How much fun can one person have?

Snow, mud, dirt, sand....I think that I am in love.

With Saturday's race we had it all. It was the second race of the On the Cross series and once again, Big Tom Hall has come up with a great race course. We set up the course on Friday, knowing that it was going to be fun. Flowing singletrack, pavement, sand, a very quick jaunt onto the beach and a couple of barriers make up the 2.3 mile course. We got some imput from guys out riding it and went home for the night.

Wake up and there is white stuff everywhere. This is going to be good. I show up and started helping out with registration and then get pulled to do some quick course maintance and marshalling. I run back over and grab my numbers, that right, I am going to double up this weekend. I have now doubled my races for the year within 3 hours.

I line up with 42 hearty and quality guys for the BDDL race and the whistle blows. It starts off fast down the service road, I once again, sitting in about 39th place and hit the first barrier and everyone comes to a screaching halt. I tell my teammate Scott, let's count guys that we pass today. One by one, we start picking off guys that are off the trail, fixing dropped chains and falling down. We get back to the start/finish area and deciede that we will start racing for Ding Dongs since that is what they were giving away after the race. Then some dude on a mtb tries to pass us in the barriers. He falls down in front of us and then falls again down the little dip onto the beach. I go past him and then Scott drops his chain and I try to wait but nobody is coming back to me so I press on.

Lap 2 and I start picking off guys with issues. I am catching guys in the muddy singletrack, catching guys at the barriers and catching guys on the road. Lap 3 and 4 are just a tongue wagging, mud in the teeth from smiling good time. At the end of the cold, muddy, wet and fun race I finish 27th.....how is that even possible? Since round is a shape, that is all I have at this point. Brian finished 17, Ron was 19th and Scott was 31st.

Scott also toed the line in the 35 Open class and stayed on the lead lap and finished 24th in his first foray to that category. Congrats to him becuase that class is uber fast.

The second race was 2.5 hours later in the single speed category. It was a small group of 7 but we took a rolling start and then ramped it up. I sat at the back with Big Tom and we had a really good time. My legs were toast but it was great to be out again. Tom took the sprint to the line in 5th and me in 6th place....truly my best finish of the year!!!

I did not get out for Sunday's foray into the snow but heard it was again epic. But you can read all about it here.

I want to give a big shout out to my buddy, Anthony Carcella (surfamtn over at the RBR board) He rides for Rocky Mounts and we have battled the past couple of years for top 20's. This year he is just killing it. With a 4th place down at On the Cross #2 and a 3rd place at Sunday's race, he is peaking for States this week. Tony, we will have Duvel after the race Sunday...come find us and we will hook you up!!!