Welcome back race fans,
It has been many months since my last post and Big Brian has taken up the mantle the last couple weeks now that cross season has started back up. But with his wing in a sling, I thought and now feel it is time to bring back the words of a pack filler.
I first want to start out by saying THANKS to everyone that has helped my wife, son and myself during the worst time in our lives. There is no way to understand out pain but with everyone looking after us it has been easier. I will never forget my dear son Grant, you are always with me buddy!!!
Now wipe those tears away and get ready, because Euro cross season is up and running.
With the first SuperPrestige race in the books with a guy that we all know but with the wrong clothes on, Sven Nys powered away to win in Ruddervoorde. He made it look easy after a long mtb campaign leading up to his 9th place in the Olympics...best ever for a Belgium, but what do they know about mountain biking?
Next cross race up is the opening round of World Cup series - Kalmthout
Speaking of mountain biking, I crewed for my buddy Jon last weekend at the 24 hrs of Moab. He had made the decision early on to go the Solo route this year and I was more than willing to stay up and help out the cause.
What a hell hole Moab is. I hate that place. Let me tell you the story of 24 hrs of Moab.
We take off from Denver Friday morning and get into Moab mid afternoon. I have just built up a brand new 09 Yeti ASR and really need to do a shakedown ride and get some fun riding in. But that will not be the case. We get out to the race course and the wind is blowing at a gentle 10-15 mph's. We get the tent sent up and walk around. I want to get out but the call of Dale's Pale Ale is stronger at this point. We settle in for dinner of steak, potatoes and good conversation and call it a night around the camp fire.
At 2am, the fun starts. The wind kicks up like a mustang trying to be broken. 40 mph, then 50 mph and then gusts from 60 - 70 mph. The tent is wipping around then, sum bitch, I am practically upside down in the tent. The wind had picked up the corner of the tent and twisted it all up. This sucks. We move bags and gear to keep the whole thing from going Dorothy, from the Wizard of Oz, on us and try to ride it out. At 530am, I cant take it any longer. I try to pound the tent stakes back in but with the ground so hard, there is no hope. The dust storm that is going on is great. I have dust in every part of my body, my car, my bike and everything that was not in a zip locked baggie.
Once day break hits, I crawl out and see a recycler's dream. 10x10 tents all over the place, mangled, destroyed and useless all over the landscape. We get our tent down and put on gear on the outside to keep it from ending up in St. George and head into town to get new and improved tent stakes and a quick bit to eat. Too windy to firing up the ol' Coleman stove at this point. Jon sticks behind and grabs some food because traffic getting to the course can suck and he cant miss the riders meeting. We are back in time to get to the riders meeting and set the tent back up and we are in business of having a place to sleep.
Lap 1 is always a nightmare at Moab. LeMans start and more dust...do you see a theme here? Jon rides his first lap in 1h48m..not bad for your first solo race. Fix a quick flat tire and out he goes for Lap 2. Lap 2 is done in 2h flat. Rolling right along. Jon comes into the pit and we get him so food but he is not looking good. I notice that he has not touched his bottles and he is out with no camelbak. He sit's down and instantally get's a leg cramp. This is not good. He is looking dehydrated and mentally beat down and we are only 4 hrs into a 24 hr race. After about 30 minutes and some massage and fluids, he is back out kicking it again.
Lap 3 is done in around 3hrs. With the break at the tent, he is still riding well within himself. He comes in and again, no water gone from the bottles. This is not good. We get him some food and a bottle of Vitamin Water and he has some dinner then BAM!!! He get's all light headed and cant sit up straight. All the food he has eaten takes all the blood out of the rest of the body to help digestion and he is laying in the tent, seeing stars, light headed and not wanting to move. We have a quick discussion on strategy and what needs to be done and determine that it would be best for him to sleep and try to get himself fed and hydrated at this point. There is no race in the world worth getting yourself hurt at and having more issues down the road......so my job is done at 930pm for the 24hr race.
I put on some warmer clothes, grab some beers and head over to the main stage with lawn chair in hand and sit down next to the fire to watch The Princess Bride. One of the best movies out there. I end up sleeping in the minivan that night with my bike, which has yet to feel the singletrack even though it can be seen from the campsite.
Wake up in the morning and get some more food into Jon and we get him back out on the bike. He looks better but it is going to be a long morning. We break down camp and pack the minivan but after 3 hrs, Jon is still not back. This is not a good sign. Finally, he shows up and hands me his bike and call's it a day. He stopped for a guy that crashed and possibly broke his hip. The medic ask if he wants to have a ghost lap charged to him and he declines but he did the right thing in stopping for this guy. That is good karma. 4 laps in the books for his first solo attempt.
Jon admits that it was not his best performance. But he has never ridden a solo 24hr race before and that takes guts. He finished his ride. He finished ahead of people. He did not give up and took the adversities that we given to him and made the best of it. That is what makes you a better person.
Sometimes even the best laid plans go awry, but you can always fix them and soilder on.
So the new Yeti is still in the garage. It currently has 700 miles on it, all inside the car and 0 singletrack miles. That is going to change this weekend though.
Good luck to everyone racing this weekend....I have not been bitten by the cross bug yet, but Frites en Mayo are putting on races in a couple of weeks...so it might be a good idea to get the ol' Empella out of storage and ride on some skinny tires again
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