Cackalacky Cup
The Boy and I headed top Lake Norman State Park to take part in the two time trial format race on Saturday. Attendance was a little off as there were a few other cycling events in the area, but there was a decent crowd present. There was only one other rider in the single speed class, so we were racing for first or last place. Mike (the other guy) had the "tower of power" build, and he was also rolling 29" wheels, so my work was cut out for me.
The first race was the technical time trial. There were multiple obstacles on the course that had to be successfully navigated or you were handed a time penalty. Right outta the start there was a series of cones set close together that you had to slalom between on a loosed gravel double track. It was slow going, but definitely a challenge. After the cone challenge the trail opened up, and I could feel the effects of last week's hundie in my legs. I did my best to ride at my limits for as long as I could, and after a decent amount of time of getting on the gas there was a 6" wide X 12' long skinny that you had to hop up on (at speed) and ride the entire length. That was easy compared to the next obstacle. We had to wind through another series of cones, but this time it was a on a high speed section of singletrack. I was moving so fast I don't think I woulda known if I'd have knocked over a cone or not. The final test was a two part limbo with a high pole and then a few yards later another one set up much lower. I was the only moron to knock the higher limbo pole down. Not even the biggest guy with a Camelbak knocked it over. Sad. I was only six seconds behind Mike, but with our penalty times (he knocked over a cone) he was up on me by 26 seconds.
The second time trial was just an all out sub 24 minute heart bursting, lung searing effort. Mike bested me by recording the second fastest time overall and beating me by nine seconds. He was only off the fastest time by five seconds which is a pretty impressive performance for a single speed VS gearie war.
I had a good time afterwards hanging out and sharing war stories while trading schwag. I ended up with some sweet chainrings which will be the catalyst for a new experiment I wanted to try on one of my bikes. The Boy ended up one step off his podium in fourth (he could have entered the SS class and got third, oh well). We ended up not stick ing around for the log pull and other games. I was wiped out from a week without a whole lot of sleep, and I could feel that a mental shutdown was eminent. Overall I had a great time and I hope next year more people prioritize the event. Neal (the promoter) said he would like to add more features and distance in the future, so I am definitely looking forward to it. I need to redeem myself on my poor limbo performance.
