Cyclocross State Championship racing

On the way out the door this morning, for the State Championship Cyclocross race at Polk middle school, T almost didn't take his second bike. But since he's finished two races on his pit bike this year, and Murphy's law seems to be a theme for this season, he decided to bring it along.

Lucky for him, he didn't need it--except as a warm up on the mud, sand, and grass course. A clean bike is a faster bike, and when the sprinklers are on the night before (at this time of year?) it's nice to warm up on your 'other' bike, and save the real deal for the race. Apparently, the sprinkler water froze in the night, and the early racers had to race on icy grass. By the time T started, the ice had melted and the grass was wet. Riding through wet grass, then into a sand pit makes for an awfully dirty bike...

When I asked him if Murphy's Law came into effect today (since it has been a season of such) he said, "Oh no, but I over cooked a bunch of corners because I forgot my prescription glasses and I couldn't judge the distance." He ended up getting the course marking tape tangled up in his handlebars twice, lost momentum, and probably lost a couple of places, too.

In the end, he placed 5th in his Age Group.
Most of all, though, "it was just fun!"

Now it's time to put up the cyclocross bike (although sometimes it doubles as a commuter), and start studying for finals (T, not me, thank goodness!). The way law school works is that they give you a whole semester of education, then one "high stakes" test at the end, for each course. I expect T's nose will be buried in books for the next two weeks....

I, on the other had, will be writing cards, mailing out packages, and trying to think of the best present ever (!) for T and my sister.

After all the end-of-year fuss is over, we are both dreaming of a warm weather vacation...