Rivers Edge Race Report (2 of 2)

Well after my first lap I was feeling real good. Not tired at all, no cramps, no fatigue, I was ready to roll for another 3. Lap 2 was pretty uneventful, I kept up the same pace from the first lap and kept on going. I rolled into the pits and was greeted again by the Burrower and Erin and their new friend from the pit next door. I never actually got her name, but her husband, John, was a roadie from the Ashville area doing his 2nd mountain bike race ever. I come to find out that he pulled a sub hour lap there. Damn roadies making the rest of us look slow.

I loaded up with some water bottles, some food and a gel pack and continued on. By this time the racers were all spread out throughout the trail and you didn't see as many people anymore. This lap I was starting to get a little tired and a little hot. I kept drinking my water and poweraid bottles, eating gu packs and moving on. I made it up all of the climbs on the trail nice and slow but without any problems. The only issue I did have was that I crashed. Luckily it wasn't hard, but as I was going down the trail I had my front brake hand on my bar end resting and I wasn't able to make the turn. I locked up my rear brake and slid my rear triangle into a tree and I went face first down a hill off the trail. I stayed down there for a few minutes just resting and wondering how I could pull off three laps "training" without any issues and on the day of the race just end up crashing. Luckily there was no injury besides a dirty jersey and scraped up legs. The Culprit made it through unhurt as well. I ended up at the last climb starting to feel a cramp coming on and I knew the last lap was going to be painful.

By the third and final pit stop I was a little out of it. It was hot, I ran out of fluids on the previous lap, and my legs were starting to feel tired. While on the last pit the Burrower and Erin plus their new Ashville friend loaded me up with some new waterbottle concoction that was supposed to prevent cramps. I took a bottle of that, a bottle of powerade and a bottle of coke. Yes, the sports drinks of champions. I was so out of it I saw it in the cooler and pointed to it asking for some but the words didn't come out. I just kept pointing at the cooler as my mind wouldnt put the words that I wanted a refreshing glass of carbonated sugar. After about the 4th point at the bottle I was able to say the words and was granted with a sports bottle full of it. I went out on the trail for my final lap.

While on the start of it I ran into the 9 year old boy doing it solo as I passed him going up a hill. I said a few words of encouragment to him, but I don't think he needed it, and I kept on going. I give this kid a bunch of props for doing something like this so young, and turns out he ended up completing 3 full laps. 37.5 miles by himeself. Good job for him.

Also on this lap I ended up starting to get the bad cramps. I felt them coming and made the executive decision on all the tough climbs to walk up the hills instead of trying to ride up them. It was a smart move on my part as although I felt like crap, I was able to keep moving.

I wasn't able to make it up all of the trail though, there was one switchback right after the canoe trail access in which my legs locked up. Now if you have ever had this happen it is such an unusual feeling not to be able to move your legs. As I feel over on the side of the trail I was luckily able to reach down and pull my bike off the trail so that some other sucker who was still on the course at this time could pass. At this time the 9 year old comes by and we start a conversation while I am trying to get my legs to bend.

As I then continued on what at this time is considered a painful journey, I ended up peddling past a man who was doing his first race. I figured that out by looking at his bike. It was a rigid bike, flat pedals and V brake ride from the 1990's. He asked me how far he had left. By that time I informed him the worst part of the trail was over, but still over 6 miles. He informed me that he was doing a team race and this was his motivation to get in shape. I always like hearing those sort of stories as they create mountain bikers for life.

By this time I was already over 5 hours on the bike, tired, sore, a little banged up when I see the Mrs. MaddSS and my friend Dan pass me right before the last section of doing the Green trail. I yelled at Dan to wait up, but he was tied right to the Mrs. back wheel. I was able to catch them on the downhill as my legs wouldn't work on anything going uphill. I believe that last section of green trail was the fastest I went all day. Me and Dan where following the Mrs. and she was kicking some major ass and passing everybody. I was trying my best not to get dropped as was Dan. For the last 4 miles she pulled both of us around on the trail at a breakneck speed. As we pulled up to the final turn Dan turns around and ask me if I want to pass. I decline as if it wasn't for him and Sherry then I wouldn't be going this fast. He didn't want to pass her for the exact same reason. She did all the pace work so she deserves to finish in front. I wouldn't of had the finish any other way, Mrs. MadSS, Dan and me, all within 2 seconds of each other. Congrats to her for getting 2nd in the Womens class and for Dan for finishing his first mountain bike race ever. And even for me who beat my time from last year.

