Wow! What a Race!

Wow! That was a blast. This year was by far, the best weather for one of these in a long time. Although it rained on Friday, the course was well packed and fast on Saturday. It also stood up to all the tires and punishment from the race remained fast all weekend long.

Our first rider was Todd Dawson. He is new to mountain biking but runs and lifts regularly. Since he still has cartilage in both of his knees, we let him run. Since he is new, his equipment choices are a little off for biking. He was in Converse tennis shoes and running shorts and quickly moved up in the pack.

He stayed in the front of the pack until about mile 4 when his front wheel fell off. He had not checked the gate on his front skewer and learned a hard lesson. His shin hit a rock and still looks horrible. However, he came running (yes running) back into the pavillion where the Christian Cycling mechanics patched up his bike and sent him out again.

Our second rider Jeff Strickland also had wheel trouble. His front wheel fell of during the big down hill. I have ridden for years and never seen a wheel come off. This weekend we had two on one team with back to back riders. Needless to say we all checked our skewers before heading out. When Jeff came into the start/finish area, his face was covered with mud where he face-planted, but you could not hide that great big grin.

Our third rider was Shawna Tyree. She was great and broke our string of bad luck. She is new to the sport and started riding with her Dad and fellow team member, Scott Tyree just this year. Frankly we were worried about her which was unfounded. We did not have time to teach her how to even change a tire. She asked me how on Saturday after Todd's wreck. Todd had told us how several riders stopped to check on him. Jeff said the same happened when he wrecked. I told Shawna, "You are 19, cute and blonde. If people stop for Todd and Jeff, somebody will definitely help!" I thought she was going to kick me.

What I found most impressive was the great times she turned, beating all of us and also her eagerness to get back on the bike for her next lap. Next year, look out. She will tear this course up!

Scott Tyree was next. Although he is very competitive, he also is a great sportsman. By looking at the real time scoring, we were firmly in last place of our division at this point. However, we knew there was at least one team in range for us to overtake. Scott found that team's rider at the bottom of the last up hill, in the dark, with failed lights, a flat tire and no spare. Rather than passing, Scott hopped off his bike, gave the rider his tube and CO2 and got the guy back to the finish line. I think this is one of the greatest things about this race. We are all there to compete. However, you will never find a group of people more supportive than the MTB Tribe. All the people who passed me, and there were alot, spoke, gave encouragement, and really made the weekend for me.

Now it was time for my lap. I would like to have some great story to report here. My lap was uneventful. Everything worked as it should. My bike and lights held out. All I can say is it was fun. It was late but I love the night. My resolution for this year (even though New Years is long passed) is to ride under lights more.

My hind end is still a little saddle sore. I am already training for next year. I will soon purchase my first replacement bike and retire my 1999 model Gary Fisher Marlin. After the last 2 Big Bear races, it has earned a rest.