Its been fun...

I wrapped up the Mtbking race year at Elk River this past weekend. This is the first time I have ever cheated in a mtbk race: I had an aero advantage. The photos below are from Matt Weissenborn at www.studiohdr.com...totally awesome pics.

So that is it... the season is done and it really went by quickly. I ended up doing ~35 races, which is plenty given the other things on my plate, and I felt relatively fresh at the end of the year, which isn't always the case.
I would sum up my season like this: it was muddy often, and we did a lot of racing in less than ideal conditions. I am definitely stronger and stand a better chance against the competition in dry warm conditions. That said, I was pleasantly surprised with my results. I am still not the mud rider that some of my competition like SamO and Jack are, but I am a better mud rider than I was a year ago!

Next, I have to thank several people/groups for their support:
First and foremost I have to thank my wife, kids, and dad for being there. It doesn't happen w/out me not feeling guilty or being stressed about racing.
Secondly, my sponsors were fantastic. It is no accident that I had very little equipment or nutrition trouble this year. Trek and Bontrager set me up w/ the best equipment in the world (I have said enough about this already =), Rochester Cycling and Fitness (stop in and see them if you are ever in Roch...awesome store), and Penn (especially Tyson at the Bloomington store) helped out on maintenance and the little stuff, and Gu (the Roctane Rocks!) kept my muscle glycogen above zero most of the time.
Finally, I want to thank the MNMBS for stepping it up to be one of the premier mountain bike series in the nation. You do not get enough praise and thanks for what you all do.

See you on the trails...snowy or otherwise.