Dust It Off

First off, HUGE congratulations to David, the proud recipient of a newly printed MU Mechanical Engineering Degree. Mom, Dad, Anna, Scott, Jess and I were all able to go down to Columbia Saturday to watch him walk and then celebrate. Massive quantities of steak were consumed, followed by plenty of homemade cookies and desserts. Then mom and dad split for home, we picked up Schottler, and went out to drink the night away. Everyone had a blast.

It was perfect preparation for CXMAS, the end end of season non race concoction developed by Dr. Evil Gino Felino. A brain and belly full of Moose Drool, five hours sleep, an awesome free continental breakfast, and a two hour drive had me in high spirits for the noon start.

I dusted off the MTB race bike for this one but was much too lazy to try to mount up any CX type tires (I don't have any). When I arrived the parking lot was packed and people were pouring in. We all registered up and before long we were off down the Hamburg and in to Lost Valley. Whiskey and egg nog greeted us along the way. I tried my best to keep up with all the skinny tires and big rings, but it was tough. I found myself alone a lot of times while I think a lot of folks were working together. That was cool though as I saw and spoke with a number of different folks. Some folks treated this as a race, some as a fun ride. I think I finished somewhere between 20 and 30 of 130 riders. But luckily that wasn't the only reason to come out. It was so that all could get together and ride and have a good time. That was certainly accomplished.

Read a poetic account here, pics included. Results here. Prize stuff here.