We arrived in Wisp, Maryland and our goal was to pre-ride the course... However, it was not marked yet so we rode multiple trails that we thought would be part of the course... SURPRISE! Nothing we rode was in the race! In fact, we were on the wrong side of the mountain! It was quite the adventure not knowing what was in store for me.
It down poured only on the morning of the race (it figures) and I knew it was going to be a muddy one. But what I imagined and reality were two different things. It was SO muddy that even the tiniest off-camber incline would send you sliding down the side of the trail. It was horrendous. Every slippery root was a sneaky ninja that would karate chop your wheel and make it slide out in the blink of an eye. Right in the first mile, there was a really wide (and apparently really deep) puddle crossing. I "assumed" it was rideable but ended up riding into an ocean for crying out loud. I rode into hip level water and my front tire lodged into the rocks below as my back tire flew up and over me. I was more shocked than hurt and I pulled myself out of the deadly H20. I SURVIVED THE PUDDLE OF DEATH. As time progressed, I realized I had a pretty good gap on the Cat 2 field but conditions were getting worse. The lap times were so slow for everyone that they started cutting laps out. By the time I was finishing up my first lap and mentally preparing to "get through" another, the race director (my good buddy J.R.) flashed me a big smile and said: "You're done!" Sweet - a first place finish in the first ABRA MTB race of the season! Wish I had a pic of how muddy I was but I went straight to the shower - clothes on and all! Going to be a long day of bike maintenance tomorrow!
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March 2017
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