Two Wheel Blogs

Unit called me up one day in late June and said I needed to do this MTB race, the Tall Oaks Challenge. I figured "What the hell, I haven't been really targeting anything lately. I might as well..." There's nothing like a goal, you know, to get you motivated to train.

I'll never forget that day. It was so hot. The race course had 3 field crossings - single track through high grass, uphill. The sun was killer. I hated those fields. I hated them because the Tall Oaks Challenge being my first real race where I would actually race, I started at the back of the Masters 40-49 field. I had no idea I'd actually pass anyone. I rode a 30 pound singlespeed. Nearly everyone else had full-on trail racing machines. The field crossings, all 9 of them, afforded the guys I'd passed with a good look at how far ahead I was and how awfully tired I looked.

Fortunately for me, and I hadn't figured this out yet, they were pretty tired too. Everyone hurts at these races.

And speaking of hurting, G-Wiz put a major hurt on his competition. That's him on top of the podium. The guy is a monster on a Mountain Bike. If you see him coming let him through.