Another great race in the Tucson desert has been logged in the race books. It was a great race, in great weather, on great singletrack, and with great friends. The comraderie and the many laps of mountain biking will keep most of us going back for more next year.
A few memories from the race:
-Remembering once again that Quenzler is the living embodiement of “eye of the tiger”: in the car on the trip out, running with Trebon & Donnie to the bikes, during the entire race (including early AM), eating In-n-Out burger, and on the way home. Gotta love that intensity, especially since he’s on our team!
-On the pre-ride I got chased by a mad mamma cow after getting caught between her and her babies. That was a little more intense than I planned for a pre-ride! Check out the video looking forward – even though the real story is behind… “I like your cow”
-The “RV” that we used (a 30ft Budget Rent -a- WrecK) was living large and so was Marty “Lotta Large”.
-Seeing Hoppe again and hooking him up with some water. Watching him and Chris/Marty interact – pure comedy!
-Remembering the pain of the ‘one-on, one-off’ ride/recovery pace of a duo team by watching Hoppe and Bolton.
-Knocking out a 57min 31sec first lap, the 2nd fastest lap of the race behind Sam Schultz‘ . He caught me and I drafted him for a while, then I took a pull and blew up…nothing like realizing it’s still February with a good anaerobic explosion!
-Spying a cholla cactus in the discarded jersey of Trebon at the Kona tent – and understanding why he threw down a horrible 1:14 first lap fresh off his cyclocross worlds campaign.
-Uploading updates of the real time results and realizing we’re riding pretty good…all things considered.
-Seeing the Schultz brothers team opening the gap on everyone…that includes everyone.
-Discussing body aches and therapies with the SSMTC Old and Angry crew. In ten more years I could be like that? Lord help me…please!
-Catching up with the 2 of the El Paso teammates – Santiago and TBC Mike. Good to throw it down with them and hear about the good weather down south.
-Josh Robertson oiling the chain and keeping our bikes dialed at 10pm! Pro treatment for the bro’s – very nice!
-Doing a few painful night laps and realizing that some hurt more than others – and you just have to go your own pace and be thankful you’re not solo racing it! That’s the hurt locker of pain!
-Watching the NM Orhtoguys battle it out with the MTC Old and Angry guys and Sport Systems MTC team. These teammates locked horns and the old guys proved to be the angriest at the thought of getting beat – which motivated them to a top ten finish overall out of 135 4 man teams. Good stuff.
-Making it through the sinus infected race and coming out of it with a great last lap in which I actually gapped Andy Schultz of Adrenaline. He’s a ex-teammate from Cannondale and it was good to trade pulls with him and race it out until the end. Paybacks for his brother breaking me down on lap 1.
-Post race beer with the crew and then breaking down camp and packing it up for the 7hr drive home. We’ve got families to see and work in the morning.
-Standing on the podium next to 3 teammates with non-biking careers, families, and great lives that enable us to live a healthy competitive lifestyle. My teammates and I earned our top 3 and and prove that success is many layers deep. Thanks to the great competitors who made it mean more!
See you next year in the cactus of SoAZ!
Damian
P.S. Check out Freeze Frame and type in 24 in the Race photos section to pull up team pics.
Sport Systems MTC – Bib 426
SSMTC Old and Angry – Bib 440
NMOrthoguys – Bib 424
Sport Systems MTC – Bib 465
The team had a strong start to the 2009 racing season, with 4 teams finishing in the top 15 in the 4 Men Open category at the 24 Hours of Old Pueblo.
It’s only February, but it’s warm in Tucson, AZ so a bunch of team members are heading down there for the 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo. Good luck, and show some love on Valentines Day!
That is how they did it in 1980!