More pix

I took some pictures at the NC state fair early in the morning. I also took a few pictures while I was home last weekend. Here are some of them:




I went to the fair with Joel and Herc Nasty, Joel walked through my shot so I got to blur him:

cross

Today was the first race of the NCCX series. I think I finished 6th in the pro 1/2 winning the collegiate category. The end of October is usually when the legit 'cross racers are starting to get their racing legs under them, and this was my third race weekend in a row. This year I am not a legit cross racer. Earlier today:





The first weekend of racing the collegiate cats ran with the pro 1/2 race, I finished 5th or 6th winning the college race. Day two was slightly worse, 8th in the pro 1/2 and 2nd in college. Then I flew back to New England, where the cross scene is significantly better. Saturday I raced poorly and finished 9th or so in the pro 1/2 and Sunday it rained all day and I lost feeling in most of my body. I finished 5th. There were no collegiate categories.







Photo credits on the first two go to Kai, and the last three are Giana's. Thanks for sharing.

a few more

A few more for the 'Raleigh' collection. I may have adjusted the brightness on one of these, otherwise they've only been reduced to web-friendly dimensions.

This weekend is the first cyclocross race of the season. It's a little later than I would like. I'm hoping for a chance to take some pictures at the races. Suffering on the bike looks better in black and white.

Good morning

While riding this morning I experienced one of those moments that made me remember why I liked riding. The air was cool and dry, finally. It was about 30 minutes after sunrise and the sunlight came in low through the trees. While riding my cyclocross bike on dirt, I felt like a wild animal running through the forest. Alternating rays of warm light and cool shadows from the trees made me feel like I was going faster. As a result I actually went faster. Korpiklaani must have been playing in my head, I'm thinking spirit of the forest. Anyway it was sweet. That's all.