Maybe Not.

Maybe crush, kill, destroy is a little bit of an overstatement. Now take that previous sentence, delete the word “maybe”, and you have the absolute truth.

I rolled into camp Friday afternoon around 4:30.  Don and Jimmy Ripper were out on a ride so I staked my area and constructed my tent.  The same tent that a mere month ago took two college-educated boys 20 minutes to construct now took one college-educated boy 5 minutes to assemble in 92 degrees with the occasional gust of wind that would almost surely pull him into the stratosphere. Tent up and everything is as organized as the heat would allow. Don and Jimmy rolled in and mentioned that there was some mud laying on the course. Did they think it was going to dry out in time for tomorrow? In a perfect world maybe, but in reality it was probably going to be a pretty muddy 24 hours. Oh well, this is a mountain bike race after all. 

Hung out and waited for Chrissy and Aaron to roll in.  In a van that could double as a condo, Chrissy showed up and unpacked. We made some food and sat around talking about nothing important. Aaron came around 10:30 and it was soon time for bed. The weather really cooled down and the tent was pretty much the perfect temperature all night. The wind on the hand was sporadic and would rattle the tent in a way that it would wake me and have me wonder if it was actually raining. 

Up at 7am and couldn't wait to get this thing going. I slept well and wasn't sure what I was going to do with myself for the next 5 hours. Jeremy and Shannon were supposed to be there around 10, so I spent some time waiting in line for coffee and riding around talking to random people. We still hadn't really decided on an order until Chrissy piped up and said she actually wanted to run. My neck still hurts after twisting it to so far to the side in response to this. 

Readysetgo.  We're off and Chrissy comes in around 1:35. A good lap time considering the run and the traffic surely didn't quicken the pace at all. Don's off and rolls through the 2.5-mile mark at the top of the climb quicker than the previous fifteen or so riders that passed through. He would eventually roll in with a time at 1.18:53.  This would become the fastest lap in the five-person co-ed class. 

So I took off and rode around in the woods for a bit. The course had some bad spots, but it was all rideable if you picked a half decent line. My heart rate was pretty pegged the entire time, but I didn't really feel the temperatures in the 90's. I came in at 1.19.56. This would become the third fastest lap in the class.

Now we're going to switch gears and stop talking about specifics as much. I'm not motivated to type them and they can't be all that interesting to read. We had some issues, yes. Jimmy had shifting problems and Chrissy would not only get a flat, but would have to come back to camp to get another co2 and her lights after her initial go at it malfunctioned. So at one point we dropped down to fifth or something. We didn't come up with a strategy, just tried to chip away at the lead. And that's what we did. I wouldn't say we got lucky, but in the same breath we were not unlucky at all. We won. We were happy and tired, muddy but smiling. It felt good.

The best part about these things is the people you met and the stories you accumulate. Running into Jason was definitely a highlight for me. It takes a special person ride one of these races solo. And it takes an extraordinary person to solo one of these races more than once. Jason didn't have an awesome race, but it sounds like he salvaged a good weekend. Hopefully in a few days he can regain his motivation and put this past race behind him. I don't doubt he has it in him and really hope he doesn't make any rash decisions before fully thinking it over. People like him are inspirational to so many others who need someone to look up to: a people's champion with whom they can relate. Someone with a wife, a little man, a job, and real responsibilities that are all being juggled while trying to live the dream; or at least a small slice of the dream.