches high, and then get back on the bike while they're still running. ... It's a very hard sport."
No doubt about that. Have you seen the hills at that park? Very steep. And I don't know how many laps the riders had to do, but it was definitely daunting.
After walking down close to the river to see the hurdles at the far end of the track, I wasn't sure I was going to be able to walk back up the hill, much less run up. Carrying a bicycle. And jumping over foot-high hurdles.
But it was a beautiful day and a great race. It doesn't look like the 2008 results are in yet, but here's a link to more information, if you're interested.
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