Crazy Bastards Cross: MI CX CHAMPS: SOME GOT ICE CREAM, SOME JUST GOT CREAMED

Just Desserts: Das German, Sven Baumann finishes off 2012 with another State Championship, a Big Ass Trophy, a cooler full of ice cream and a plate of cookies. Nice job, but it looks like your year's done Sven.

While even in the best of years the State Championship CX has always sucked for me, I've got to say this one truly rocked - my friends did well, the racing was exciting, there we unexpected results, the usual bunch of ringers showed up for one race and so on, fun and same-old combined ... but the best thing was this course and venue. Man, I hope they bring this back. It reminded me of the Champ course in Looeeville before Eva Bandman. It was fun, classy, and beautiful looking - not to mention the great pit with water, fire pit and great warming house, bathrooms and such. It was a well thought out course too, using a bunch of sand, and so on. Tougher than it looked, but hell, aren't they all?

So after polishing off yet another ice cream cup, we snatched the Michigan State Championship trophy away from Sven before he ate that, too ...

Hey give me that trophy you crazy German. You sure you're a Michigan resident? That accent sounds kinda phony. Are you from the U.P.?

We examined the trophy closely to see who's fingerprints were all over it. Apparently a guy named Weinert had carved his name quite a few times. But who ees' this man Hogan, I mean Weinert, and vat was he doing vit das German's Trophy? Quite a lot it appeared.

We searched through the archives and found this evidence. Apparently this Weinert fellow had stolen the trophy quite a few times. From this photo it looks like another Century, before they knew where to put the damn numbers.

We took the trophy for a little spin, before Sven started eating the plates off the sides, and found more names ... Card, Wissink, Foshag ... nice work boys. Okay Sven, you can eat it now.

Nice history lesson, but back to the present, seems like some of those names are still around, Wissink, Parmalee, with new ones ready to step up like Burke and Beebe ... and Weinert just off the podium.

In the Women's Elite Kelly Patterson came on strong again in the end with another late season performance to take the State Championship. Three of our favorite women cyclocrossers - Queen Anne, Melly Kelly, and Susan, Surrender the Booty, Shaw.

Well enough of the Elites. I mean they're fast, young (well not all, but younger than me, but who isn't), and so on, and make me sick really with all their form and mad cyclocross skillz. And they certainly don't need anymore adoration heaped on them. Jerks. Now lets get on to the more meaningless happenings at the State Championship, you know, the stuff that I really care about.

Cyclocross Tent City Early Sunday Morning.

The day started early at Addison Oaks with the erection (I can hear Osgood laughing, he said erection, huh-huh-huh) of a tent city, which looked a little bit like a scene from the Grapes of Wrath. In the center of it was our own Crazy Bastard Compound.

From the outside the CBX compound looks like just a collection of discarded bike shit and junk.

But as you get closer you start to notice ingenious hillbilly-engineering and all sorts of crap you thought you'd never need at race. But what's going on inside? All the other tents are open, but this one looks so secrective ... (No Osgood that's Secretive as in Secret, not Secrete, as in YOU are a Serial Secreter ...)

A rare glimpse inside the CBX Tent: Heater, Automatic Tire Gasser, Trainers, lounge chairs ... and extreme laziness.

As the tents were erected (shut the f*ck up Osgood) friends and fans start milling around the scene.

The Animal Sisters - out of uniform for race day. They swapped their animal heads for some fancy boots. The Boot Sisters? Hmmmmmm. No, they'll always be the animal sisters to me.

In Europe people walk around with the "Sven Nys Supporter" jackets on. At the Michigan State Championships this year some crazy people were walking around with "Osgood On A Stick" placards. Do you know where that stick has been young man? I'd wash my hands if I were you. In gasoline.

Inside the race support facility Sarah McIntyre was already eyeing the podium. Wonder who's going to be walking on that? she probably said to no one ever

But lets leave the tent city and the fans tromping around in the mud and get back to racing again. Once the tires were gassed and skinsuits stretched on over the fat guts it was time for the non-elites to get it on.

Here's the charge of the Killer Beeeeeees! Good looking bunch, but smelly.

Wish I had more shots of this beautiful course, but this is just about it for now. Here's Big Mac coming around the bend. Note the sand on the right. Yeah, that hurt.

Here I am trudging through the sand, running and thinking of more excuses I can use for why I sucked so bad this year.

There were a lot of people that didn't suck. Here's Sarah McIntyre picks up another podium spot in her rookie year.

Adam McIntyre picked up the Series Win in the Cat 2-3 (B) Men, just edging out some tough competition from Brad Lako on the second step and Ben Christian in third. Well done guys,

Here's Adam receiving what he thinks is a bag of money for the series win.

Turns out it wasn't money - but a sweet Tailwind Series Champion hat. Until you start combing that awesome facial hair up and over your dome you'll need that hat.

Adam also took a Silver State Championship Medal, and Mike Bellovich a well deserved Bronze in the Men's U-39 Bs.

The Women's Elite Series Championship Podium. After dominating the Women's Elite all year-long, Queen Anne takes the win, along with the usual suspects Kelly and Susan along side her. Nice racing ladies.

I, due to (excuse number 32 and number 11 go here) was just 10-seconds from a State Championship Medal myself. Boo-hoo f'ing who, right? I hounded the promoters asking if there couldn't there just this once be an extra "podium step" for a fourth place finisher in the State Championship - one for some who tried so hard, but just came up a little short because of (excuse number 32 and number 11 go here) which I could do nothing about. Because the Tailwind folks are so sweet and wonderful, they said they'd fix something up just for me ...