muddy weekend

Well, I'm a crappy photographer but at least I'm on the best damn team in the west. It almost looked like we were going to have a mud-challenged season of 'cross here in California but this weekend changed that in a big way. Saturday was the deep unmoveable kind of mud that had many racers in shock. There was a ton of running through the deep stuff and it was a challenge just to finish. Simon had a 5th overall place he wanted to hold onto and with the back injury he managed to pull it off (although quite painfully) finishing in the top ten , just ahead of team mates Harting and Kereluk,. Speaking of painful, Shelley hit the deck near the end of her race and is smarting from it in a big way. Josh Snead and Dave Wyandt rode hard and finished 4th and 5th, respectively. This was no mean feat as both the Jaques-Mayne brothers and a certain Barry Wicks showed up in top condition. Dan Harting had an impressive race as bot he and Aaron Kereluk made the top 10. Ben dodge rode aggressively and scored a fine 12th place.Jeff Patton and Rob Evans finished as well on a day when finishing wasn't in the cards for many riders. Julie Brothers captured a podium spot as did Stella and Simon in the overall. On Sunday the rain came down hard in the CCCX at Fort Ord . The ground for the most part was firm but there were some wheel eating ponds that caused a lot of trips over the bars for an unlucky few. Rona Hung, Stella and Julie all placed well in thier respective events, Stella riding her single speed to an impressive 3rd in the Elites. Larry Bullard raced the earliest when the rain was the worst and finished well enough to protect his 5th overall on the G.C. Dave and Josh repeatedly attacked Justin Robinson early in the elite race only to get fould up in a muddy crash, letting Robinson loose to ride to the win. Still, two spots in the top three is outstanding at this level of racing. Ben Dodge had another great race just missing the top ten.