The End of the Crits
You know the cycling season (for roadies) is starting to wind down when the local crit comes to an end. Here on the edge of the New York/New Jersey border the Rockleigh Crit has been the race for locals and city-folk alike. Tonight was the last of the crit series (though they’ll be doing a 4-5 race in September). I was out doing a “childcare ride” (what I call the multi-hour rides where I pull my 9-month old son in a trailer and look for fun things to do) in the neighborhood we dropped by the Crit to watch the action.
For the first ten laps or so we got up close on the grass by the edge of the course and watched the race go by. The wind from the group made my son giggle and wave. He slowly snacked on a jar of baby food while watching guys battle for the final points of the year.
It’s the first race he’s attended and he definitely got into the bikes going by. I’d say “here they come!” and he’d crane his neck and look down the road at the turn before the final straightaway.
There are lots of families at the crit this year and it was particularly touching to see some girls playing on the grass who would run over to the edge of the course and scream encouragements as their dad came by at the head of a two-man break. “Daddy’s in first place!” they kept shouting, which has to be the best encouragement a person can get.