my 2011 mn cx championships experience

rode in the cx championships today. i didn't finish DFL, but i was RFC to the end. i was about 1/2 way through my last lap when i heard the announcers call the winners. i can't complain because this was my first bike race of the year. i was a little tentative on some of the grassy turns on my first two laps, but i handled the transitions really smoothly. the stairs are always a killer because they're randomly spaced and it's hard to establish a rhythm, so you just gut it out and allow your steps to syncopate and unsyncopate, randomly.

anyway, b, my youngest daughter came along and snapped a few photos of me. here's my story:

 in the staging area at the start, i'm chatting it up with, what i believe to be the only other single-speeder in the race. we ended up battling it out for a couple of laps, but i eventually pulled away from him.

 getting ready to grind up the hill... this is a mean course because right in the middle of the hill they send you on a zig zag that steals any momentum you thought you had.

 just past said zig-zag!

 the course loops around and here i get to go down the hill i'd fought my way up only just 1/3 of a lap before.

 and then there's the stairs. these classic stairs have become a mn cyclo-cross tradition.

 the stairs on another lap.

and... i'm done. this was a fun day AND i completed my race before the snow fell. the experts will be cranking through an epicly snowy state championships for the second year in a row. thanks to @smithersmpls and his promotion and setup teams for putting on this race. it's an awesome event.