RACE REPORT: Kids at DCCX

this weekend past DCMTB hosted its fall cyclocross classic DCCX
each year this race sees more and more growth

in addition to the ever growing male dominated classes
this year DCCX saw a dramatic growth in the women and the youth classes

DCCX was chock full of kids!

RACE REPORT: Kids at DCCX
as a member of the local cycling team DCMTB I have my contribution to the cyclocross event DCCX
my major contributions are the Lil' Belgian's race and then my photos
I do some other stuff... but those are my main contributions
oh... photos? you did not know I took pictures of people on bikes?
well... I do and I did

as the event date approached there were was the call out to team volunteers to assist with course set up and venue clean up
but... with team member Tom bringing in Terra Landscaping Solutions as a sponsor the need for team members to show up with a rack and a pick axe has diminished
that said... there is still plenty for each and every member of the team to volunteer for

part of my duties is to act as the "race director" of the Lil Belgians
being immature and being a father aid in my ability to think like a kid
each year I try to create a Lil Belgian's race that is both challenging and fun
I try to see things from a kid's perspective

the Friday before the event I met my brother Marc and a number of other DCMTB volunteers to work on the course
race director Brian Schmierer pointed me to the area where the Lil Belgian's course could be set up
over the years the course location has migrated on the Armed Forces Retirement Home grounds
losing its shaded terrain by the pond to the race course proper and the pits
finally ending up on the hill near the central gathering point where registration, officials, and food tents exist on race day
it makes sense... but it is a small plot of land

so... I started walking the grounds to try and create a fun yet challenging course for the kids... for the smaller kids
I had a loop planned that had a decent flowing downhill section
cutting through some tress
a little rolling up and down

Raul Rojas walked the Lil Belgian's course with me
after some measure and discussion we set up some stakes for what would be the Lil Belgian's course as the clouds unleashed a monsoon of freezing rain

there was talk that this space could diminish
there was talk that we could lose some of this space to the other tents