Mentally I wasn't all there at the end but Sherry was really out of it. All she kept saying was that she ran out of water halfway through. Luckily the MadSS was there at the finish with a bottle full of water to drink and one to pour on her head. Me and Dan declared our finish a draw.

Well that was the end of the race report, I will probably continue tomorrow with more random musings of 5 hours alone on the trail, or the festivies that happened afterward, or even just some other final thoughts about the race. Meanwhile the burrower only snapped a few pictures of the race so here they are. Thank you Burrower for them.

Rivers Edge Race report (1 of 2)

This past Saturday was all about redemption. Redemption from the course in which had gotten me addicted to endurance mountain biking racing. 50 miles, no stopping and one of the toughest courses in the Charlotte area.

I really don't have a vendetta against this race, I just had a rough go of it last year with a time of about 6 and a half hours. After doing that once I just wanted to better my time. My goal time was 5 hours and 20 minutes. Sadly I did not meet that goal, but did quite a bit better than last years time. 5 hours and 40 minutes was the total time in which I ran the 50 miles in. I had been training for this race for the better part of the summer.

The first lap as usually for me was pretty uneventful. At the starting line I didn't even see the MaddSS go as he was shooting for a podium spot. I started in the back of the pack and decided that would be the best place to work up from. I lined up with one of my new riding partners Dan, and his co-worker Paul. The reason in which he did the race this year was because I did it last year. His goal was to beat my time from last year. He did, but I will get to that later. I quickly left him at the start and got my race pace on. Not knowing who was racing a team means that any one faster than me could have only been doing half the distance that I was. Probably a smart move on their part. Just before we hit the singletrack I passed the Mrs. MaddSS, I said good luck as then used my gears to get past her.

Right off the bat in the technical Figure 8 section of the course I saw one rider down. He was one of the regulars in the local races so I know he knew the course and knew how to handle a bike. I believe he ended up with a broken clavicle from the fall. Also right before the exit of the figure out one of the top female races was down as well. She is a speed demon and actually was in 9th place in the mens Cat 2 series. As she walked off the course the burrower and Erin (my very supportive pit crew) heard her asking someone if she would be ok for the final Wednesday night race for the Charlotte Mountain Bike Series so she could be in the top 10. I hope she is ok because she deserves it.

Well so far I have a lot written, not bad considering I was only about a mile and a half into the race when all of this took place. Since I know this course like the back of my hand I knew where to take my fluids in and where the best places to pass were. I knew how long the climbs where and how to spend my energy. After speaking with a few people while riding, and just chatting with the other races. I spoke with people who have been doing this for a long time, and those who this was their first race. Man did they choose a tough one to start out with.

Thank you Mutt for the picture


While on the green trail on my first lap I ended up passing one of the Burrowers co-workers husband. We actually randomly met up in Wilksboro at Dark Mountain early this summer. We chatted for a few miles, just keeping the pace. It is so much easier to ride when you keep a conversation going. As we went into the pit area I dropped him and picked up my supplies for the next lap. The burrower and Erin just happened to pick up a random in the tent that confused me for a second, but I took my water bottles and then took off, leaving the co-workers husband behind me. Since I keep rambling, I guess I will have to keep this them going all week. The burrower only got a few pictures of me during the race, but some other interesting ones as well so stay tuned.

Ready to Race

So basically every since I have finished last years 50 Mile Marathon I was looking forward to doing it again, this time a little bit faster. I think I am on goal to beat last years time. I have been riding a lot more this year, I have another year of "base" riding under my belt, I have for the most part figured out my nutriution and fluid intake while riding. Yes, I am ready to race. I am not going to be in competition for a podium spot, or even a top 10 spot, but I just want to try and do better than last year.

Also helping out is that the weather has cooled down. I still mean that in relative terms as this summer the average temperature was somewhere close to 100 degrees plus humidity. Try training in that and then when it is supposed to be just 90 degrees with a large drop in the humidity level, it feels like paradise.

I went for a ride today as well. Just a nice easy lap over at the local race track of a trail, Shermans Branch. No problems, everything was smooth, I found my prime heart rate to keep up the pace for a little over of 5 hours of riding (I am hoping for a 5:15 finish time). The bike is geared up and ready to go. Just need to give her a quick bath and lube (couldn't we all use one or both of those sometimes?)

