Corner Turned

Last weekend I was in San Francisco visiting friends and dragged my host William to Golden Gate Park to check out the Dirt Criterium. Racing in circles in the dirt is about as fun as it gets so I had high hopes. We got a late start and thought we missed it because there were no bodies to be found at the Rose Garden.

But then a few yards down JFK Drive and we spotted the gathering. Bikes down in a clump and a crowd packed tightly, listening intently. LeMans start? This oughtta be good, I thought, and was just about to head down when a cowbell urgently rang and the racers began chugging cans of performance-unenhancing beverages. Clearly some of the guys had been putting in base miles because they were quickly on their bikes and off while others were glancing around with cans still aloft.

Ok, so we missed the start, but maybe we can follow the action? We continued down JFK and the race leaders came off the dirt, into the road, and full speed straight through a heavily-trafficked intersection.

Clearly I've turned a corner on this stuff because it looked unenticing. As the leaders raced off down trails typically crowded with dog walkers I rode as far away from the "criterium" as I could.

*Sigh.* I hate growing old and responsible.

So, no racing for us, we checked out Gestalt Haus instead. The bike parking and the nice guy working there were the best things about this joint. It's a second or third stop beer bar, just a bit too haggard for a sober daytime stop. Then again, I seem to be turning corners lately . . .