Sauvie Island served up a living Norman Rockwell painting on Sunday - autumn colors, a pumpkin patch, the corn maze, a bonfire, fresh produce and the general frolicking of the young and the young at heart alike.  Slightly off script, there was also a dead rat. As one of the more unique obstacles of the year, the extremely dead rodent provided great entertainment for those cheering as riders repeatedly ran over the carcass. It also got more "ewwww" and "disgusting" comments than even last week's corral of animal waste stew. What a sport. Try adding a rat carcass to a basketball game or golf or table tennis - the reaction would be drastically different. We are not weak of heart or stomach or nose. 

But, we are tired. 

Nobody from pdxcross raced this weekend, but we felt like we did. Among our small band of photo-makers we had three illnesses, a knee injury and a gaggle of family members irritated at even the mention of cyclocross.

We just completed a two week marathon getting Dirty Pictures ready for print. Thank god for Deb, the pdxcross designer. Her creativity and general willingness not to strangle us are counted among her greatest attributes. Book updates to come next week.

So while the racers made swift laps through the fields and down the gravel roads, Sunday felt a cool down lap for us. A cold, foggy morning gave way to a gorgeous sunny day perfect for for laying in the leaves, eating frites and sipping a cold one. It was a nice little recovery before we slip into a holidaze and then hit the USGP for one last hoorah. 

Have a nice Thanksgiving.