Last weekend we FINALLY got to go racing. We drove up to Iowa City for Jingle Cross. Pretty easy trip up on Thursday and got some time in on the course. It was very similar to last year other than it was very dry and hard packed. With all the loose corners and steep hills we all decided to run our all around Vittoria Terreno Mix tires. The extra grip was much needed. 
Ryan raced first on Friday and had a really good battle for first. The kid he was racing went down in a corner and that sealed the win for Ry so the bar was set for the rest of us. Aubrey raced next in the women’s 1/2 race. She rode a really smooth race and held third until about 1 to go and ran out of steam. She dropped to 5th which was still really good in that field. Paul rode away with his race in the Masters 45-49 against some stiff competition. I was next in the U39(a category change from the norm that really diluted what our field normally is) with Jake starting 30 seconds back in the 40-44. I had no legs on this day and kind of suffered to maintain the whole race and ended up a disappointing second. I didn’t feel great and definitely rode pretty bad. Jake won his race though so I was happy to see him going good. Day2 was pretty similar, I won my race but the guy who beat me on day 1 didn’t race so that was a bummer. Still didn’t ride great but got to battle with Jake some so that was a good motivator. Ryan, Paul, Jake, and myself all took home Jingle Cross Omnium wins and jerseys which was very cool. Especially for Ryry, he is very proud of that jersey as he should be. 
Sunday we went out and got to relax and watch the World Cup. Always so cool to be able to interact so closely with those guys and watch them race. Puts their speed and power into perspective when you can see them ride the same course as you rode. It’s unbelievable how fast they go.
This past weekend we went to the final Tour de Dirt mtb race just to have some fun. It was a really well put on event and it was nice to see so many people we haven’t seen in a while. Being last minute we didn’t get a chance to ride the course so we all went in blind other than the first couple miles. Ry had some troubles but still ended up 4th. Aubrey tried out a Stumpjumper 6fattie for the first time and absolutely loved it! She plowed through the rocks to win her race. I was unsure of myself after not racing mtb for so long and especially not wanting to push too hard and risk getting hurt. I had a lot of fun though and got a bit of a gap halfway through so that I could ride within my limits to keep it upright. My new Specialized Epic is so sweet on that choppy, rocky terrain. Just goes right through it.
This weekend we have the first Oklahoma CX race which kicks off a pretty busy string of racing for us. We are ready though, my family doesn’t do well with not racing on Sundays! Hope to see everyone out in Harrah this Sunday.
Chris drummond 