Click on the image above to go to the gallery.Crowds like the stars, rocket engines on bicycles, stellar frites and an out of this world host town in Bend made this, the final day of the National Championships like a trip to space. It wasn't for the weak of heart or mind. So much energy unleashed, we swear that Katie Compton unleashed a jet stream and the battle between Ryan Trebon and Tim Johnson was like making a cat's cradle with rubber bands.

And now it's over. Darn.

Click on the image above to go to the day three galleryIt's hard to beat a day that begins with coffee and ends with beer and has many morsels of amazing cyclocross racing in between. What a day of racing, and photography. We got to share the first three days' photographs with racers, friends and families numbering in the hundreds at Deschutes Brewery to close out the day. It was like being in a Mayan temple, except cyclocross was the guiding light and beer comprised the stone walls.

We can't wait for today, the final day of this year's championships. Come back for more -photography, we can't offer beer - and stay tuned for Dirty Pictures II, our book representing the year in Portland's cyclocross scene - and Nationals of course.

Click on the image above to go to the galleryWe're back at it.

The upload is complete now, including photographs from our compadre from Sisters, Jay Mather, who made a guest appearance - his first time photographing this great sport.

Click on the image above to go to the Nationals Gallery, and many others.

If it isn’t one kind of slippery, it’s another. We came from racing in our hometowns, where we slip on mud or sand or moist roots or rocks or off-camber grass or . . .  And now, we’re here in Bend, joined by the slippery nature of snow. And we’re loving it, of course, playing guests to the fine folks who invited us into their backyard to play. We can’t wait for the racing and parties and slipperiness of the next three days. Come back soon, would you?