Tag Archives | Mountain Bike Racing

Stank Memories #TBT

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This morning as I ate a hastily thrown together peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and threw back a large gulp of Starbucks® K-Cup® coffee (don’t judge!), I was hit with a memory from my time doing endurance mountain bike races, many of which required overnight stays.

Until I got too soft and started opting for crap hotel rooms–often given the “Cuckhold Room®'” against my wishes, even though I explained that my buddy’s wife was only there because we were too cheap poor to get our own rooms–most of the time those overnighters meant camping; either in a leaky, crap tent (why did it ALWAYS rain???), or the back of my [insert your choice of boxy, imported vehicles I’ve owned here].

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2016 WC Neffness

Photo: © Michal Cerveny

Photo: © Michal Cerveny

Jolanda Neff made here first UCI World Cup appearance this past weekend in La Bresse, France, and it was worth the wait. After being forced to start a few rows back, the big haired blonde soon found her way to the front, kicked ass on the climbs, and was amazing to watch on the downhills. Even after crashing hard, flatting once, and losing her place at the front, she battled back for the win.

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Still No Cure

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Let me start by saying that this is NOT a “race report.” Ever fattening forty-four year old guys who haven’t raced in nearly two years shouldn’t write race reports. However, this is my blog, and pretty much my ride journal, so to an extent it is a race report. Just don’t expect much “racing.”

As I mentioned in my last post, I decided to go against the advice of doctors, priests, lawyers, heads of state, relatives, my dog, and public opinion by signing up for my first bike race in over twenty months: The Fat Chance at Crystal Mountain. I thought it made perfect sense to come out of race retirement in the middle of winter and do a fat bike race.

I’ve done a shit ton of XC and endurance mountain bike races, a bunch of gravel races, a few cross races (which I’ve sort of blocked out), and one road race (which, like being touched “down there” by a shirtless ice cream truck man, I pretend never happened). However this would be only my second fat bike race. How bad could it be?

Bad. Not all bad, but at the end it was clear that there is still no cure for stupid.

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No Cure For Stupid

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From my records (records = this crap blog) it seems that it’s been well over a year and a half since I lined up for a race. I’ve gone to races, photographed races, talked about races, wrote about races and peed in the woods at races, but somehow I’ve managed to avoid racing for 1 year, 8 months, 25 days and counting. During that time I’ve gained weight, rode less, then rode more, still gained weight, rode anyway ’cause that’s just what I do and all but forgot what it’s like to put out any sort of race day effort. So, it makes perfect sense that I signed up for the Fat Chance at Crystal Mountain this coming Saturday.

I’m a moron.

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Throwback XC

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As I’ve mentioned in the past, the bike shop I work at part-time has quite a bit of old mountain bike race memorabilia. One of the owners used to be the mechanic for the now extinct Volvo-Cannondale Mountain Bike Team, so the shop features a ton of stuff from the V/C team as well as some photos, jerseys and what not from other racers of the era.

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Interesting Work Environments

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I have to say, I’m pretty lucky to work in a shop a few days a week that has various bits of UCI and NORBA (remember them?) downhill and cross-country mountain bike racing history hanging about. It’s fun to walk around the shop and see the bikes, frames, kits and number plates from the various legends of our sport. It’s also fun to hear the stories and anecdotes from a wrench that worked for one of the top teams during mountain bike racing’s heyday.

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Hunting For Glory With Nino

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I’ve long been a sucker for cycling videos, especially ones that call attention to XC and endurance racing and athletes. Even when I know the videos are more part of a marketing and brand machine than a cinematic statement, I still find myself sucked in.

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