WORS#11 Bear Paw - Andy

White Lake
Sunday September 26, 2010
by: Andrew Schirpke

3 day weekend. Extra riding and less school. Started out late Friday after we found out the course was getting pounded with rain. 5” right where we were going. Just Me and Dad, the girls were out of town. Got everything in and started out. Stopped by Extreme and then Jimmy John’s. Finally arrived around 3:30pm and got the keys to the cabin. Heat, and running water. We brought our fridge and grill so HQ was set-up.
Went into town to do some grocery shopping so we could park all weekend. We always buy a movie or two out of town. Grilled some burgers and watched Robin Hood. Didn’t make it to the end.
Got up late, grilled some food(including Jiffy Pop) and went out for a few laps. Tons of rocks and boulders. A few wet spots but the course drained pretty good. I couldn’t find a line in some parts but I tried to figure it out the best I could. Pasta feed at the bar and Capitol Brewery had samples. I played Foosball with my Dad and Kate. Started getting late so we had to figure out who was staying where. All the Fall-fest riders stayed downstairs and Greg, Kate and Mike stayed with us. Layla too but I think you have to weigh more than 2 pounds to count. Laughed to sleep and a 7 am wake up.
Ate showered and put on my METAL. 38 degrees meant extra layers for the warm-up. Stripped down at the line and waited for my call-up. Got a good start but lost 3 spots on the first hill. Tough climb and it strung out the field. Bomber downhill and finally into some gnarly singletrack. It’s a good mix of double often enough for passing. My first pass through a rocky section someone went down ahead of me and I had to clip out and run around him. Got back on and spun away. I passed a 15-18 on the first lap and climbed the hill a second time. I knew there were a few ahead of me but I went for one at a time. Gel and fresh water. I didn’t catch anyone on the second lap but a few older waves caught me. Didn’t wreck myself or the bike so I was happy. This place is tough but a blast. 5th place…out of the money by one again…
Recovered and went to the top of the hill. Handed up for my dad and played more foosball with Shane, TJ, Layna and Dustin. Did some hammock spinning too. Cheered on the Pro’s. DARRIN WON and we were super happy for him. Nate and Ronsta killed it too. Some more grilling for the gang and it was time to pack up. Checked out, home and unpacked by ten. Great weekend with great friends.
Last WORS is in two weeks at SHEVEGAS…See you there. It is the start of Cross so we have two good months left. Catch me on Facebook to stay in touch in the off season.

Just Ride

Andy