Two for two

I could really get used to this winning thing. This was a double good weekend because not only did I win, but also got several laps of pre-riding on the course which will be the same as the season opener for the Indiana MTB race series next weekend. I hope the trail stays the same because it was absolutely dialed in.
This was also the first time of riding my complete race setup, wheels and all. Um, yeah, it's nice.

The weekend started a little early as I had to leave work at noon so as to make a scheduled bike fit up in Fort Fun. Results were good, not many changes save for a saddle swap. You see, this hombre has child bearing hips and a wider saddle is supposed to help better support and cure the hip roll I have. This also meant ponying up a saddle for my road bike to achieve the same result, so it started out to be an expensive weekend. Not so nice. Also not so nice is that the shop only had a black saddle for the MTB so I lose a bit of the white hotness.
Performance increase as a result? That, however, is nice.

Friday night found me in a hometown local restaurant for my brother's birthday. Good times as we flipped through family photos of my brother, sister and I growing up. Blizard of '82? Every kid's snow day dream! Power Mullet from high school? You know it! I don't have a digipic of my mullet then, but I do have one from 2002, when I rocked one for old times' sake for 24 hours:
I got a pretty funny look when I asked the hairdresser to cut from my ears forward. She asked if I lost a bet. I didn't. Anyway a deal was struck that I wouldn't tell anyone who cut my hair so long as she would cut the rest off the next day. Hence a 24 hour mullet.

Anyhoo, Saturday morning was spent helping my dad lay some paver stones in his back yard. Now I'm no Roger Cook (landscaper on This Old House) but I can lay pavers square and level just fine. After lunch and hanging out with the other half of the fam for a while, I headed out to the race course to help set up and get in a lap or two. Job done, we retired to the RV and watched part of "Into the Wild" until we all cashed out.

Woke up on race day, finished the setup at the start line then got in a pre-ride lap. Retreated back to the RV to hide for the next few hours to get some food and throw my legs up.
Parenthetically, I'll take this opportunity to extol the virtues of having a mobile living room. A nice couch to lay on and prop up your legs, plenty of room in the fridge, and a nice break room to take care of pre-race business. To quote Ferris Bueller, "It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up." Well said, Ferris. Well said.
OK, so about 45 minutes before race time I kitted up, got a quick warm up in, then headed to the start line.
Earlier in the day, Don (race promoter) rode a lap in 37:44 then proceeded to offer up a $50 prieme if anyone could better his time. I took that challenge on my way to victory with a 36:59.

I did have to laugh. In a typical race, spectators cheer you on regardless of who you are. Occasionally, however, you run into fans who have a clear favorite, which does not include you. I came up on a group of people towards the end of the lap at a small punch climb that had a large fell tree 2/3 of the way up it. Provided you maintain momentum, it's not super difficult but it can catch you if you're not careful. As I cleaned it, I saw at least 3 people's faces with a look of spite for me. Not one cheer. I even noticed one person who looked to have a rather expensive SLR camera who I assumed to be an event photographer put the camera down! I was crushed.
Not really.

The weekend was capped off by what else? Mexican.

Life is good.

-the ATM