Northwest Nonsense

New England Cyclocrossers: imagine the longest most sufferingest run-up you've done, and then multiply it by three. That should approximate the run-up at Fort Steilacoom Park in Washington State, where the RAD racing GP was held this weekend. I'd heard lore of it, but I thought, "how bad can a run-up be?" I like run-ups: no better way to demoralize the competition than to pass them on foot. Cyclist hate running. So, I started walking the course Sunday morning--oh shit!--the words dropped from my gaping jaw as the run-up loomed ahead of me. That hill is ferocious! Racing up it sucked energy and took intense focus, but the wall of spectators on either side pulled us up with their cheering--in retrospect it seems almost fun.