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Yesterday was the fifth of the USGP cyclocross series held down in Lakewood at Ft. Steilacoom. We headed down to watch the final race which had the fast guys.

The course was setup really well, and there were a ton of spectators out for the event. Parking was actually becoming an issue. Along with all of the people were quite a few vendors, a Chris King booth, Crankbrothers, and tasty treats by Seasoned Skewers.

This was my first elite race, so I was curious to see how fast these guys are. Turns out that yes they’re fast. We hung around the lower course for a bit snapping a few pictures and cheering and then it was time to head up to the top of the run up. Not to be left out of the festivities, the top of the run up sported a tent complete with DJ pumping out tunes. Lots of cowbell, lots of cheering, lots of music.

It was interesting to get a non-racer perspective as the only time I’ve been to Steilacoom was as a racer. I wouldn’t say it seemed smaller or easier or anything, just different. I’d start associating bits of the course and having “Oh yeah that’s this bit” moments. After my first time racing this course a couple of years ago, I was going over the pictures with my wife that night. I asked her where she found the cool graffiti bombshelled looking building? Her reply understandably was “Uh, you were riding right by it like 5 times”. Different perspectives. A little less focused view of the course.

After trying out a few picture taking techniques it was time to head back down to the finish line to see who was going to take it. In the end, Ryan Trebon from Team Kona took the win as the series heads down to Portland Sunday. If you’re in PDX and looking for something to do today, perhaps heading down to Hillsboro Stadium to check them out.

Update:If you didn’t make it down to PDX here’s the BikePortland.org coverage.