I do apologize there is no crazy stories or pictures to go with this issue, but I will post some non-biking related motivational posters to help you pass the time at work. Enjoy as I will probably not write tomorrow or Friday in preparation for the race.

A slow Weekend

Well after a fairly full Saturday with a day full of events I really don't have anything to report for Sunday. Started off by me and the burrower getting all holy at church. I was hoping that the rain prediction was wrong and the afternoon showers wouldn't happen. I got what I wished for and headed off to the WhiteWater center for one last pre-course ride. I only managed one lap due to the heat and I just didn't feel like biking when I got out there.

The good news is that this weekend is fore casted to be a lot cooler than the 90+ degrees plus lot of humidity. Finally.

Like I said, not a lot went on this weekend. I did manage to take my brand new car out for a ride at Birkdale. Got a prime parking spot too.


Yup, if you look in the background my Geek Squad beatle got a spot right next to the door. Meanwhile my friend Jason decided to take the risk and park his car in the street.
What a sucker.

Tomorrow I just have a nice, casual lap planned at Shermans Branch, just to loosen up the legs a bit. If your interested let me know, I will be there around 5:15 or so, but will definaltly wait if someone else wants to show up.

A non-update update

Yes,
Things have been slowing down here the past week in preparatin for ramping up for the Rivers Edge Mountain Bike Marathon.

Started with a nice easy stroll in Ready Creek Park chasing a damn Frisbee all over the place. This wasn't my first time playing but it was the Burrowers. I don't think this will be her favorite past time, but I do think I can get her to do it again when the weather cools down.


FORE!!!!

And the Burrower takes pretty good action shots. This might have to be her new hobby.


After that we came home and were excited to hear that our friends wanted to try to see if we could tube on their pontoon boat.
The water was so hot though it wasn't even fun to swim in. But after discussing some other sports options for the summer it has been a challenge from Jason to do our first Tri-atholon. Yes ladies and gentleman I will be attempting to swim. Now this is funny because I float like a rock. A big rock.

The answer was yes.

We also went to the bar to watch the Panthers play. Lets just say this is how we felt when the offence took the field.

And just happened to see this bloggers wife out and about, she wasn't with him so I am sure she was trying to upgrade. Really can't blame her. Have you checked out how crappy his blog is compared to mine? I have more pictures and that is the real measure of blog-dom


One thing at a time though, more details on that later if I remember to sign up. Otherwise enjoy the pictures of me in swimsuit, even though there is a life raft on top of it. Maybe even write a post tomorrow about a bike ride. I don't know if there will be time.

And now a word from our sponsors

Ok, not really, but I have been trying to branch out with my online networking.

I was searching around the "web" as the kids call it now a days and stumbled across a site in which regular athletes can get hooked up with "sponsorships" with companies in which they use everyday, or get exposed to new ones. The site "Hookit" seems to work like any facebook or myspace page, except the twist is that it is used for promoting yourself as an athlete vs. complete social networking.

So searching around I set up a profile and added some pictures, some race results and boom. I have a profile. Well after a few days I ended up with an offer from a mountain bike accessory company, Crankskins. So I went ahead and ordered some of their gear and a few days later I got swag in the mail.

I love swag. I am not sure that they knew I am a middle of the pack racer and just needed some additional stickers or what, but they gave me more than I ordered. I just ordered the camo ones and the free stars and stripes ones but look at all of this



Also got a additional set of camo crankskins, some clear ones, and some hookit stickers. It really doesn't take much to make me happy. Needless to say they went right on the bike. I opted for the stars and strips on The Culprit.


And might as well put one on the ride that gets the ride there.


I put one on my parts rack....errrr, the burrowers ride.


And I had a cable rub on the frame

And probably could have been avoided if I would of had the frame protectors provided by Crankskins

And problem fixed.

So with the downpours we have been having here this week I haven't really had a chance to ride so I have just gotten creative with the extra skins and the camera. This is what happens when mountain bikers get bored. More of this to come next week as I still have a few extra skins to pass out to fellow racers. Maybe even a coupon code for them to get their own as well.

I apologize

Power went out, I should have a new post by tomorrow, maybe even something about my new sponsor

You ready for some girl on girl action?

