RAIN + GRAVEL = MUD

this is why i race...

...the joy of playing in mud that matches my facial hair.

@ # $ % ^ & * +

the results of the third gravel road race,

sponsored by all9yards.com,

are clouded in a controversy as tumultuous as the weather that gave birth to the day on which it was held.

as this week's many competitors braved the lightning and thunder to put it on the line, it all boiled down to this pitched dual: the mostly reverend, long a highly regarded and deeply respected competitor both locally and nationally, and on the comeback trail since a severe back injury sidelined him for years, and more recently hampered by a nearly fatal injury sustained in a cyclocross race in october, was poised to claim second place in the series, after recording consistently high finishes in the prior two editions of this gravel classic. his teammate, lane anderson, had the overall win sewn up, needing only to finish today's race, no easy task, in and of itself. a young upstart, dave lippold, a former triathlete who recently switched to cycling, comfortably had third in the series in his hip pocket, not bad, considering that conditions were to adverse for him during the first race, when the muddy conditions forced him to abandon at the midway point of the race. all9yards managed to establish a break of five riders, including anderson, lippold, and the mostly reverend, plus two new members of their team, ben and jarod, both experiencing their first road race ever. the quick pace held throughout the entire rain-swept 30 mile first lap; the pace stayed the same for the second lap, as well, as the rain gave way to gradually rising temperatures. despite the rain overnight and during the first lap, the gravel portions of the course were in the finest condition of the series, and last week's fresh gravel on the mile-long forest "avenue" climb actually yielded a rideable track or two. final placing calculations revealed that if lippold were to finish more than one place ahead of the mostly reverend, who, by the way, is some 20 years older than lippold, the punk, lippold could steal 2d place in the series, by virute of a higher placing in THIS race, despite being tied in series points.

well, as luck would have it, the view of the venerated race official, dirty dick thompson, was obscured at the finish line, and lippold was declared to have finished second, while the mostly reverend--ever the gentle competitor, he declined to out-sprint lippold, though he easily could have--rolled in on his wheel. and the disrespectful young pup failed to admit that, in fact, the mostly reverend DID finish on his wheel,

where he had been all day.

the shame of it all.

my sources tell my photographic evidence exists PROVING the veracity of the mostly reverend's claim to second place in the overall series, and when it becomes available, you'll see it here first!

but, really, it's beneath the mostly reverend to be involved in such a squabble, but he IS not only a man of the cloth,

he is also very highly principled.

and there you have it.