Team Lost Coast Brewery

There is a select list of places and events that cyclists must go to once in their life. The list includes places such as Moab, and Whistler. The newest member to the list is Single Speed Cyclocross World Championships.I had the opportunity of attending this year and can honestly say that it is the wildest party since burning man. The day starts with a full cyclocross race in the morning, this ensures thousands of cyclists taking every line on the course, turning everything into a greasy sloppy mess. Perfect conditions for a party, er cross race. The race began in true braveheart style. Seattle lined up on one side, Portland on the other, and everyones bike in the middle. The kicker was a rider pedaling his bicycle with a passenger in the tub on the back swinging a flail.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nantel/3248890770/ The assult began when the promoter yelled FREEDOM! Charge! and blew his whistle. The party was on! Everyone ran through the slop, pushing the flail swinging bike over trying to get the hole shot. The course featured off camber slick mud sections, barriers that had ramps attached to them for jumping, a thunder dome http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1fNwUjJf9s and a bacon hand up at the kona booth. It is an unwritten rule that participants are required by single speed law to consume at least one beer before his or her race, and this race were advised to have dollar bills on hand. Why the dollar bills do you ask? That would be for the Strip Club Shortcut, for one dollar you could hand a volunteer your steed, enter a school bus that was artfully converted into a strip club, give the stripper by the door your dollar, and exit with about at 15 second advantage over not stripclubers.After about 40 minutes of pain, heckling, beer spraying, and bacon the race came to an end. I finished right behind a man dressed as superman who managed to cut the course where ever possible, and behind a dude dressed as Borat with his number sharpied to his side. It was time to get clean, and return to the thunder dome where the bass was still bumping, and the after party was warming up. I can't wait till next year, maybe Geoff the muscle Huber will come out and throttle everyone, in the same fashion as he did in the single speed race earlier that day.

cheers and dark beers,
M@