Etta and I got up at six this morning to drive out to Hood River for the Hood River Cyclocross Classic. It was my first race so I rode in the beginner category. We got there a bit late but I was able to ride the course once. It was a really nice setup, pretty fast, dry and dusty. By the time I made it back to the finish line there were probably twenty people lined up for my category.

I started towards the back, against the advice of just about everyone but managed to keep moving up. My technique wasn't great and the setup on my bike needs some tweaking but it wasn't too bad. I had one crash where I couldn't quite clip out soon enough, the bike went into the barrier and I went running off into the bushes. I didn't feel too bad about that because I'd watched another rider miss a foot bridge and end up in the creek. He was alright though.

I couldn't decide if I was dieing by the end or feeling alright but some how I ended up in fourth place. The problem with a little early success is that now I've set a high bar, I'm hoping I can follow it up.

Update: Results are posted.