Safeway Fast & Furious turned out to be a great event. It was the first year for this race, which was an all day shin-dig beginning with a 5K run (great job J.S.!), the "Mile of Truth" and then, of course, bike races for the rest of the day. Check out the feed station for the runners...
So, we did get up early and watch the run - then headed back home for some relaxing time...
...the kit is staring out at the day wondering, what will happen tonight??
Then we headed back to town for the Kid's Race...
...Yipee! I ♥ that the cycling community supports and holds these kids events.
The kids totally love it and it's so good to have them participate in things like this at a young age.
We scoped out the course...
....nice long straightaway before the finish line...
...and then we headed back home to pack up - I got to enjoy a fab dinner while The Cyclist went back to the course to warm up. Sometimes I think my job is better than his.
Check out the new shoes....
...pretty um. Bright. Yeah.
I went around taking photos of the Pro women's race while The Cyclist warmed up...
...these turned out pretty good. Still not as clear as I would like.
I was really having trouble with the lighting because the sun was going down.
Enough camera talk.
Time for the PRO/1/2 Men.
Check out the sweet pace car...
...and they're off...
(I recognize those shoes!)
This is when I decided it was too dark to continue taking pictures...
Good call. (I can still see the shoes though!)
This was a super exciting race to watch. I think twilight crit's on their own are more exciting, but there was something about this event that was just fun and good. Maybe it was having a lot of the fam around.
Either way, The Cyclist did very good! Missed the top 10 by a hair, but oh well...
The winner was Benjamin Swedberg from Cal Giant.
All the photos will be posted to Flickr, this blog and the FB page ASAP.
Until next time....my advice to you is:
Don't eat crap like this...ever. Under any circumstances.
I don't know how this fits with this post other than we saw it on the way home and it made me say Eww.
The end.
Whoa, ok so I just started following your blog & when you said your husband was a cyclist I didn't realize how serious that word was. Also, I'm looking over your race pics & I was wondering, where are the women? I am supposing this is a male dominated sport? When I said I wanted to be a cyclist I didn't realize you meant your hubby was serious business, I'm not sure if I would ever be able to get this serious, but it is very inspirational. I am so glad that I found your blog :)
ReplyDeleteOk guess I should have read the whole post, there are women's & men's races. Very interesting. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Candi! There are women, but it is mostly male dominated. That is changing though! The ladies are really growing the sport. My race coverage is mostly dudes because I'm spectating the hubs.
DeleteIn cycling, there are levels or categories. My husband is a CAT (category) 2. For men it starts at CAT 5 (beginner), then moves up 4-3-2-1. There are rules with USA cycling as to what is required to move up to the next level. From a 5 to a 4 I'm pretty sure you just have to finish 10 races. You are required to have a license to race (also provided by USA Cycling) and need it to enter events. USA Cycling also approves upgrades to a new CAT. A CAT 1 is essentially a Pro, but to really be "pro" the rider would have a pro contract. Women start as a CAT 4 and go up. The races are divided by Category, so in a day there will typically be a CAT 5 race, then a CAT 3-4 and a Pro 1-2.
If you are really, really getting started, I still recommend your local bike shop as a resource. If you don't feel ready to join a team, check out a local club and look for a skills clinic (to learn how to ride in groups, etc.)