That's All Folks!

Officially, Bubba Cross is done for the year. The State Championships have come and gone and it's now time for the silly season, I guess. I-64 TT, Team Seagal's CXMas, and Cross-Ocalypse are the only events left before I really start to focus on next year. Next year is my year!

First off, let me say that Jeff Yielding and the city of
Hermann put together one of the best races of the year! Very gracious hosts and a tremendous event thanks to Jeff, Dawndi, and their crew from Hermann!!!

Saturday, I raced the B's (along with 11 other dudes who are much faster than me) and finished 10th. I had a good race and kept guys in sight of me the entire time. A good race for me but overall it was very uneventful. I tried different lines and put in a good effort to shake the cobwebs off in preparation for Sunday's state championship race. Two key things I learned on Saturday were that you can ride the uphill, W-shaped run-up section and if you carry enough big mo' you can ride the entire sandpit.

Sunday, the temps were cooler by at least 20 degrees, which put them somewhere in the high 20's to low 30's. Crisp was an understatement. I lined up with the Masters (about 30-35 of us) and actually got one of my best starts of the year. I tucked in around the top 12 or so and really tried to keep my eyes on the other Master 40+ guys. Chris from Big Shark was one of them and I knew he'd be strong (having just taken 2nd place in the C's on Saturday.) We rolled together for the better part of 2 laps before I somehow got around him. I tried to keep putting the pressure on and did until 1 1/2 laps to go when my bike started mis-shifting. I think the old Shimano 9spd stuff has seen better days. Luckily, I had a spare bike in the pits and my teammate, Rick, was there to have it ready for me without too much time lost. The bike change did cost me a little bit of concentration and momentum though, but it wasn't too much in the end.

After the bike change, James Nelson, rolled past me and towed me around for a short while before he busted a move and rode me off his wheel. He's looking super fit and ready to tackle the SS class at Nats this week. I kept hammering in my own little world keeping an eye on the competition. If they got close, I stood and powered up, otherwise I just tried to stay out of trouble. In the end, I held off the guys I wanted to hold off and finished 4th in my class. I really don't know how close 3rd place (and the podium) was from me, but it really doesn't matter. I rode my best race of the season and it was all I could do. In the end, I was pleased with my effort and it gave me something to build on for next year.

Here are a few pics from Mike Dawson and Jeff Yielding.