When it rains it pours...

I should have expected some fun when I read the weather forcast:
High 52, chance of rain, 80%. It should have just said: cold, chance of rain, constant and terrible with a high chance for chaos.

Gammers and I showed true cross spirit finally taking part in everything that is cross. Rain, Cold, Wind, and mud mud mud. Considering this is my first truely muddy experience with mudd and anything other than a trusty 29er I normally ride, I figured the worst that could happen is complete and total distruction. little did I know how accurate that assumption would prove to be. After one single warm up lap, I saught refuge from the blowing devilish weather to change into dry clean stuff and put some warming oil on the legs and really actually warm up before the race. Thank GOD for thermal socks by the way. I made my way to the line with a decent field to shiver our little spendex butts off for a few seconds then, boom, off we went.

Of course i had a worse start than I wanted, but I ended up hitting the first turn (a slight right hander transitioning from pavement to grass) I soon realized what I was in for for the next 59 minutes... literally in, up to my ankles, in mudd. I found myself hitting the deck in the first 180 with about 10 others. Needless to say they didnt have kind words for me. "o.k. lets see here, there are 9 other people here b*** lets blame this one of the others here. Yeah its all my fault. Shut the heck up!" i ended up working my way back through the pile of muddy bodies and slippy slidyness to finally make my way in the first BIG chase group. Awsome right? WRONG! I am officially NEVER riding in a group of guys when we are well on our way to the second heavenly flood to eradicate mankind. I found my way quickly off the front of the group on my own for what would now prove to be the remainder of the race all the while finding SOME way to get in a should bumping contest with a nice oak tree that unkindly hopped in front of me on a muddy technical section of the course. JERK. I will say something I learned... and take my words from experience. DO NOT get in a conflict with an oak tree. Especially a punching contest. They hit back a lot harder than you expect. BELIEVE ME on this one!

Now shoulder and knee-less I made my way through what was the remaining few minutes of the race for what I think was 12th place. Suprisingly I was happy with the race being my first mudd caked in teeth and private parts style run at cross. I was able to put A HUGE gap between the guys I have normally finished with in the past so that is at least proving that either A) they need to ride in the mudd more or B) I am actually getting more fit doing the workouts I am being told to do... Hopefully the latter is valid. After grabbing a lovely cup of starbucks caramel americano, chocolate covered grahams, and rolling around in a puddle in the parking lot to remove what I could of the mud that had found it's way into every crack and cranny of my body gammers and I return to Ox-vegas to return the life away from being super hero's! Sad I know. Seth and I partook in a lovely early christmas exchange involving his Great Lakes Christmas ale, which as a friend of mine put it "is full of all wintery goodness and holiday cheer" , and my Hussmans pretzel rods! What a rockin night! I love my suckwalter! Prohst!

As for now, I have just endured a three hour monday evening class that I have just realized I am about 5 weeks behind in and most likely am going to fail miserably, that nearly cost me my sanity and at points throughout the night nearly caused me to jump off a bridge... If there were one within, i dunno, 20 miles, that was actually high enough to do damage, I would most likely have done what everone else would have... pushed acted like we were going to jump so she may send us to a therapist rather than making us endure the hell that is EDT 423! yay for Education courses that arent transferring. Good thing I had my cyclesport america magazine to keep me company. I read the entire thing and class still had 20 minutes to go. Good thing I had my buddy John who just had eye surgery and was sporting some very Terminator like glasses to class along with a very humerous vicoden influenced personality. It's not every day you get in an in depth conversation among the class (including the professor) regarding global warming, the death penalty, and committing yet avoiding being charged with felonious actions as minors! I love my life. Things just got a little more interesting in the life of Dave (outside of the bike and school) in which most of you have no clue as to what it pertains to. So if your in my circle of trust, feel free to stop by and chat, it's quite the interesting position to find myself in 4 weeks before moving 7 hours away!

Have a lovely evening. I feel like death and have a 3 hour slugfest planned with my bike tomorrow! YAYA! by the way I guess I spell awsome wrong. At least thats what this unbelievably GORGEOUS friend thats a girl of mine told me last night. About 1500 times. Oh well! You have to lose some to win some. Something like that. Whatever. Goodnight!

http://www.truesport.com/Bike/2007/Q4/photos/ovcx137.html
http://www.truesport.com/Bike/2007/Q4/photos/ovcx186.html
http://www.truesport.com/Bike/2007/Q4/photos/ovcx206.html
http://www.truesport.com/Bike/2007/Q4/photos/ovcx216.html
http://www.truesport.com/Bike/2007/Q4/photos/ovcx234.html

we came, we rode, we destroyed... there were no survivors! o.k. maybe a few, but it was AWSOME... i mean, awEsome.