Macky manages mud

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On September 23 Macky Franklin '10 won the men's A race at the University of Vermont's Mountain Bike Extravaganza as he covered the 16-mile course faster than anyone else. "The fans were great. They cheered for all of the racers and stayed out in the rain throughout the race," said Franklin. "They offered beers to those who looked like they needed them - I did not - and made the race a memorable experience."

Franklin, a native of Taos, N.M. is "used to the drier conditions out West," but he battled the muddy conditions and earned the win.

"There were stream crossings and roots and rocks, which were made much more treacherous by the rain during the race and the night before," Franklin said. "I quickly began to wish that my mountain bike was as light as a road bike and that it was not covered with heavy mud, but I soon gave up wishing and stuck to racing."

With the victory Franklin qualified for the Collegiate National Championships, which will be held in his home state, Angel Fire, N.M., on October 20-21.

Megan Guarnier '07 and Cully Cavness '10 also qualified for Nationals with their stellar finishes. Guarnier, in her first mountain bike race "did more mountain running with a bike beside [her]" than mountain biking, but she finished fourth in the women's A race.

Cavness finished in the top-20 of the men's A race, despite the fact that he "lost focus on [his] last lap and took an end off of a little cliff into the river. The rain and fog and mud started to get to me," he said, "and I lost a lot of time. Finishing the race was still a sweet feeling."