Mountain Bike racing rocks. The people, the dirt, the unknown that exist when some huge dude fires a double barrel shotgun into the air sending a few hundred adults on bicycles on to a muddy trail can't be beat. When you hit the trail you open yourself up to a thousand possible outcomes. This past weekend didn't turn out like I thought it would but never the less I had an amazing time. The Vegas Crew was in the house minus Stobin and Jace the Ace but the spirit was there. Thursday night was awesome, from the start the party was on with food and friends at Clay's house. Thad, Ohio Rob, The Rev Ben Thornton, DeJay and Fuzzy all showed up with a ton of other's for a great welcome to DS&G party. Sharpie pulls up around midnight and laughs continue well into the morning. I wake up to more of Sharpie's one liners and proceed to track down coffee and breakfast biscuits before the start of SSUSA. Adequately filled with a variety of breakfast foods in biscuit form I lined up for the start of the first round a fast two laps around an eight mile loop with a mandatory beer stop between laps and an option of chasing down Grant the bunny for some swag. Two fast laps put me in 7th place and assured me a spot in the hill climb. With a few beers in me my motivation for the hill climb portion wained but once someone said go my instincts kicked in and I dug in to make it to the top just behind Thad and the Rev. For round three 8 people were selected, I was not one of them but my friends did make the cut and I was treated to sitting on the sidelines and cheering on Ohio Rob, DeJay, Rebbecca, and Thad for the pugel stick showdown in the giant blow up ring. Ohio Rob and Rebbecca came out on top as the official/unofficial ss champions and the proud owners of some fashionable and functional wool and leather belts. The day wrapped up with the arrival of racer boys pills and an afternoon of poaching beers from Mike Stanley and the Wake and Bake crew. The night came to a close on the early side as I thought I had a long day ahead of me planned for Saturday. Saturday morning I woke up to the sound of rain around 2 am and knew that my hopes for a fast dry trail were now just a dream I once had.
Race day was here and the trails were slop. The plan was to wait it out and let a few hundred people fuck up their bikes, the trail and possibly themselves in pursuit of twelve hours of true suffering. Well, when the double barrel shotgun went off it may as well blown my plans away with it cause the race was on and I rode right past Sharpies tent and hit the trail. I rode with Jeff Scott and a few others that I knew for the first part of the lap but when things started to get tight and slow on the trail I started passing people. At the top of the first long climb I felt great, I like the mud and it's rare that I get to ride in conditions like this so I was making the most out of it. People were bitching about the mud clogging their bikes so I figured the best way to get the mud of the tires was to go faster. I passed several people as the top of the hill and then proceeded to come around several more as the first long downhill started. By the middle of decent I had WAY more speed than anyone should ever carry down a super slick trail and just as I was thinking about backing off the bike went into an uncontrollable slid as though I had just hit a patch of ice. Two seconds later I am sliding on my right side down the trail that consisted of a 70/30 combo of mud and sharp rocks. I was up in a heart beat before the guys I passed even caught up with me and I was given props at the bottom of the hill for an amazing crash and recovery. I got up without even looking down at my leg but at the bottom of the hill I took a second to look down and realized that I could see more white tissue than blood and that my lap was probably over. Rode it out and hiked a few hills to get back to the car area, Brandon handed me a cold one and I made my way over the medical tent to see Jennie N and the Vandy Med crew. They said it be best to head to the ER but after a little negotiating and nice dudes with the ambulance I was allowed to hop in the back for a good cleaning and 12 stitches. The rest of the day was filled with kicking around the field talking with great friends and drinking great beers. Not a bad way to spend a beautiful day in TN. It was nice to take it easy at a twelve hour race and just enjoy the day rather than trying to determine how much suffering I could endure. The night went on till the early morning with moonshine and playing twister with girls in the field by the fire. Not a bad way to spend a weekend and the stitches come out in a few days so it's back to long rides and getting ready for the next adventure that will be the SSWorlds.
Jut
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