stoopid

I dunno. Don't what to include here, what am I taking away from the Stoopid 50? I had a good day, a pretty damn good day. Had a plan and stuck to it. Rode within myself, but always on the rivet, keeping a close eye on the tachometer. Try to make up time anywhere possible, ie climbs and workable trail. Start was the usual, caboosing the lead group, then ejected on the long paved downslope. Drop wayyyyyyyy back into the main field. Shortish climb up Spruce Mtn Rd, hammer it, pass back an uncountable number of bodies, hammer it. Into the woods 30ish or so. Somewhat open gaps, considerate folks letting me by no problemo. Just keep working.

Mtn Laurel is blooming HUGE. Cicadas chirping out a mindnumbing, disorienting buzz. Was solid all day, even got to do some 'racing' here and there. Goal was to go sub 5 on the clock, hoping to sneak another top 5 in the one speeds, top 20 overall would be cool too. Problem is, it's mid-June, not early May like back at Meeshow. Everybody has their shit dialed now, those couple spots I need to gain thru attrition are getting tough to come by. Rough concept of where I'm sitting in the standings; I know at least 5 contenders up the trail Billy, Elk, Matt, Chad, Topher, Les and I'm sure 2 or 3 others that I'm unaware of....top 5 starts to look like a lofty goal. Concentrate on the clock. Give up ground, gain ground, give up ground, gain ground. 2nd aide station, there's Les enjoying a cold one.

Still in the hunt, be efficient, chug that Old Style, no time to be social. Systems check indicating go time, clock rolling towards 4 hours, time to seal the deal. In that special state of mind TT tempo ripping up thru Deer Tick, on it, just given 'er, leave it all out on the trail. And my rear tire starts going soft. Hit it with a CO2, sorta seals, roll. 10minutes and slamming in a second CO2. 10 more minutes, and I have 2 CO2's and two tubes left. If I hit it again, down to 1 CO2, not enough to fill a tube if third time isn't a charm. fuck. Off the bike, throw in a tube. Longest flat fix I've been thru in a while, a frustrating ten minutes as 6 folks pass me by.

Back on the bike right after Travisimo goes by. Fresh carrot to chase w/ renewed focus. Back onto it and settling in. Drawing on all the suffering I've absorbed so far this year, time to let some of it go. Finally reel in Travis, catching most of who passed me in the process. Keep looking up the trail, keep looking up the trail. nobody. "There's gotta be somebody just around the corner." Keep chasing. Keep chasing. Keep chasing. Finish climb, gotta be somebody around the corner. nope.

Final tally: 7th singlespeed, 22nd overall, 5:19 elapsed, oh so close. Les was 6th/20th with only a five minute gap. 10 minute flat change....five minute gap, damn. Feels like another step closer to slaying the 9hour beast.

Thanks to Chris and Jimbo and all the other behind the scenes folks that provided the arena, good times as always. And the Jabberfixy rocked as usual, other than losing that air.