It’s Supposed To Be Hard

Get your mind out of the gutter.  I’m talking about mountain biking.  And endurance racing.  And all that other happy horseshit.

I just decided to make it harder.

I’ve done the 6 Hours of Warrior Creek for the last few years, and every single time it’s been a mental challenge more than anything else.  Sure my legs have screamed in agony trying to push my 225 pound self up the climbs, but it’s always been fun.  That’s what this event is all about to me:  riding for fun.  Well, that and the social scene.

Photo cred (this and all others): Lunchbox

As you can see, I was so busy talking to people (like Lowcountry Joel in the photo above) that I wasn’t even ready to go when everyone started lining up.  I guess I was a little too relaxed.  Anyway, I calmly walked over to our pit area, put on my Drunk Cyclist jersey, grabbed my helmet, shoes, and gloves, and made my way to the back of the pack with D-Wayne and Mike B. 

The crowd was huge like usual.

When they said go, we didn’t move.  Yeah, the super fast guys up front took off, but we folks in the back were sitting there like we were stuck in rush hour traffic on a Friday afternoon.  Eventually, we took off and hit the road.

Winding through the campsites in an attempt to spread us out, I sorta worked my way from the very back up to not so much in the very back.  I was spinning like crazy on my 32X21, but once we finally got into the woods I was okay.

Well, sorta.  We were still going pretty slow, and while I wasn’t really out there racing I still wanted to move along at a decent pace.  I swear I was gonna burn up my new set of brake pads because there was a lot of brake-riding and I couldn’t get around anyone.  I had to work harder than normal since I couldn’t get any momentum on the climbs.  That sucked, but I tried to put on a happy face the next time I saw Lunchbox in the woods waiting for me.

As usual, he was everywhere.  Sometimes I swear that I wouldn’t survive a race without him there.

Eventually we spread out a little more, and I got a chance to settle in.  My gear choice was perfect, and I didn’t have to work too hard on the climbs.  The first lap seemed to go on forever though.  I passed a few people here and there and I wasn’t getting tired at all.  Good Guy Greg was only a few spots ahead of me, and I thought for sure that D-Wayne would roll up on me any minute. 

I was having fun, and still trying to socialize.  After what seemed like two hours though I was back to the start/finish line.  One lap down on a rigid single speed and I felt fine.  I stopped real quick at my tent (to shed some layers) and went back out for lap two.

That’s when it got really fun.

And this is where I leave you today.