Last night I returned to The Night Weasels Cometh after skipping in 2018. I had done the race on four other occasions. Those previous times, the race was on a Wednesday night. Some of those were during New England’s “Holy Week of Cyclocross” around the time of the Gran Prix of Gloucester and the big race (that went by various names) in Providence.
It’s been several years since the demise Holy Week, and this year, even Gloucester was cancelled (after 20 years running), so Weasels was moved to the Saturday night of the previously planned Gloucester weekend.
That allowed the organizers to add some categories, including a singlespeed race, which is the race I did last night. The race was also a late addition to the Zank SSCX Series. The demise of New England’s big races and the overall decline of cyclocross participation might be a good topic for a future blog post, but I haven’t given it too much though and I’m still racing, and so are my kids. We still love the sport.
There were no specific Junior races at Weasels, so I made a solo late day trip after some Saturday work. My race went off at 5:30 P.M. We had gorgeous weather with a spectacular sunset. All my previous Weasels races were done with either the P/1/2/3 or 40+ athletes under the lights at the marquis 8:30 P.M. event. I was happy to race a bit earlier and get home a bit earlier. It would have been fun to stick around, but Debbie and I decided at the last minute to run the NipMuck Trail Marathon as a relay team at 8:00 A.M. on Sunday morning.
I didn’t have to worry about the darkness, but I still had to be on my game as the course was bumpy and slippery in spots. Held at Ski Ward in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, this is a hilly race, especially for a singlespeed bike. I had fun and finished 11th, an improvement over my first SS race of the season at Quad Cross.
I’ve got a bunch more events and I think that over the next month, I’ll be able to race myself into shape. Team HORST Sports was well represented last night. Art Roti, Rich Frisbie, Keith Enderle, and Wade Summers all participated in various categories.
Next weekend there are two Zank SSCX Series races. First on Saturday at the Mansfield Hollow CX and then on Sunday at the Minuteman CX. The Team HORST Junior Squad will be racing too, so it will be a family affair. Cross season is now in full swing.
Life Adventures 
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