the details: two nmbs xc races and two short tracks in the span of nine days. no expectations, only aspirations. a thursday arrival left two days of preriding. a couple of laps left jesse and i searching out 34t rings and the big ol 22t surly cogs on the back. adventure 212 gurus chris and michelle let us crash on the floor along w/ le bender and tj. race day came and the heat was out. after a back row callup the race was on. the start wasnt quite as quick as i expected. i followed jesse around the bottle neck, running the bikes around a few trees. we quickly found ourselves inside the top fifteen at the crest of the course on lap one. it went downhill quickly. jesse's front tyre washed out over a berm on a highspeed corner. i slammed the brakes and detoured around. it wasnt until halfway through the climb on lap two i knew his fate. i saw him walking the bike down the hill, flatted out. i hunkered down, latched onto eric batty on lap two. going past carl decker i figured i was sitting alright. batty's pace was a little too steep for me less than half way through the race. eventually he towed me to troy wells and i sat on his pace until the last lap. i decided to have a go at it again and went around troy on the last lap. there were a few chasers and i wanted to keep the top fifteen place. the steep descent was too much for my cramping arms. maybe suspension would be handy? three guys went by w/in a minute of the finish and i just couldnt hang. 17th on the day.
short track on the second day. back row callup again? yup. i lined up behind tj who lined up behind todd wells. smart move. we moved up quickly to top twenty five. then it's just go as fast as you can for as long as you can. jesse eventually came by. i hung for a bit then got lazy. he made the move as i snoozed. just five seconds up on me when i was pulled. thats the difference. 19th on the day as jesse went on to tenth.
a week of no work and riding, sounds like a deal. chris and michelle once again hooked us up w/ a place to stay for the week. for the whole week we drank coffee, explored trails, ate a lot of candy (the bender can hold his own), and prerode. i witnessed chris putting down a whole package of chips ahoy cookies in one sitting. where does all the food go? we also discovered that tj has the second most top five wors finishes w/o a win at 9. eppen has 35!
mt snow race day. maybe second from back row. i moved quickly up the steep climbs into the top 20 a few miles in. i was tired. really tired. riding carelessly and trying to get to the top of the climb. i often say i ride like im on a full suspension. that was my demise on the day. slit sidewall. strange as it wasnt that big, but the stans wouldnt seal. i go through the trouble to put the tube in to find that it either punctured through the slit or already had a hole. it was a long walk down.
short track. lookin for redemption. i picked the wrong place to start. i got cut off and shut down from the gun. i was ahead of maybe five people after lap one. chasing hard was the name of the game. i kept workin it. at 18 minutes i went hard thinking we'd get pulled. wrong. we made it through the twenty minutes but got pulled at the 3 to go. 23rd place for me. jesse rocked back to 13th.
it was an experimental trip. we performed so so. some good, some bad. thanks to fisher for making it happen. t6 for makin me look good. and the adventure 212 crew for being so accomodating. it was a great trip but next time im bringin my watergirl with, that's worth at least ten spots.
