It’s kinda about the bike

Well, last minute decisions are usually not thought out. They do make for exciting times though. I had a weekend full of them. After the 3 people I planned to travel with bailed on me to go to the Greenbrier race in MD, I was pretty sure I was staying in Raleigh for the weekend. Saturday at about 1 pm, I decided that if I skipped the race I would seriously regret it. I packed my things and by about 1:30 I was off to race.

About 5 hours later I made it to the park and had enough time to see the first ¼ mile of the course. I came back out, threw my bike in the car and sat while it started to rain an unbelievable amount. I was sure I was going to crash if I drove so I waited it out and fell asleep. When the policeman woke me up shining a light in my face I opened the door. I saw the police lights on and he was questioning what I was doing there. I agreed to leave peacefully and continued my sedan slumber in a camping site of a racer I met earlier that evening. At this point, I was sure this was the wrong decision. An amazing 10 hours of sleep later (well, I had a total of 4 hours sleep on Thursday and maybe 3 on Friday) I awoke and drove to the course. I got all dressed and started preriding. The coach of JMU asked to join in on my preride and I helped her through her first mtn ride in 15 years. She deemed me her angel of the day. I then felt like I was actually meant to come.

After a few hours of loitering Aaron showed up carrying a cup of coffee with my name on it. We loitered together for a bit. A little while later it was time to race. I lined up and didn’t recognize any of the girls. The race began it was off to a ball busting start. I was hurting from the beginning. I rode pretty descent the first lap but was having a bit of trouble with my brakes. I couldn’t do well on the turns when I couldn’t slow up for them. I usually like to grab my rear piece and slide the back wheel around but when the levers are to the bars I kind of just freak out instead. All and all I did ok. I remembered how to push by repeating “balls to the wall” for the entire last lap. I remembered how to descend (just do it like a pro). Now all I gots to do is keep working on my fitness. The bike might be holding me back a bit, but it’s no excuse. I remember when Mark McCormick showed up on the line for the root 66 race with a bike straight from the 80s and he kicked some serious ass. I can do it too, but I can kick ass better with a few material improvements.

Lessons learned:

V-brakes are inferior to discs

A solid support group is necessary for racing

Tan lines are totally hot and I don’t care what you say