Back to Basics an early cyclocross season favorite

80 riders took the start in the men’s B race at the 2014 Back to Basics race #1 in Golden, Colorado

[updated 9/5/2014]

A seemingly endless flotilla of men in their teens through age 64 swung down the hill and onto curvy dirt paths cut from a field flush with yellow-blooming late summer rabbitbrush, native grasses, and clumps of prickly pear cactus. They were the men’s B class, a field of 80 testing their first week of September fitness at the first of four weekly races in the Back to Basics series in Golden, Colorado.

First race happiness

The newbies stood out; they raced on mountain bikes while the majority whipped around on lighter weight ‘cross bikes.

But Back to Basics is the ideal place for newbies. The registration fees are low and many riders view the series as a tune-up instead of dog-eat-dog competition. Back to Basics Health Center, Feedback Sports, and Pedal Pushers Racing sponsor the series. In total about 200 riders showed up to begin their cyclocross season.

Rebecca Blatt raced the women’s A and the men’s A races at Back to Basics 1

On a plot of land sandwiched between a youth detention center and golf course near the foot of South Table Mountain, the course differs some from last year. That downhill is new; it passes by the previously used sharp dip under the heirloom cottonwood trees at the west end of the course. Off-camber, the descent requires a little more finesse. The south end of the circuit includes more off-camber terrain on a hillside which comes before the railroad tie run-up. Start and finish still take place on the center grassy field with a single barrier bordering the youth center and double barriers to the west – local Tim Allen’s playground for bunny hops.

The course represents yet another year’s improvement by promoter and racer Lee Waldman who took compliments as the action wound down toward sunset. How does he feel about the new trail? “I love it,” he said. “It’s my course.”

Two hundred or so riders won’t dispute that statement of ownership; Waldman has labored for years over the course. But they do love it too.

Lee Waldman on the Golden cyclocross course

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