After thinking all week I would have the entire day on Friday to pack and organize all of my stuff for the race, Friday came and I found myself spending the morning with my 1 year old, and the afternoon at the office seeing an emergency patient who was in a lot of pain.  That obviously left me frantically trying to find my camping gear, cycling gear, and what-nots before shaggy got home from work.  He rolled in around 6:15 and we loaded up the rest of our gear and headed to NB’s.  After completely unloading our car into Sherman, we stopped and got some of the best fish tacos I have ever had from El Rey.  The drive out to Warda was uneventful and NB kept us entertained with a vast selection of never-before-heard tunes to which he knew every word.

We rolled into BCR and met brewer and SpEd (as brewer calls him) and began to set up camp in the dark.  The last thing I remember was zipping up my sleeping bag and I slept like a rock until about 6:15am.  I have to admit I did not want to get up, or out, because of the cold, but I managed to get up and start unloading the bikes etc.  I was amazed at how many people were there.  Cars, tents, trailers, etc everywhere.  This was going to be a great day!

NB sprinted to his bike at the start of the race and was off.  We had decided to go in reverse age order which meant NB would ride first, then brewer, me, and finally shaggy.  I have to admit, the hour and a half went by really quickly, and it was my turn to mash the pedals.  I took off after getting the #165 medallion from brewer and thought I was clipping along at a pretty good pace, until I heard “on your left” about ten times in the first 15 minutes.  I was in the last section of trails prior to the end of my lap when my bike decided to come to an abrupt stop in a large hole.  I thought I was choosing a good line, but the front tire slid on some pine needles right into a 1 foot deep V-shaped hole in the middle of the trail.  The bike stopped and I didn’t.  My right knee tried to remove the adjustment knob on the top of my Manitou fork, but the fork wouldn’t give it up.  It took me a couple of minutes to be able to “walk it off”.  Several riders stopped to ask if I was okay, and of course I was…all except my ego obviously.  I got back on the bike and after pedaling for the next few minutes, my knee was numb and I finished my first lap.  What a way to start the day…crashing on the first lap.   The rain earlier in the week had left several areas of the trail just muddy enough to feel like you were riding with the brakes on all the time.  It was going to be a long day, and I was glad this first lap was almost over!

I rolled into the transition area and handed shaggy the medallion and he was off.  As I walked back to camp, I realized my knee was not very happy with me and it was going to be quite stiff each time I got on the bike.  After a short nap in NB’s Eagle’s Nest Hammock, I had a peanut butter sandwich and a Cliff bar and was ready for Lap #2.

Lap #2... coming soon.