State CX Championships

Sunday was State CX Champs at SIR! DJ came through with a wicked-good course that never really seemed to let up. Good mixtures of off-camber grass and dirt, hard turns on and off gravel, 2 run-ups, infield barriers for spectating, off-camber mud downhill and a bumpy section running behind the start/finish line left everyone tuckered out. A work party Saturday night did most of the work, so Sunday morning we only had "the pit" to clean and a few sections to tape (Rory panicked a bit at 8:30 when the whole grass straightaway wasn't done yet, but Joe Bar pulled through!). A crack team of registrars kept the lines short as people rolled in.
In the first race Jason took 2nd for a pretty bit of bling bling (I think you should get it cut into pieces and get it mounted on your teeth like grillz) and Beth took an awesome 4th. Karen looked like she was riding hard and enjoying the course too!

Andrew was our man in green for the 10am race and put that mtn bike to good use. In the mud where everyone else was sketching, he just swooped through. The 11am race went off super fast compared to the first two. J and Matt were both near the front as the pack moved through the s/f and both held on strong for the rest of the race (J 8th, Matt 20th).

For 1p, Dan and Thad rep'd the singlespeed and Dan claims that chipotle beef sticks are the new gu, but I'm going to have to stick to my cliff bars... Greg and I both had front row seats to the start and when the whistle blew, it was on. I was sandwiched between two rad racing kids, but thankfully they pulled pretty hard and I sat in 4th wheel as we made the first turn, then dropped to 6th past the s/f, Greg was only a few bikes behind. In the first lap there were something like 3 or 4 crashes, so I was super happy to be up near the front. Greg passed me at the end of the first lap with a nice butt pat and an Ethridge-esque "nice race", but I got him again just after the steep rideup since he flatted and went for a 3k jog. Sucks because he was chilling in 4th place and probably would have held on... anywho, i got 12th and greg recovered to 18th/26. Not sure how the s/s fared, but Thad was laying on the ground and coughing after the race and dan went to first aid with a 3" laceration across his shin (Dan 7th, Thad 8th). Looked like good cx to me!

Big up to Wilbur, the team cheerleader who stuck around all day to keep everyone psyched as well as all the Joe Bar people who came to help and weren't racing. Also thanks to DJ for a rad course and getting the Joe Bar name out there.


-jeremy

Woolley Cross

Whew, i am as the french say, "le tired". Saturday, Greg and I rallied up to Sedro-Woolley for part 3 of the Cascade Cross series. The course was long and pretty much non-technical. Lots of wide turns and a super long straightaway through grass with a hidden inch of water under the blades to make everything soggy. Also some gravel paths, 2 slippery uphills, a nice steep run-up and a bit of muddy farmland for good measure. We did a Le Mans start with the master Bs, with the women and SS 1 min behind. Greg rocked it, coming in 4th and I was a bit behind in 11th/19. The fun part for me was ending up mid-race near this dude from Cycle U who kept attacking, trying to get away, and I didn't let him go until the last lap. I think he burned way too much energy b/c he was darn near the back on Sunday's race.

-jeremy

SCX #6, Bremerton

yeehaw.
sorry i didnt make it to the earlier races, a lack of prep on the ferry almost kept me from my own race.
looked like jason did well in 7th.
in the masters 3, j took 16th and matt and thad got 25 and 26.
beth took 14th in her field and sounded happy after her race.
in the 3s, greg got 22 and i came in 33.
brandon was the joe bar star of the day in 3rd place in ss and dan not far behind in 6th.
big props to matt for helping greg and i out as we rushed to check in and to everyone who yelled at us.
the course was fast except for the deceivingly thick mud in the field, lots of cool twists and turns mixed with power sections made sure that everyone got a chance to show their strengths (and weaknesses).
word up yallz, anyone up for wolley cross next sat?

SCX #5, Donida Farms

sweet muddy cx racing! i dont remember all the results off the top of my head, but here are some:
jason rocked it for 3rd in the master men 4
j was upper mid-pack?
matt wasn't feeling super -psyched and decided to cut the insanity short mid-race (I don't blame him a bit!)
beth kicked total a$$ to take 4th (and apparently 3rd yesterday!)
in SS brandon got 7th and thad and dan were somewhere behind him racing next to.....
the taco! greg wore my halloween costume, a giant taco, and got mad props all race (except when he rode into the cucina tent and knocked it over!), taking 35th and I suffered immensly during my race taking 50th. i do have to admit that i was really really excited when i saw craig comming out of the woods behind me and passing me in the muddy bit, eliminating 1 more lap of muck for me :)
we had a sweet cheering section going for the 2:30 race.
see y'allz next weekend.
-jeremy