So this day started out with me having to do very little to get out the door...Of course you know that got screwed up!!! I had all day Saturday to get shtuff ready and I did just that!! Sunday morning I was 90% ready to go...Time to go...out the door I went. I told Leadfoot I would be at his house by 7:30am. I'm about to get on the highway, OH S**T!!! I forgot my cooler, back to the house. Ok...now I'm ready.
I get to Leadfoots' house about 7:45, load up the war wagon and head to Smithville for 3 hours of blasting around on sweeeeeet single track!!! About 15 minutes down the road I realize I forgot my gel flasks...F*****************k!!! Fortunately I know myself fairly well and bought a handful of individual gel packs for just such an emergency!! Look at the big brain on me!!! ;)
Fast forward an hour...We are now at the venue, and as we try to find a place to park we realize that this is gonna be a huge field!! We head to registration and the line there is a mile long, luckily Leadfoot has connections and we pre-registered...tons of time saved there!!!
Back to the war wagon to get ready. Everything ready...find a place for the cooler...off to the meeting...meeting done...park bike at the end of the run...line up for the Le Mans start. Which was about 200ish yards.
GO!!! We're off and running...somewhere in the middle of 200+ crazy MTBer's...it was NUTS!!! As I approach the bikes I turn to look for my trusty steed, I see it and run right to it!! Leadfoot on the other hand, runs right by his bike and can't find it right away...this to me was FREAKIN HILARIOUS!!! I found this out after the race. The best part of that was he put his bike next to mine...so that waste of time put him more or less DFL going into the woods.
I'm on my Truth now, rolling down a paved path dodging people and trying to go fast at the same time. Finally out of the madhouse, I jam it into the big ring and start hammering. My best guess would be about 80th on the bike and about 25th when I hit the single track!! WOOOHOOOOOooooo for good starts!!! Those who were slow or couldn't find their bikes, came to a standstill at the entrance to the single track...HA HA!!!
In the woods now, most racers ahead of me are rolling along pretty fast and I'm content for now!! About 4 miles in to an 11 mile loop, I end up behind a single speed and a hard tail with a racer behind me. The 4 of us are flying along no worries...but I'm getting itchy and want to pass. About that time the course spit us out into a field, so I make my move...I blow by the single speed, roll up to the hard tail about the time the trail makes an off camber downhill right hand sweeper. Hard tail rolls wide into the tall grass and I go railing by on the inside...WOOOHOOOoooo clear sailing ahead, PUNCH IT!!
About a 1/4 mile later we roll into one of the technical sections...I pick a line and go for it. I was being a Nancy and didn't have enough speed to do what I wanted to do and wadded myself up in front of the 2 guys I had just passed...I clanked my elbow on a rock, and jam my 3rd finger hard enough that I thought it was broken...I get out of the way, I can still move my finger...game on keep going!! I say My bad guys...I let them go by and away we went again...
A mile or so later, I'm looking up the trail at the guy driving our little train and slug a tree with my left shoulder...That really hurt...at this point I'm getting pissed. I think to myself, if this doesn't get better soon I'm pulling out after a lap and finding some beer!!! Luckily no more incidents from that point on!!
A little while later in the same lap I pass Leadfoot walking his bike. I was like dude what's up?? He held up his chain...game over for Leadfoot...
Our train rolls on through the woods and we complete the first lap in under an hour...I think sweet...if I can do that again I should be able to get 4 laps in.
Lap 2 rolls by uneventful. I roll through the transition in under an hour again!! Out of the transition I roll, time for a pit-stop. On my way into the transition I told Leadfoot to grab my other camel-back and get a bottle out of the cooler. I roll up to him get off my bike, old camel-back on the ground, new one on the back, fresh bottle on the bike and away I go. As I rode away, I thought to myself...wow that was the best pit-stop EVER!!! Smooth like butter!!!
Lap 3...I rolling along feeling good until I get to a climb...I manage to get up the hill not to slowly but certainly not as fast as the first 2 laps. I think nothing of it...I'm still rolling along pretty good!! Another climb...I fully suffer on this one!! At the top...on I go...I get to the technical section, which was about a mile long and blast right through it like it was smooth!!
I get to a short power climb,I punch it at the bottom, carrying good speed, I hit a rock and get pin balled off the line and had to stop...The first hill I walked all day!! Oh well...at this point I was looking closely at the ride time on my computer...it was gonna be close.
I get to the last paved section that led to the transition and I'm going as hard as I can, which at this point isn't very fast. I get to the dismount and the official say thats 3 hours...I missed another lap by 1 minute and 8 seconds...stupid hills!!!
Another enduro in the books...35 miles at 11.5 mph average. This was good for 10th out of 54 in my class, and 12th out of 129 overall. I had no expectations going in to this race, so I'm totally happy with what I did!!
As A parting shot...same day of the race...I'm home now, I get a call from Leadfoot. He says "I raced in the woods for 5 miles today...didn't hit a tree and I thought I was riding really well for those 5 miles and after all of that...I fall down my stairs, clank my elbow on the wall and put a couple of bruises on it...what the F**K"?!?!
There's a pause...I bust out laughing hysterically and say to him...that's going in the blog and laugh some more!!! Had to share that!!
DIRT!!!
