Moose Cross from the racer’s side of the tape

Now that the dust has settled (literally) from the 5th Annual Moose Cross Cyclocross Festival, the crew in Victor, ID deserves huge THANKS for putting on another great event. The core crew at Victor Velo, along with volunteer efforts from the Fitzgerald's Bicycles Team and others in the community, rallied to put on an incredible standalone event headquartered at Victor’s Ice Arena.

Before moving to Boise, I was on the organizer’s side of the course tape for the first four years of this event so it was really fun to experience Moose Cross as a racer for a change. At various times throughout the weekend I tried to pitch in where I could but Victor Velo truly had everything under control. JayP did let me help him setup the “Grassy Knoll” on Friday afternoon so I got my fix of course design this year.

Some might ask, “I can race cross close to home so why would I travel all the way to Victor, ID?” In my opinion, the number one reason is that Victor Velo genuinely cares about putting on a quality event and wants every racer to enjoy their Moose Cross experience.

The fact that 120+ (unofficial number) racers turned out again, despite several competing regional events, made me smile. Moose Cross racers were rewarded with the following:

• Two Days of racing in the shadow of the Tetons
• Custom Moose Cross socks to every paid racer on Saturday
• Kate’s Real Food bar to every paid racer on Saturday
• A HUGE Raffle
• Free Kid’s races
• Free Live Music immediately following Saturday’s Men’s Elite race
• Fat Bike keg-pull competition
• Food Vendors
• Beer
• Great prizes for top-three in each category
• Free waffles Sunday morning sponsored by The Bunnery
• Peeto on the mic calling all of the action
• Fitzgerald’s Bicycles sponsored repair tent
• New computer-based timing system with animated race results playback (so cool!)

All proceeds from Moose Cross benefit Victor Velo, an Idaho Non-Profit.

I know first-hand how much time & energy it takes to pull off organizing Moose Cross weekend. As a traveling racer this year, I want to say thanks again to everyone who made it happen!

The start of Saturday's Masters race

I got eliminated in the first round of the keg-pull. I think there was some secret training going on prior to the event.

PS – As far as my racing is concerned, let’s just say that I am trying to race my way into cyclocross shape and I am getting crushed in the process. Oofta.