UPCross - Thank you!

A big thanks goes out to everyone that was a part of UPCross 2010! You put on a great series this year and I'm grateful to have been able to participate. I got to know more & more of you as the series went on and thank you for making a guy not from the U.P. feel so welcome. From the sponsors like, SISU cycles - Matt (&Angie) great conversations with you. Your knowledge of bike design & function is absolutely fascinating I could talk to you forever about it. Very cool.

To the sponsoring bike shops - thanks for getting the participants on their rides for each week -- Caleb at The Bike Shop as well as Down Wind Sports, Quick Stop Bike Shop & Lakeshore Bike.

Chris Schmidt - running an awesome website, keeping the results up & a fun running dialogue each week with the blow by blow of the races & what was upcoming. More than a few races director/organizers could benefit from taking note about building interest & marketing their events like you've done with UPCross. Along with that I definitely should mention again Matt Palomaki who took some great pictures that got posted, and worked Jesse Bell & Michelle on race footage that was made into some awesome youtube music videos.

Race directors -- thank you, thank you -- organizing volunteers, designing & taping off courses. Work that you should never feel goes under appreciated. Myself & alot of others I think I speak for in saying I'm very very grateful for your efforts.

Racers -- Oh, boy -- where can I possibly start. Whether you did the C, B or A races and I got to meet you it was really my pleasure. People riding & racing bikes is a thing of passion and to see such a great community & culture you have leaves me with a positive sort of envy. You've got a great thing going on over there -- fun but competitive and just a great mix of talent. Of the new guys I met Tim K. mixing it up week after week, Dave G. coming on strong at the end of the season, Joey Graci excellent job of hanging in their so long in the Championship round, never thought we'd get rid of you. Ryan T. too a great 3rd place showing at the Championship, not dropping early & playing it tough to the end with T&I. Evan & Mik, Chris Schmidt & Chris Lynch, Tom (& Boonen), Wes when you weren't directing a race -- that's just to name a few of the great racers I met or got to know better this year, sorry if I missed some others you know who you are. That along with the old standbys you'd hear about week in & week out.

Hope give a story of my harrowing adventures of this past weekends UPCross Championship (& that's just the drive to get there) and at long last get up some of the video coverage of races #5 & #7. Stay tuned....