More than just racing

Any event that is promoted by Mike Kuhn and the ‘family’ (TSE, Iron Cross, Rattlin’ 50) and sponsored by our very own Stan’s NoTubes is a recipe for success. The first of these yearly events commenced this past weekend with the Marysville Relays. As much as everyone declares that it’s ‘just for fun’, there always seem to be an awfully large number of people hovering around the results board comparing lap times!

The result board hovering. ok ok, I was there too!

We (Rich, Matt F and Manny) whipped out some fast laps and enjoyed basking in the April sun with friends.  My lungs hurt from pushing myself hard. Those relays are the best-disguised training around.

Racing aside, my favorite part of the day was taking Jim Glover’s 12 year-old daughter Callan out for a lap of the course when the race had finished. The girl can ride; I mean, she can really ride. She stuck on my wheel going through the technical sections, and only got off for the big logs that I saw many a guy dismount/crash at during the race. Any girl who rides behind you, repeatedly declares how much they love the dirt, twisty single track, their brand new 29er, and is desperate for clipless pedals so they can hop over logs without slipping out, is destined for good things. Maybe we can convince her to be on our team next year….

The rest of the afternoon was spent spreading the Stan’s love, with talk of sealant and rims.

Spreading the love

Sunday was spent executing a mock 100-mile mountain race. Rich, Matt, Aaron Snyder and myself headed out on a 115-mile loop. Aaron has sense, and headed homeward after 40 miles; us three loonies kept going. I like to do these extra-long rides to remind myself of the suffering that begins to insure after 6 hours on the bike; the niggling neck pains, tight back, mind games. It was Easter Sunday, so we feared all the back-of-beyond tiny shops we usually stop at would be closed. Luckily between miles 80-90 the uni-mart was open. I had forgotten to put Elete in my bottles, so I scoffed down some peanuts. Climbing the last 1000ft of the 8000ft ride, I began to feel twinges in my calf. Again I was reminded of the benefits of including high quality and easily absorbable electrolytes in my race diet. Peanuts don’t quite cut it.

The weekend was topped of by spending Easter Sunday evening at Rich’s parents. His mum had made ham. I used to be vegetarian. I shoveled it down to the delight of his dad. Slowly but surely they are sucking me into eating like a Pennsylvanian. Please stop me if I ever suggest sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top. Hammer on.