RAWROD '09

Well...I know it's been an eternity since I last posted anything on this blog, but last Saturday was RAWROD '09 and I would be remiss if I didn't do a little write-up on the ride. I'll admit, no matter what kind of shape I'm in, doing 100 miles on a mountain bike is a little intimidating. So you can understand that this year, since I really haven't done any off-season training whatsoever, I was pissin' my pants before the ride. I was excited to hear that KP was going to make an appearance at the ride and I looked forward to racing him up the hills, but he, Scott, Delena, and Kory started the ride a half-hour ahead of us and we really didn't see much of them the rest of the day! Everyone wanted to see Delena's new Sabrosa, but all we saw was the cloud of dust that followed behind her as she sped away to the next stop. Girl was on fire! Way to go! I had the opportunity to ride along side Jon, Tamer, Brandon, and TM for most of the ride. I seriously couldn't have made it through the constant 35 mph winds without wheel sucking Sabrosa for most of the day. Boy's a strong rider, and is an artist with the steel tubes! If I'm lucky, I might through a leg over one of his creations in the future! That will be a great day! Oh, and Brandon, thanks for the tube. I owe you one. Though it would have been interesting to see how that cyclocross tube would have worked! I'm an idiot! Lesson: Check your Camelback before you leave to make sure you have all the gear you need!

Like last time I did RAWROD, I rode the 32x18 singlespeed. Same choice again this year. Riding single speed is the way to go. Singles are so simple and fun to ride. Unless you have one of those new-fangled eccentric BB thingers. Well...then they aren't so simple, but still fun to ride. I managed to crash my bike 20 miles into the ride while descending Shafer Trail. Took a hairpin turn a little fast and laid down the bike. I had a sweet golf-ball sized bump on my knee the rest of the ride. Fun stuff. I took the rest of the descents at granny speed the rest of the ride. Hey, I'm not going down twice. No way! I also managed to blow out my sidewall through one of the many rocky sections, but Jon helped me patch it up with a little engenuity (power bar wrapper) and I was good for the rest of the ride. I made it up most of the hills. Hardscrabble was tougher than I remembered. Finishing on Horsethief was both a bitch and a blessing. It was a bitch because climbing 1500' feet over 3 miles after riding 98 miles is never easy. It was a blessing because as soon as I crested the top, I knew the ride was done! 101 miles, 7100' feet of climbing. Fun stuff! Can't wait till next year!

p.s. I had grand illusions of taking tons of pictures to document the ride. However, the camera gave up the ghost when I decided to fall off my bike on Shafer Trail. Oh well! Thanks to Kenny for pulling off another great RAWROD!