I’m beat and haven’t even raced. This bike race watching is pretty energy intensive. Way more so than preparing for a race and then racing. I guess maybe I’m just not trained for watching. This watching thing has been great at times, just okay at times, and downright miserable at times. I do enjoy the interaction of all my friends and others. It amazes me all the people that will come up and approach me and talk about everything I’ve been doing recently. It seems like everyone is just as interested in roofing as riding. Pretty weird. Pretty cool really. We’re staying in Bend with a Paul Biskup. I haven know Paul since high school. He is from Kansas City. When he was in high school, used to ride from Kansas City to Lawrence (my one semester at KU), with a couple bottles of wine in his jersey pocket, and stay the weekend with me. He rode with me on the Levi’s Team. I was thinking about it, and Paul is the only common denominator of the most time whenI have been passed out drunk. He does have other talents now that he’s grown up, but he still can drink beer. Today is the last day of Nationals. The course is changing up each day, hour by hour. From being frozen ice in the morning to wet, rocks in the afternoon. The KCCX guys yesterday flatted 8 tires. That could be a issue in the elite race this afternoon. Hope not.

Paul and I resting from the watching effort.

KCCX garage. 30+ something bikes.

The race is over. I hated watching the Elite race. For two reasons. The course wasn’t that spectator friendly, so it was frustrating not being able to see the moves. And two, I wasn’t racing.

Tim Johnson started riding conservative on the last lap he had such a lead. The course was changing up and getting slick in the last afternoon hours.

Katie Compton lead from start to finish. Nothing new there.

Catherine and Laura Van Gilder. Laura was riding great on a course that didn't suit her. She fell with a 1/3 of a lap to go and lost her shit. She regrouped to finish 5th and the last podium slot. Super race.

The primal drum beat responated through the course. It drove the competitors much the same as the beer wagon in the background.