Well that’s the season. I had fun, think I improved, and managed to race every weekend. Two weeks ago was at St. Olaf, my alma mater, so it was nice and familiar. The hill pictured on the left was great, and allowed me to climb my way up the field which set me up for a fairly strong finish for this season. Frustratingly I got lapped right at the end without realizing it and drifted over the finish, expecting one more lap only to be done. Cross can be confusing!

State – with the the infamous water hand off. First, after feeling cut short at the St. Olaf race, I decided to bump myself to the 45 min race for the first time just for kicks. I know those guys are out of my league for now, but I figured what the heck and aimed for above DFL. As Ladric said, it was muddy and very slick in spots which made for a crazy course. I went down on the first muddy patch, which set the tone for the next 45 minutes. One little hill after the sand pit I couldn’t even manage to run without falling on my face it was so slick! Note for next year: toe spikes please. Clawing your way up with your hands in the mud does have a certain appeal to it though.

Ladric’s award winning water hand off happened on the 4th lap after a muddy section, which had packed my tires with slick goo and must have set me up for problems when I hit smooth pavement. I got the water, then got a push-off which somehow turned into a launch! Off the bike, onto the blacktop, and I lost my chain. No one was there to witness the event as far as I know, let alone record it, but here is a video that I consider an adequate re-creation of events. Anyway, I bounced back (hey that wasn’t the first time I was on the ground that day) and kept ridding for an above DNF race. Of course it was still DFL but hey, that’s a battle for next year.

Overall, the crowd was great, the sand pit was a blast, and the course was sweet. The hole-shot race was a fun bonus at the end. Great season everyone.