Boulder/Laramie

The kids cheering.

The bell ringing cheering section. That fuzzy face is Robby, now clean again.

Todd Wells the easy winner. Easy no.

Trebon and Johnson trying to chase down Wells.

Wells Johnson and Trebon heading into the last lap.

Todd Wells made the sand look to easy!

Chris on the barrier section.

Chris got behind the wrong guy in the sand pit.

This is how the big boys ride the sand.

Chris having fun. Pro road racer Matt Shriver leading the chase.

If sand wasn't enough there was this steep gravel climb. Chrispy looking good. Single speeder on the right, belt driven.

Race Start! The watts are flying!

Chrispy looks good on the second row with the big boys.

Front row call up, all the studs, Bishop, Powers ,Johnson ,Wicks ,Wells and Wells

Tree farms call up number one.

Xen with his highly guarded pile.

Betty and the kids trunking and treating. There were a ton a people at the church.

Xen, Clair and Hanna ready for the big night.

Some home grown pumpkin carving with Claire

Betty and I had a great time at Jill's. I talked them into a quick trip over the Boulder for the national Cyclocross race, about 130 miles away. There is a discount mall in Longmont, close to Boulder so it wasn't to hard a sell. We got there and the weather was great, 76 degrees and we found the race area just on are way into town. It was very cool to get there and walk around the team tents and get to see the race bikes up close and talk to some of the pro's. You can see from the pictures the course was a big sand pit. I don't know how they ride through it, but you can't believe how much power they put down to get it. The course was by Boulder reseviour and it was a gravelly, sandy, goat head infested impossible track. We watched the pro women and Georgia Gould was in a different race than the rest, what a power house and no strain on the face. She makes it look so easy. I got a close look at her Obrea cx bike and it is really ugly. Al. frame and a shock to all serious racers, she rides on clinchers, Maxiss, probably because they don't make a tubular. Local ladies did well, Kathy Sherwin and Chris from Kriegs was impressive. The pro men is always a treat to watch. I got to talk to the Tree, and stand by his Kona special, this is the truth, his seat tops out at my mid thorax. The seat post is about 18 inches long. I talked to Todd Wells at the GT tent and since I read his blog I said hi to Meg his wife and she looks at me like how do you know my name. Todd was great and we had a good laugh about blogging. I talked to her several times during the race and she appreciated the support of Todd. Local star Chris Petrazak (Chrispy got the call up number 14) he looked right at place with all the big time pro's. Wells, Trebon, Johnson and Powers were off and gone and I was amazed at how they powered through the sand. Trebon was really sick but he is so strong. He was covering everyone's move until the end when Todd Wells got away for good. It was a blast and Jill, Robby and the kids had a great time. The kids played in the water and had a ball. The equipment is fun to look at and so varied. Most CX bikes are not the beauties of the road but can take a beating. Probably the most impressive thing was Travis Brown riding a sad looking Trek single speed with no chain, belt driven. The guy has full beard missing teeth and is one strong dude, top twenty both days. We had a great Halloween with Jill's kids, pumpkins, trunk or treat and home party. I got to spend some time at the law school and see how my daughter lives. Hard work and alot of hours. She got home at 7 am one day after an all nighter, 2 hours of sleep and off to take a test. The kids are growing and it was fun to be with them. Hope you are all well and riding safely. I still can't ride so I'm into the serious running again. I can see another marathon in the future. I still want Boston. Doug