Stage 1

Director Carpong.

Churtle le Turtle

Ahhh, time to get it on. I love the route that this stage follows. From Stokesville to the North River headwaters, off the mtn then a quick lap on Narrowback back to Stokesville. Did this ride at the Festival once with Bucky, JB and Nick Waite, will today be as much fun? Parade out is nice and shmoove, burning off last night's excess, catching up with friends and making new. Fixed treats me nice, I just roll off the front on the parade climbs then sit up and roll back into the flow as the group catches back on, this might not be too bad afterall. After about 2 hours spin we reach the trailhead, time for the gameface. Timed section from base of North River, over the top to Buck Mtn Trail for a rippin' descent down to Hearthstone. Climbed well, keeping Bucky and Travisimo honest, trying to keep Trevhoor in sight. Saw Jenkini ball it up across the fireroad ridge, ouch. Then on the pitchy Buck Mtn I realize that my front brake needs servicing. Got her a bit hot and lost all front brake. Let go to cool it off, then the lever went flat to the bar with no power. WTF? Time to run down the hill for a bit. Down off the steep pitchyness, brake has cooled and is back to normal. Roll the rest at a safe pace and time to refuel.

Next portion is Narrowback with a KOM at the top of the Dog Graveyard trail. I hear it go hot and jump the 2:1 off the front. Out of sight for a bit I 'hammer down' as best I can until Helmick and Fawley catch me before the final pitch. I roll it to 3rd spot KOM points, a token achievement. Parade it from there to the north end of the ridge, then we're hot again for a timed section back to the cars. I love Narrowback, it's so similar to riding here in Meeshow. I get a good start due to running up the opening climb and pushing the gear like I know how. Stay in the mix with the top 10er's across the ridge then drop another huge chunk of time on the descent. All in all a good day, confidence is up, about 6:20 elapsed ride time, probably 5:15ish pedaling. Sweet.

Dinner was good times, awards were high brow as usual.