As it was in the beginning..., Part II

Photos and results are HERE.  You should look at the pictures, because it was such a neat day to ride in the woods.  

In the first race of the season, gunnar did an extra 7 miles and I beat him. teehee. In yesterday's last race of the season, he did an extra 12 miles, and I beat him again. teehee. (I know that's mean, but if you know gunnar, you know I've gotta take what I can get.)

The race was 38 miles of infamous Big Bear singletrack, followed by 12 miles of "jeep roads." I do believe many people suffered more on those jeep roads than in the whole previous 38 miles. They were pretty gnarly, indeed, but darn near perfect for a singlespeed 29'er, especially of the Cannondale variety. gunnar was privledged enough to do about 24 miles of jeep roads, a consequence of missing a turn, and then following arrows for the previous week's Poker Run. ooopeee.

Ma and Pa Shogren were about to head out into the woods to look for the MIA gunnar.

I am soooo happy I raced. I felt like extreme crud in the morning (that darn sore throat did not make itself scarce as I had hoped) and the smart part of me said not to race. But, as you can probably guess, the cycle-dumb side of me took over, and I figured I might as well be miserable riding a bike instead of being miserable at home while my friends are out cavorting around in the woods. Besides, I had all day Sunday to be sick. So, I raced and as I cruised through the misty pines, I definitely knew I had made the right decision. And, here it is Sunday, and I've spent most of the day like this:

At least I have good company!

Our buddy FatBoy did splendidly, and although he didn't get to finish the final 12 miles of Jeep Roads, he was still riding strong and happy. And that's the important thing!

Good Job, JR!!!! We're looking forward to more races with you next year.

And so, the mountain bike season comes to a close. sniff sniff. Thank you very much to Rob and Matt and the other fine folks of Sobe-Cannondale for helping to make it such a fun and successful season.

Our bikes certainly served us well throughout many many miles, and we will no doubt put many more miles on them this winter. But first, here's a hint of what's next...