Kruger Cross '09 - Final Cx of the Year!

Two weekends ago (yes, I'm late with my posting!) was my final cyclocross race of the year. Sniff. My mom was in town - so I have plenty of good pics to post (and also a few that came from other's Facebook collections). Sunday morning the wind was howling and it was pouring rain, and I was seriously questioning whether or not racing sounded like a good idea. But then my friends Michelle & Stacy called to see if I would be racing and I said "yes" - so I figured showing up was a good idea if they were hauling themselves out to Sauvie's Island to cheer.

The race was SO hard - definitely the hardest of the year, but I ended up in 3rd place! The course itself was not hard, but it had been raining for 2 days straight and the course was about 5-inches deep in thick, peanut-buttery, mud that gummed up your bike like crazy! By my last lap my tires had actually stopped rolling, but my bike was too heavy with mud to pick up - so I actually had to stop and clean mud out of my brakes and gears by hand before I could get it moving again. Enjoy these last pics of the season!

Pre-race bib pinning at the car.

Warming up in the grass near the start-line.

Running through the tree-section on the first lap.

A shot of the mud.Approaching a barrier on the course.
Splashing into a puddle on the other side of a barrier.
A great shot of the pumpkin fields we were riding through - it was really beautiful!

Riding through the tree section on lap 2.

I'm sort of small in this picture - but I'd like to point out my friend, Michelle, running along the course with Jr. Cheer Squad member, Lowe (purple blob), on her front (also notice beer clutched expertly in right hand while running - nice work!)

Pushing my bike through the dang mud on my way out of the corn-maze portion of the course.

The only non-muddy section of the course - it was such a relief to get here for a brief rest each lap!

Somehow I'm still smiling....

More running with my bike when the mud was too thick to keep the wheels moving.

Look of death I gave my mom as she heckled me post-race. I was NOT in the mood.

But I recovered quickly once I'd had a moment to catch my breath and get a drink of water! =)Overall it was a really fun day - the weather cleared up for the race and it was quite pleasant!