Robidoux Roundup... wrapped up

What a wonderful day for a mtb race!... temp at start of registration was 59 degrees but felt very comfortable and there was just enough breeze to keep the bugs at bay all day.

As you can see from this picture... we had a wonderful turnout.  I'm going to say we had easily around 100 participants and quite a few spectators cheering us on.  Thanks by the way to all of those whom yelled my name in encouragement... it was heard & appreciated.  There were also quite a few supporters from the road biking community and even people I have not riden with in quite some time.  It was also fabulous to see several of the participant's families there.

I originally was thinking it was going to be closer to 7 mile laps and that sport would have to do 3 of them.  So that's what I came prepared to do... race but at the same time finish at my pace, strong, & having fun... and that's just what I did.  As a bonus, there was a few little pieces of trail that would have made for bottlenecks and which they closed off and I think the course was more fun & flowed better because of it.  Then doing only two laps was fine by me.  I'm going to venture to say that all the yocals thought the course was wonderful and I also spoke to several out-of-town participants that thought the same.

St. Joe was very well represented in multiple divisions... and sorry in advance if I get some names wrong.  Here is a shot of Rusty and I in Sport 30-39 at start of the race.  I had such a big grin that my tongue was even sticking out.  It's always a pleasure to watch Rusty kick it in turbo (he's one of the fastest sprinters I've met)... as you can see from how he started behind me and was starting to pass me.  By the way, the guy in the solid red & black jersey was the winner and I came in a close second... and ironically we are both 39 & last year in this competitive division.  I was having so much fun that when ever he and I would go by each other on a turn we'd smile and I even waved a couple of times.  Rusty finished third and not far behind me.  It was also awesome to see other yocals do really well... such as Señor Jim Spellman & Greg Goat whom won their respective divisions... way to go guys!  Russ and Randy also did very well and podiumed in their beginner divisions.  Of course, Randy also finished strong in his clydesdale division.  There were others yocals such as Jason & Tim whom did their first mtb race today and after speaking to them, think they enjoyed themselves... at least for the first lap.  ;0)

My son, Manuel, also raced and although there were no other competitors for his division, he pushed super hard and finished two short laps in just five minutes... even after a little wipe out in the woods!

Of course Lansen was missed... dude you would have loved the venue, people, & weather!