Those were the opening words the rabid announcer said as we walked into the Grady Cole Center just outside of uptown for the last home bout of the Charlotte Roller Girls sponsored by PBR

Although our neighbors have gone to almost every roller derby match in Charlotte it was a new experience to me and the burrower. With names such as Pamela Ander-slam and Puncher Peahole how could this not be considered family friendly entertainment? First match was the "B" squad or the "Bedazzlers" as they like to be called.


After whopping up on the competition they ended up winning 164 to 54 or something like that. The Blond Bombshell had a few big rounds and ended scoring like 45 points or something like that by herself. I wish I gotten a good picture of her as she looked like one of the few girls who, well how do I put this delicately, one of the few who couldn't kick my ass.

At halftime there was also a prize giveaway sponsored by that wonderful hipster beer PBR.


I ended up with a headband and my neighbors let me borrow the matching wristband to complete the outfit.

I fit right in.

After the B squad finished their rout, the "A" team or the "All-Stars" took their turn. It started out as as a one sided match not in favor of the home team, but with 6 minutes left in the 2nd half they were starting to make a game of it. The crowd was roaring, the girls throwing elbows and each other, and the jerseys were getting tugged in places that most jerseys could only dream of getting caught up in.




Not a bad night for me, got some rub on PBR tattoos, a PBR headband, PBR pins, and just for poops and giggles, I even had a PBR. After all they do for the sport of roller derby, I think they deserved my business for the night.

Deer in Headlights

Have you ever seen your life flash before your eyes? Well The Culprit almost saw its life end on the inner loop of I-485. It had the end of the rack on Jay's car and well lets just say that the bladed spokes of the Mavic SLR catch more wind than a normal spoke. That and a combination of 75 mph. I was sitting in the back seat when I almost pooped myself seeing my baby hanging only by one strap off the rack. I screamed like a little girl for him to stop the car. He turned back at me and said "quit joking".

I replied back to him "have I ever joked about my bike being in trouble?" Needless to say the car was stopped immediately. Well after double strapping it on the rack we ended up at Shermans Branch and met up with Casey's co-worker Dan (who just bought a new Stuntjumper and who also has me in his sights for the 50 Mile Marathon.

I was leading the group on a nice social pace when my front wheel lost traction and slid out from under me. I ended up having to bring it into Sun and Ski Turns out I bent the rear detailer hanger. While it was in there the shop mechanic confirmed what I already knew was coming. The Culprit wasn't going to live much longer. It has been 2 full season and almost 1000 off road miles later. It was going to need a new drive train sometime soon. I let him clean it off and adjust all the cables in hopes of living just a few more months. For a big box store, they always treat me well there, and even knew when the Burrower had her surgery and asked about her when I stopped in. A quality crew there. That was my Wednesday night social ride.

Saturday I woke up early to put in some miles at the USNWC. I was able to get 2 full laps in by myself listing to the likes of Fall Out Boy and Taking Back Sunday. When I finished I saw Jason's car parked next to mine. Needless to say I waited for him to come back so maybe we could get a drink at the bar. As I was recouperating from a solid 25 miles in I saw him and Casey walking back to the car. Casey ended up having a pinch flat and needed to get the pump to fill up the tube. After the tube was put back in I headed out for a quick lap of the North and South loops there, purposly avoiding all of the options. We did mangage to do the gas line climb as Jason had never seen it so we hit the downhill portion and then headed in. Nothing to crazy on the ride, no cool pictures taken as this was "training". But I did have a new experance later on in the day, but that will be for tomorrow. And then stay tuned...I my super secret item in the mail on Monday

Finally got it fixed!

I was talking about my old Haro hardtail bike. This bike is a little bit of a monster with pieces and parts from all over the place. The brakes and wheels are from the The Culprit when it got upgraded. The fork is one in which I traded with my neighbor Leo because the stock one was locked up from the wonderful winter short track series. The part I was waiting on was a crank arm.



I stripped the old one switching pedals from flats to clipless a while back. I didn't want to spring for a new crankset for this bike, especially since the plan is to upgrade the culprit and then move all that stuff over to the hardtail. So I decided to donate my time for parts at Trips for Kids.


I ended up getting a crankset but after I got it home I realized that it was a road crankset. Rookie mistake. Turns out that the crank arms were the same type and after borrowing the crank remover tool from Leo I was able to get it back together.


