After day one of the Smoke-N-Suds weekend, we spent the night in the campground at nearby Devil’s Den State Park waking up to temperatures in the mid-thirties. Yes, it was cold. We scrambled around and got everything packed up for day two at Lake Fayetteville but not until we made sure the entire camp could smell the Petit Jean Meats Peppered Bacon we were cooking. Saturday’s race had gone counter-clockwise and I was wondering how switching direction would alter how the race went today.
Temperatures quickly warmed up for another pleasant day in the park. The families showed up again, little kids, dogs cyclist and a few photographers were on hand to enjoy the races. We had brought a young rider with us, the child of good friends. She decided earlier in the summer that she needed to give cyclocross a try and dove right in. The first day’s race was tough for her but this was a new day and she would soon be racing again with the juniors, with a smile on her face and belly full of bacon and eggs.
The first group to go was the Cat 4 men and 40+ Masters division for 40 minutes of racing. It was a pretty large group at 9 am on a brisk morning.
Next up were the Junior men and women, the young lady we had in the race seemed to have a much better day and was seen making faces and smiling a lot during her time in the saddle.
Finally the open class went. This is the fast group. They would be racing for 50 minutes. It was amazing to see how quickly many of them covered a full lap.
In the end it was Gerald and Cooper Drummond who owned the race. They took the lead early and never looked back. Watching them clear the barriers was like watching an intricate ballet. I’m guessing they practice.
The atmosphere throughout both days of racing was festive, cowbells were ringing, families were supporting each other while also getting some heckling in. The folks at The Highroller Cyclery and De Pijp Cycling Federation did a great job of organizing the event.
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