From SeattleTimes.com
November is the worst month to get outside in the Pacific Northwest.
Hiking and mountain biking trails are rain-saturated messes. There isn’t enough snow to ski or snowboard. Howling winds threaten to tip your kayak or SUP as soon as you shove off the beach. Roads slick with wet leaves are just waiting to cause a cyclist to wipe out. Oh, and it gets dark before 5 p.m.
Don’t tell any of that to cyclocross racers, who will be lined up by the hundreds on Sunday for the Woodland Park GP, the grand finale of Western Washington cyclocross races. Last year, the North Seattle park hosted the largest cyclocross race in the country with 900 racers.
This year, organizers at MFG Cyclocross hope to crack the 1,000-person mark — in both racers and spectators — as a joyous celebration in our region’s most unpleasant month, bringing a party atmosphere with costumed racers, food trucks and plenty of bikes swooping through the muddy woods.
“It’s a great way to make crappy weather not so crappy, have a good time with friends and enjoy your community,” said Russell Stevenson, president of Off Camber Productions, which puts on the MFG Cyclocross series as well as the Wednesday Night World Championships mountain bike races at North SeaTac Park and the GRiT Adventure Gravel Ride near Cle Elum, Kittitas County.
Photo by Angel Santos on Unsplash