Since this is my current commuter bike I really didn't want to mess with clipless pedals at all but I hated my feet coming off while pedaling so I went with the old style of clipped in pedals. I know this wasn't exactly exciting post with good pictures, but I can tell you that the Mutt put in his guess yesterday about new stuff coming my garage. I am waiting for confirmation of it shipping and then I will definably keep you updated one the news.

Up in store for you tomorrow....weekday group ride at Shermans branch which ended up being a little more difficult than it should have been, even for a social ride, and in store for the weekend, more "training" for the 50 Miler

Getting Ready for the Ride

Sunday was supposed to be a nice leisurly day for me. The Burrower was off working her second job at Holy Angels and I was planning on a few easy laps at the WWC by myself.

The MadSS had other ideas. After confirming with him the night before that it was going to be an early 7:53 AM start time I decided not to take a chance and dive into my drink of the night.


Ok, so I only had one sip, just to see how it tasted, and to my surprise it was pretty good. I am not a wine person but this stuff wasn't horrible.

To continue on with the story it was hot, and muggy and well, he is just to darn fast to keep up with, even though I have 26 more gears than he does. Luckily the Mrs. was there and she kept our wits about us and made sure we didn't go to fast and just blow up out of exshaution. We did 2 full laps, all of the options and our fast lap was about 1:23 (well it was for me, for him it was a few minutes faster). Not to shabby considering we took a rest break to made sure we stayed hydrated right after finishing goat hill and the gas line climb.

I even had a chance to try out my new biking equipment.


Thats right, thats is Tommy and Rocko in sweatband form. I am bring the sweatband back!!! Plus for only the low low Hot Topic Price of $.98 how could you not have a sense of nostalga?

Like all great bloggers (or just the few I read out of complete and utter boredom and click here for a good time B-43) I am working on something to make me either A) Better rider B) something that makes me look cool or C) I am just trying to keep your attention until the next post. Your choice, pick wisely....

Uptown Festivities and Beer Pong

Well the weekend has come and gone and I finally got in my fix at some riding. With the burrower working most of the day Sunday at her 2nd job to try and save for our wedding, I felt like I had to be a good husband in training to spend the day doing whatever she wanted to do.

We tried the being holy thing and woke up to go to Saturday 9 AM mass. Turns out that it was re-scheduled for an anointing of the sick mass. Its a Catholic thing, if you don't get it, dont feel bad. That mis-adventure didn't last long so we went to pick up her car at our friend Erin's place where she left it the night before. Probably a good thing as she had just a little bit to much to drink that night.

After that it was stopping by to drop her car off for an oil change, going to get her ring inspected to make sure all of the stones wouldn't fall off of it (greatly appreciated by the guy who bought the thing), library, and then back home. We even washed my car and then she got tired, so I kept the generosity going and washed hers by myself. I know this sounds like a ho-hum day and you may be wondering where I going with this in relation to biking but there is a point.

While we were washing the car she heard a commercial. Dare I say it? Thats right, Criterium racing uptown.

50k purse for the winner! Well since I don't have the roadie skills to race it, she asked if I wanted to go. Hell Yeah!!! I may be almost complete in breaking her in to this whole biking thing, as long as she doesnt have to get on a bike.

Man those guys are fast. Here are some still shots I took at the back end of turn 1.




Three laps into the race I noticed something diffrent, like missing 70 riders crossing the turn. Turns out someone in the front went down. Through all the carnage I saw riders head into the nuertal pit zone. One by one they were checked by the medics and then allowed to wait for the pack to come around. I saw the guy who got the brunt of the fall, he was walking with frame in one hand and fork and front wheel in the other. Face torn up and bleeding. He got a new bike and went out. But he only made it another 15 minutes before deciding that it wasn't worth it.

That was definalty an experiance to see, and the burrower even liked it for a short time as well. But during these events everyone brings out their favorite ride. Like this one.

Its not going to win any races, but looks cool.

I did get my biking fix for the day and then it was off to meet up some friends for a friendly game of beer pong. Well there is nothing friendly about this game the next morning, but we play it anyway.

Guess who made the game winning shot?


Actually it wasn't this guy he just got in front of the one who did.

I really have no idea why they were doing this, but please refer to that we were playing beer pong and not a lot makes sense all the time.

