This 9 hour off from Europe kind of throws off my live cycling viewing. Flanders sounded fantastic today. I can’t wait to watch.
Kansas has its own classic race today, Bazaar Road Race. The race has been held for close to 40 years. It used to be called Cassidy Road Race, but now it is called Bazaar. It was the first bicycle race I ever attended. I was 14. I’ve won this race lots of times. The claim to fame of this race is the wind. It is very windy always.
The registration is at a Mason’s Hall. Super old, wood floors, middle of nowhere. The race in in the middle of the Flint Hills. The main attraction in this area is that Knute Rockne died in a plane crash very near by.
Historically, this is the time they burn the fields in the Flint Hills. I’ve ridden this race where you can barely see the rider in front of you sometimes. Plus, usually there is a motorcycle rally that rides through the hills, so there are 100’s of motorcycles on the road. It’s a pretty weird environment for bicycle racing.
Anyway, the race is going on right now. The conditions are usually brutal. I’ve ridden in hail many times here. Gutter riding is always prevalent. I just checked out the weather there. Looks like a pretty typical Bazaar day. I can hardly wait to hear the results.
Check out the wind speed. Pretty nuts.
