Promoting 'Cross Races....

...is a hell of a lot of work. Over the past few days, I have planted no fewer than 700 international orange wired flags in the nearly impervious, rock-hard Texas soil, blistering and cutting my hands to shreds in the process, all in an effort to bring out a cyclocross course from an otherwise empty field at Ft. Sam Houston, somewhat like a sculptor chipping away at a hunk of marble, slowly revealing the form embodied in the rock. Or something like that...

The course had a serious flaw in that it had to traverse a gravel parking lot that was used even on weekends. Getting it closed off seemed to be impossible, so I was attempting to route the course on the perimeter of the lot, basically using car bumpers as one side of the course. Not exactly the most aesthetic of cyclocross courses to be sure. Even worse, the dirt at the edge of the lot was rutted and torn up, which would have translated into a bone-jarring section.

Today while working on the course, a footbridge near the parking lot caught my eye. I had ridden the course dozens of times, but I had never seen this bridge tucked away in the trees. My problem was solved instantly. Instead of traversing the parking lot, I could route the course across this bridge. Not only could I avoid the treacherous parking lot, but I could incorporate a pretty cool feature found on many euro courses!