So that was Saturday in a nutshell, just like everyone else's except not.
Tomorrows post, How I get my a$$ handed to me by MadSS....again

More Travels

Well after working for a week after coming back from Colorado, it was time for another "vacation". Ok, it wasn't a vacation it was a wedding in Michigan. One of these days I will get a vacation that doesn't have a wedding attached to it. Me and the burrower also had to do was get our our wedding plans in order. Well to get past the boring stuff and just let you know we did get a lot of it done while we were up there.

After that I headed up to D-port IA to spend a night with Cranky Dan and a night with Sh#Tbrick. Well after multiple beers later at both places, a tux fitting it was then off to visit my high school buddies Chuck and Kope. Lets just say they are jealous of my made ping pong skills.

Yes, I went something like 16-3 for wins in ping pong, I am just that damn good.
Also on my tour I ended up going to Navy Pier to watch some fireworks, drink some beer, and just relax. I never understood abstract art...


Besides utter domination at ping pong and another 900 miles put on the Kia it was time to head off to Michigan for the wedding of my old roommate Web. Oh yeah, I guess I still had to write the best man speech....

More Trip Stories

Well I got the race report out of the way for my lackluster performance at nationals, but I did get some other riding done while I was out there. Trying to get "acclimated" to the altitude I was able to go out by myself and hit a few trials out in the Denver area.

I did the post for Red Rocks already but I was able to get to a trail called Three Sisters. This one was a little bit easier but I still think I went on a hiking only trail.

See, proof I was there.


Fun with the camera


After that I went back to the base camp for the week and then got changed to go for a roadie ride with my uncle.
We ended up somewhere near boulder. During the ride he ended up dropping his chain on a climb and we lost the rest of the group over the hill. The downside was neither of us paid attention to the route we were supposed to be taking and ended up taking an alternative route. His thinking was if we go up the side of a mountain that they were supposed to be coming down from that we would meet them. Works in theory but not if we did a different route.

My final tourist trap for the trip. Buffalo Bills Grave


Thats about all I got for the bike riding, but I still have write about my 2nd vacation, a wedding in Michigan, to bad I couldn't bring a bike. More on that tomorrow.

The Wrap up and Back in Action

Sorry about the delay in getting back to this for all of my fans (and I thank both of you) but it has been really busy around the household. Drove through 13 states and 3 time zones in the past 3 weeks and really didn't have any time to devote to the blog.

I am back and settled in so the routine should be starting up again.

Finally the wrap up of the Nationals Race in Sol Vista.

First off the starting hill really seperated the men from the boys. I was one of the very little boys as the field took off and I was pretty much left in the dust. The first climb was brutal. Almost straight up and a lose dirt, I couldnt get any traction and couldn't push a harder gear. Although in retrospect it was faster to walk up it than to try and ride.


Most the field was gone by the time I got up to the top but it was a rough course and I knew there would be a few stragglers who couldn't maintain the pace. As we went through a little more singletrack and then up another fire road I saw my first victim. Sitting on the bike trying to catch his breath. I just kept peddling and eventually caught another one.

Heres the the rocky singletrack. You had to choose your line wisely otherwise you would end up dabbing your foot.

After climbing for what seemed like hours I finally reached the top.

Estimated altitude topped out around 10,000 feet.

And someone had some confusion with the signs.


After the decent which put some of the berms at Warrior Creek to shame the first lap was done. Time to climb the hill again. Didn't make it, lost traction in the loose dirt again. After passing another rider I dropped my chain and had to flip the bike over. After wrestling with it for a few minutes I got it back on. Turns out those precisions minutes would be the difference in a top 10 finish.

Another mile into the trail I stopped upon one of the younger riders. I asked him if he needed anything. Turns out he needed a CO2 cartridge. Also turns out that he was only on his first lap. Poor kids parents had to be worried about him as he had to be in last place by a long shot. Another minute gone.

After struggling through the altitude and the heat I ended up running on someone in my class. The rough part was there was no place to pass in the past quarter mile as it was all banked downhill turns. I ended up coming behind him by .10 of a second. I just wish there was a straightaway at the end to get a sprint to show off my one skill.

12 of 16 place. Not to shabby. Those few minutes messing around the chain and playing trail fairy giving away my CO2 cartridge and tire leavers cost me some time, but it was an experience. Plus I got to drink beer, which might have been my downfall as well. I still have some other pictures to put up from the Denver area trails so getting the fun part out of the way for all you racer bois.