Baby Boy's blog

So another 24 hour event has ended. No fatalities, minor causalities and one cracked Funky frame. All in all a great time.

But . . . credit to Laird and his vision. We have been doing one of Laird's event every year since we were in college. We now qualify for the 35 and over class. We particularly like the Conyers venue. We are very thankful that Laird is still committed to this venue even though the turnout for the first couple of years has not been great.

Laird and your Granny Gear crew - thank you for putting on a great race. See you next year.

It always happens this way. For some reason, no matter where I start, I end up being the one to do the last lap whether I want to our not. Since we don't really care if we make the podium, sending me out for another lap is quite humorous to the other clowns on my team. To further press my buttons, they volunteer to do a double lap or send someone else out. That is simply not acceptable to me. If it is my turn, I will do my lap.

The point is that now Funky, Matt Man and the Don Mon have conspired to crank out fast laps. If their twisted plan works, Don Mon will come in at 11:50 a.m. What separates me from wearing these disgusting clothes for another 2 hours or taking a shower is 10 minutes! In order to pull it off, they all need to do hour laps. The Funky Jim Medina upheld his end of the deal and came in exactly at 1 hour. Matt Man is poised to run his fastest lap right now and on the first half, he looks on track. Don Mon is my only hope. He will need to do his lap in over an hour and 10 minutes.

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Matt Man, the unsung hero. Our sacrifice to the first lap gods. Which in turn means that he will be one of the few doing an extra lap. Our sherpa bringing up all the food and the Don Mon. The one that just keeps banging out the laps without any fanfare. If he gets a flat, it is not a comic adventure (because he runs rim strips). If his suspension is not adjusted properly, he fixes it. He does not rely upon the Scoot Dog for absolutely everything like yours truly. He had the miserable 5:30 in the morning shift. No complaints. Perhaps it is because he does not need to broadcast to the rest of the team how awesome he is.

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Since our main purpose is to start as a team and finish as a team, we help each other out a little at night. We run operation slow which is doubling up on laps so that the other teammates can sleep. We also ease up on the lap times which is not really by choice but because it is difficult to maintain the same speed when your vision is greatly reduced.

The mind plays weird tricks on you at 2 in the morning with only about 7 hours sleep in the last 48 hours. At one point, I thought that a rabid pink monkey was chasing me and trying to bite a non matching sock. It would not have made much difference, they already are riddled with holes.

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I just finished my second lap. This one on my Mootaineer. What a difference. The Klein is like an overanxious puppy dog. Marmaduke. When you pull it off the truck it is like, oh boy look at that log Daddy - let's jump it. There's a berm, let's see if we can do a two wheel slide through it. Hill, let's wheelie up it. Root - airborne - Yippie!!!

Marmaduke does not care if we make it to the end of the trail it is all about exploiting every opportunity for fun.

The Mootaineer is like Lassie. Well Master, I have evaluated the topographical maps and determined that the later part of the course has significant elevation changes. Let me cruise through the beginning so that you can conserve your energy for the climbs. Do not trouble yourself with picking the best line for I will guide you over any obstacle smoothly and safely. Furthermore, I will make sure that I maintain optimum contact with the ground to give you maximum traction for braking, accelerating or climbing. Do not worry Master, we will get through this trail just fine and return to the truck in one piece.

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So Funky banged out a smoking 55 minute lap. This was his first mountain bike race. He started riding singletrack 4 months ago. I gave him 4 days notice to ride in this race. Of course he was up for the challenge. He is battered and bruised but in one piece.

The same can not be said for Funk's bike. The rear wheel rubs when he puts the power down. Scooter diagnosed the issue as bent rear linkage. He dished the wheel and put on a smaller rear tire. That should do the trick as long as the Funkster is careful.

Funky is learning that in order to compete in this race, he needs to keep himself

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Funky Jim Medina is our new fourth Person after Habbee Baby could not make it. The following is an email exchange between Brent and the other teammates to assure that the Funky Jim Medina (yes, he does get paid to do the wild thing) understands the gravity of the situation. Matt's comments are in parenthesis.

I will acquiesce to Funky racing, but he needs to understand the magnitude of the endeavor. We have been doing this for who knows how long. ( 12 Years )
We have only had (not needed) a ringer three times. To be picked to be our fourth is an honor that should not be taken lightly. Furthermore, being the new kid, we should educate Funkatude on the following: ( Don't Read Any Further )

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My turn to bang out a lap. Don Mon came in strong. Amazing what he can do on a fully functioning bike.

For ole times sake, I ride my oldie but a goodie. It is a 1993 Klein Attitude. I purchased it new in 1994. Prior to this bike, the only frame I had ever had that lasted over 2 years without cracking was a Specialized M2 Team Edition (yes the orange Ned Overend Edition).

It has a Mag 21 with probably .5 inches of non existent suspension. Who needs dampening when there is no compression? The rest of it is stiff as a board. Climbs great but makes make you feel every inch of it.

The first half of the course is through dirt singletrack. The Klein absolutely shined in this section. Lean as hard as you can into the turns. Clip the Apex, then power down. The front end lightens up as you are catapulted into the next turn.

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So after driving for 4.5 hours, we pulled in with 4 minutes to spare. Matt Man did the run. His first time doing the first lap. He did a great job and pulled a lap time of 1 hour 4 minutes.

Next contestant was the Don Mon. He went off hard and was doing great. About a half hour later, we see him running to the campsite. "Dude - I got two flats at the same time." We grab his bike and assist in the repair. As I pop off the tire, I notice a nice shiny rim. "Don - you don't have any rim strips." "OH." Apparently these are not his normal rims but his girlfriends. Nice time to experiment.

He was also complaining that his stem kept slipping. To cure it, we see him pouring sand into the headset. What are you doing? "It will keep it from slipping." Upon further examination, we notice that his headset is not installed correctly. He had just purchased a new fork after his $30 ebay special died before it was ever installed on his bike. Again, nice time to experiment.

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12 hours and 25 minutes before the start and I am still at work.

I am not packed.

My race bike's rear derailleur decided to circumnavigate the rear hub and took a portion of my drop out along for the ride.

At least one of my teammates, Funky, sounds like he is ready for our adventure. I just called Matt Man and the Don Mon and they have not made it to the race site yet despite leaving Tampa at 2:00 this afternoon. They did find a bar though so at least they will be well hydrated for the race.

It is about a 4 and a half hour drive for me to the race site.

No pressure.