Wed 20 Feb 2008
After returning to camp, it was time for things to get serious and by serious I mean we mentioned riding our bikes. There was a meeting held, and the committee decided it was best for Kathleen to be the first rider out instead of my feeble, old self. Mostly because she can actually run. I walked up with her to the start line to watch her rock it and was quite concerned with how far the run was. It took us a good half hour to walk to the start line. I would have been dead before I even made it to my two-wheeled love machine.
KB got right in the front and was throwing elbows with the big guys. I hung out on the side line to watch and almost got pissed on by some dumbass racer who thought urinating in public and two feet away from me was an acceptable practice. I can assure you it is not.
Anyways, Kathleen rocked the start holding her position with the serious guys. I was next in line to ride so I got my sorry excuse for a racing ass back to camp and started to get ready. The weather up to this point had been anything but pleasent but as soon as the start gun was shot off the clouds obeyed the wiley old woman shooting it and parted so things could start to warm up.
By the time I made it back to camp, things were quite nice. I headed out with just a long sleeve base layer and my knickers. I waited for Kathleen who was right on time pulling a quick first lap. She handed me the baton and I was off like a dirty shirt.
The first part of the course was fun. It was winding and had ample places for passing. I was feeling good and let it all hang out. I was passing people on both the left side and the right side. My legs felt good, my gearing felt good, and the course was good, it was good. Then came the bitches, 7 short but steep climbs up a power line road. There were a million people in front of me and in my way. I had but two choices, walk or pass. I opted to pass. This means I sprinted the bloody things. I could definitely feel the race now.
After the bitches things level back out and continue to be curvey and a little wild. I passed and got passed and sometimes I would get stuck behind a bottle neck and I would just not pass or be passed.
The course had dried out amazingly fast. I was still feeling good until the trail took me directly towards the start and I thought I was just about done. Of course, I wasn’t anywhere close to being done and the course carried me back out and around a saddle before dropping back to the start line. I felt like I had been riding forever, or at least for a few hours. The course was fun but I was getting bored. It was so smooth I was seated almost the entire ride.
I made it back to the start line and dismounted while trying to make it to the tent as quickly as possible. My legs were not too excited about walking at this point and I almost fell down. I did make it and Cimarron was waiting for the baton. KB was waiting outside the tent to help me get back to camp. She even took my bike from me and had water boiling to make lunch. Damn I’m a lucky man.
We continued our rotation as the afternoon started to set in. Bryce went after Cimarron and Kevin followed her. Kathleen went out and Bryce and I got the fire going. I had told Doug he could ride one of my laps because he had been planning on riding on a corporate team that fell through. Cimarron started to try and plan out the evening and nobody was happy with what she was planning. So we decided she would ride after KB and Doug would ride as me after her. This meant I wouldn’t be riding again until about 6 in the morning. Not a problem.
Kathleen came back into camp and we ate some burritos she had premade for the race. Both of us felt good sitting around the camp fire and warming ourselves up. After a while it was time for a nap and people started disappearing. I checked in for the night and told Bryce to wake me up when he got back from his lap so I could get ready. And then I passed out.
It seemed like the whole night passed before Bryce pounded on the window. Then it seemed like it wasn’t long enough. I turned the car on to get it warmed back up and started to find my gear. I dressed warm but couldn’t find my beanie. I stood around what was left of the fire and warmed up my shoes and riding gloves. I began the search for my riding beanie once more and was successful. It was sitting under the front seat. I shut the door and walked to the back of the car to change into a riding jacket and relayer a bit. To my disbelief and despite all my cursing the back door was locked, as was the rest of the car.
Now, I’ve locked my keys in cars before but this time I have no idea how the door even locked. To lock my car you have to pull the door handle out and then push down on the button, which I did not do. It seems that my car just randomly decided to lock. Leaving Kathleen in the cold during the morning hours and both of us without our gear. After discussing the problem with Doug, who also owns an Element, he said that his car had done the same thing a couple of times and had inspired him to have a spare attached to the car at all times. Bloody hell.
I rode my second lap a little aggravated by the car situation. The morning lap was much easier, I knew where I was at and people just seemed to stop and let me by. The racers were more spread out on the course and I didn’t get caught in any bottle necks. I did hit the wall hard as I was climbing up the saddle to finish the lap, but I was able to finish just fine. When I got in, no one was waiting for me to go out. So I walked back to camp.
