Chequamegon!

Some things I brought back from Chequamegon:

- a renewed passion for an event that I have been doing on and off for, like, forever! With my very last minute decision last year to sit out the race to give my body a rest, I had somehow forgotten how incredible it feels to be part of this event, and not just a spectator. I had so much fun in the race!
- a sense of how great a sunny, dry Chequamegon weekend is, and can be, compared to a rainy one. having a rainy one made me appreciate the good years so much more! the rain sent everyone scurrying back to their cabins instead of hanging out after the race and making plans to go out later on in the evening. if you didn't catch them after the race, you may not be able to meet up with them again later, because most people's phones don't work in Cable.
- a nasty cold/sinus infection thing that has gotten worse before it has gotten better.
- a sense of impending doom that summer is over and fall is upon us.
- a sense of relief that I wasn't around for all the flooding and downpours that we had at home.
- some t-shirts and pint glasses
- going to the awards ceremony and watching the slide show gives you an appreciation for all that is Chequamegon. seeing that the second place woman in the Short and Fat is 51 and the third place woman is 58 (!!) gives you an idea of what is possible, and is inspiring! and both these women pull off results like that year after year.... how do they do that?
- never take our racing for granted. we forget how lucky we are to have Chequamegon, WORS, and WEMS within driving distance! when people from other places come and do this race, they can't believe how well run Chequamegon is, how great the people are, and how much enthusiasm for riding there is out there on the trail, found in all shapes and sizes of people and bikes. someone who lives in Colorado and does the race told me how people from other places react when they first do the race. this applies to sponsors from out of state, too.

and, as a side note, my friend tells me that mtb racers (or former mtb racers) in Boulder that came from the Midwest fondly reminisce about how wonderful the WORS series is, and how it is the best race series in the country. we forget that!