Krosstoberfest!

(very muddy after a not-so-muddy race)

Headed down to San Dimas with my Bike Station teamie, Courtney. We had a fun adventure on the way down... drove through the middle of an airshow, saw a plane being followed by two helicopters, and we only got lost twice due to navigational neglect (we don't need to mention who was navigating).

We arrived a bit later than planned but kept with our agenda to check out the race course before going to our host house. The only problem was that the cross park was dark and the gates were closed. However, after a bit of searching for a parking spot and with a couple of flashlights in hand, we set out to scope the course -- nighttime cross!!! The course was very tricky in the dark and there were some added obstacles with all the critters running around. The bunnies didn't bother us so much, but when we encountered a skunk with it's tail up we decided to call it a night. We made our way over to our host house to be greeted by 3 seeing eye dog failures (super nice dogs... they just didn't make the cut) and two very nice hosts who set us up in their villa out back.

The rest of the weekend was spent hanging out at Krosstoberfest -- riding the course, cheering on family and friends, and racing! Both courses wound around on power sapping grass, with some twists and turns through the trees, and a stair step run-up. Saturday also had some gratuitous mud... just a pit of slop that made a mess but it wasn't really a muddy cross race. Both days were similar as far as the races went. Somehow I got the hole shot which was nice after having terrible starts at the USGP. I ended up leading most of the first lap but eventually ended up in second slot with a gap ahead and a gap behind. Two podiums and lots of UCI points! yay! Courtney also had a redundant weekend with two 7th place finishes (but oh so close to 6th on day 2) -- her first UCI points!! nice! My dad-n-law had the best weekend with two top podiums in the masters and C rocked the juniors and then had a nice showing in the 123's on day 2 despite some bike woes. All in all, a fun weekend of racing. It's nice that there is a promoter on the west coast who is willing to put on a UCI weekend. I know it is a lot of extra hassle and expense, but it brings out good competition and gives the west coast racers a chance to earn some points for a good starting spot at nationals. Thanks Dot!

(big rainbow)

The drive home was another adventure -- with rainbows, beautiful skies, crazy NC drivers, and a bit of panic... The gas was getting low as we hit the CA valley, but we decided to wait until the light turned on to minimize our stops... so we pass exit after exit. Meanwhile the light turns on, but the navigator is unaware of this turn of events so makes no mention of the big gas exit coming up. As we pass the turnoff with no gas for miles and miles ahead, it becomes clear that we made a big mistake! However, after a little detour, some drafting off semis, and a lot of panic (as the gas needle was below the lowest line) we made it! The rest of the drive home was smooth sailing with good tunes!

(pretty skies)