10/10/10

...Crazy shit happens on days like this. Like my Raiders beating the Chargers yesterday, that has not happened in 13 games! Or, like my SF Giants coming back in the top of the 9th to beat the Braves and take 2-1 playoff series lead. Or, waking up yesterday a.m. and finding a mtb race while perusing the web that was only a little over an hour away.....but it was already 8:00, and the race was at noon.....better get going.
I had good intentions of doing a little local 'cross racing Sunday, but when I saw this little gem, The Riverfront Mountain Bike race, singletrack trumps racing through parks any day.
The site was Melvern,KS and with it being about 70 mile down there, I loaded up my things(including both dogs,Marci is out of town for work) and headed out.
I got there in plenty of time to hit the registration table, get kitted up, make sure the dogs were set up in the shade, and get a good warm-up in. It wasn't a huge turn out, but good solid group of guys from around the state.
I got a horrible start due to the fact of not clipping in like everyone else on the line. I hit the single track in 5th, sucking up a bunch of dust in the middle of the train. Luckily, shortly thereafter we came to a double track climb that was about200yds or so, and I was able to latch on to the front couple of guys as we enetered the next narrow section.
A lot of rocky,rooty,twisty trail was again the theme of the day as I picked off 2nd and soon after moved into 1st about 1/2 way through lap 1(of 4). There were some short climbs that took all I had to roll over the top of with the 32x18 I've grown accustomed to running here.
Over the next 3 laps I was able to steadily extend the gap to 2nd and finish up with the "dubya".
An hour and a 1/2 of good hard race effort was just what the doctor ordered(actually he told me to take it easy with the stitches in my face,yeah right). Once again, the midwestern hospitality was awesome and was able to meet some new people once again. Actually, everyone I meet is new, but all super nice nonetheless.
100% payback meant I doubled what I spent for the day, so Marci will let me ride my bike for another week or so.
For me, 10/10/10 was a good yet freakish day.