The crime: one cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream. The time: return gifts for an hour and a half. The crime: two large, iced gingerbread men. The time: take down outdoor Christmas lights for an hour. The crime: inhaling a turkey dinner with sweet potatoes, stuffing and gravy, green bean casserole and cranberry sauce finished with pumpkin pie, all washed down with three mugs of “fortified” eggnog: The time: one cyclocross race.
Work off those holiday calories in almost no time by joining “Cross into 2013” this coming Sunday, December 30th.
They are celebrating the New Year at a new venue for the SoCalCross Prestige Series. The Baja Beach club is a private park facility with a spectacular view overlooking Irvine Lake from Lakeview Park just east of the City of Orange. It offers all the good things a beach picnic provides without all the hassles. This beach themed oasis features colorful shade cabanas surrounded by white sand and palm trees. It’s even decorated with surfboards, beach service shacks and umbrellas. The Beach Club is a great setting for a corporate luau and promises to be even better for a CX event.
The Baja Beach Club is conveniently located just off Santiago Canyon Road. Note that this is not part of the fishing lake itself. For directions and a map, visit SoCalCross.org. The Google Maps address is: 5305 Santiago Canyon Road, Orange, CA 92676.
As usual, there will be a full, exciting day planned. This is the penultimate round (race 17 of 18) of the 2012-13 SoCalCross season, so the racing is sure to be intense. The day starts at 8:30 with a free Beginner’s Clinic, followed immediately by a First Timer race. Class championship points will be on the line from 9 a.m. through 4 p.m. There’s a class for everyone. Don’t have a CX bike? Rentals are available on a first-come/first-served basis.
In addition to pulse-pounding on-course action, there will be music, food, a race expo and much more to make it a fun day for everyone. And it’s all free for spectators!
Perhaps you could instead use money you saved on parking to help send Team SoCalCross Junior/Under 23 riders to the USA Cycling National Cyclocross Championships in Madison, Wisconsin, next month. This is a talented group of young riders who deserve their chance to represent SoCal at that prestigious event.
It’s time to close out 2012 in style. It would be a crime to miss “Cross into 2013”!
For complete details, check out SoCalCross.org.
By Phil Beckman/PB Creative
Photo © Christy Nicholson / EchelonDesignPhoto.com
