Bash Guard

I woke early today, Sunday,  this the 3rd weekend of Cross, and being that it only had a Saturday race,   I thought of coffee, and almond croissants.   I thought of pulling the SS Mtbike off the hook in the shed and taking it out for a spin.

what I like about cross, its hard, that if you do it, you suffer.  That if you are just getting into it, you suffer even more, its got a tough love curve.   Even still I get a bit of fear, a small concern, that what I love about cross now will somehow be diluted and lost with a large influx of new riders.
... I don't know maybe it comes from growing up with the punk music scene?

I still consider myself to be kinda the new generation to cross, I'm new blood, and owe, cross, its due respect.

the Heckler,  I saw yesterday, at Whirlybird, The Friend, yelled at a teammate some heckle, it seemed a bit harsh to me, the heckler gave it in a mocking voice, with a bit of a snide laugh to it.  The rider in turn, look beady eyed at the Heckler and gave him the finger.  Dagger eyes.

... I think my fear is unfounded,  the heart of cross is quite strong right now, that the people putting in the time, the practices, that the Scene is good.  

I went out and tooled about on the SS mtbike, I feel good, the legs and mind, 5 races in.  Yesterday, Whirlybid,  even though I got caught in a crash, no one got hurt, I battled to a 14th place.   Nice!

I guess I've never found the need to heckle, I like a good roast, a clever play on words,...
...  but I want you to dig deeper, to go harder....
and it seems to me, the harsher things said come from hecklers that don't race.



my SS mtb, its my oldest bike, the cheapest, cobbled together, the one I count on.   Looking down at my feet spinning in fast easy circles I noticed the bash guard, dented and chipped.  It helps  keep me honest a bit, saving the teeth of the chain ring from my poor riding skills.

cheers, d.