Today was the Afton Alps race. Sometime last week I decided I was going to race my single speed. Last night I re-geared my bike to 32:19 and and left it hang in the stand until morning. This morning after making breakfast I went down stairs to dial my bike in, pack my gear and get ready for the race. After cruising the bike up and down the alley for a bit I loaded it onto the Jeep and went inside to make my water bottles and make sure Katie was ready to go. Around 11:30 we were on the road. I felt a little behind schedule but was not too worried.
When we parked at the race it was around 12:15 and I had about a half hour to register and sign warm up. I immediately grabbed my bike and rode to registration. When I was leaving Katie was at the door waiting for me. When I saw her she asked, "Where is your gear bag?".
"Shit"
"Did you forget it"
"Yep"
"What do you want to do now"
"Race"
This started my quest for Shoes(preferably with Time cleats), Helmet, and some shorts and jersey. I was less worried about the shorts and jersey but luckily I ran into my friend Jesse's girl friend who found a old Penn Cycle kit in J's car. Jesse was out warming up so he had no idea I was wearing is old gear. Alright, jersey and shorts down, helmet and shoes to go.
Next I ran into a new co-worker of mine who pointed out an acquaintance of mine, Porter, who had just finished racing the Sport race. Conveniently, Porter wears the same size shoes as me. The down side was that Porter doesn't ride Time's. So, we swapped out pedals, Porter gave me his helmet and I was set to race. Not quite, Porter may have average size feet, but his head is way above average. Porters helmet felt like I had a gallon bucket on my head. I said I would take the helmet and use it if I couldn't find another one.
Enter E-Fred, another QBP employee who also just finished up the Sport race.
"Erik what size helmet do you wear"
"Small/Med, but it is narrow, so I have a lady's helmet"
"Im not scared, if it fits, can I wear it"
"Sure"
The helmet fit like a glove, better than my old helmet even. I think I will give Lazer helmets another try.
Alright, I found all the gear I need and I had 10 minutes to spare, so I cruised up and down the walk way for a bit and noticed that Porters pedals are way different than mine and was really hard for me to clip in. Well beggers can't be choosers, so I rode to the starting line and put my game face on. Game face? Yeah right, I could careless how I did in the race, I was happy to have the gear to ride.
New Penn Cycle/Lazer Team Rider Fryn PorkyAnd how did the race go? It actually went pretty well, I felt like I road as good as I could have on any given day, I road good in the single track and had some good power in my pedals on the uphills. The only real problem was when I would have to clip in and out of my pedal to walk or run some of tougher sections. This wasn't a big deal until the last lap when my legs were really fatigued and I was fighting back the cramps.
In the end, I don't know my exact place, but I finished strong. I was on the course for about 2hours and 45minutes. Judging by the people crossed the line with, I was in the same field I normally finish.
So Yeah, I had quite the interesting day today. Unfortunately I couldn't fly the Salsa colors today, but I got to represent Penn Cycle instead. Special thanks to all my "other" sponsors, Jesse Rientz, Erik Fredrickson, and Porter.
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Bil pushing the big Dog all day
Bil pushing the big Dog all day
I don't have a lot of experience riding full suspension bikes and the terrain around here is different than anything I have ridden before. The trail was a lot of fun, a good 8-10 mile lollie-pop loop with some rocky climbs and fast rocky decesnts. The bike handled great and I was loving the 5 inches of travel on the rocky downhills. The ride took about an hour and a half but was a perfect way to loosen up after the trip.
