MUD AND APPRECIATION

As most of you know I love Cross. I think it is the little kid in me. The muddier it is the more fun it is. Yesterday was a miserable day except for us crossers. We got to the Hillsboro Stadium in Hillboro and it had been raining for days. They were just setting up the course. I don't think they knew what kind of bogs they were sending us through. I pre-rode the course and realized this was not for me. Lots of straight on pavement and gravel, no real cornering in the mud, one high speed dismount, at least two run ups. Everything I am don't like. I started pretty good 5Th or 6Th and waited for things to fall out. The first lap I rode everything but the two runs ups and the barriers. When Ron Passed me running somewhere in the middle of the race I realized that I had better get of the bike and run like hell. So I did the last two laps. It paid off and I was a very close third. Steve was a second behind but I had been closing in on Joe who was second. My change from hating the course to loving the mud was the small difference. The photo above taken by Chris doesn't do the mud justice. Yesterday, when I was in the midst of my final sprint (for me a sprint starts with at least one lap to go) I heard some new voices, Damian, James and Veronica. They rushed to get to see me race. The extra support they offered helped me keep the edge, and whoever yelled at me to sprint even harder at the end I owe my bronze medal to.
I also owe my medal to all the other the racers in the 50 to death category. It is more fun to race with competitors around for sure. I collect my OBRA medals because they are a tribute to my hard work and to all the other racers and their hard work.

This other photo is is of Chris Sheppard. He is sponsored by Santa Cruz (not a bike we sell) but he comes to us when he needs a hand. He appreciates us, in fact he put our name on his bikes. How cool is that? Barb built him some wheels the other day and he came in saying he didn't sleep at night thinking about his wheels. This guy is an old pro and he still gets excited about wheels. It makes it worthwhile.