Was it Epic? You betcha!
Did a horde of KC kids who love to ride their bikes in the dirt show up? Fo Sho!
Did they all represent? Come on really, you know they did!
Was the start of the trip Epic? If 4 grown men (Justin, Drew, Sean and I), 4 bikes and 4 Chipotle burritos (thank you Mr. Burns for the sweet ride and tortilla goodness) stuffed into a VW Eurovan isn't Epic then I'll quit riding my bike and start quilting again!
Did we arrive Friday before nightfall? Yes, with just enough time to register, claim grass to sleep on and sneak in a quick recon ride!
Was a majority of our recon ride on gravel? Yes, but Saturday we flossed that shit with the intel gathered!
Were we greeted by familiar faces at the BASS RIVER RESORT? Only if you know the following people: T-Donkey, Dana, The Kid, Old Man Winters, The Bald Chimp, Katie, Claudia, Stewart, JPS, Kay Lynn, Roger, Shoffner, Captain Jack, and Gabriel! It was like a pirate ride in the Ozarks where the whole family showed up.
Were Timbo and Brooke familiar faces? Yes, but we intercepted them at a gas station in St. James where Tim forced me at gun point to eat a bite of his Big Bopper ice cream sandwich then buy myself one.
Did we have an EPIC campfire that evening? No.
Did we attempt to have an EPIC campfire that night? Yes, but unseasoned wood wasn't having it. However, putting mongoloid acorns in the fire added some extra excitement!
Did I sleep outside under the EPIC stars? Yes!
Were they EPIC? Close, but not quite. I did see a haze of the milky way!
Did it get EPICally cold? Yes, but i was warm and cozy in my bivy sack.
Were there more familiar faces in the morning? Boy howdy, to many to mention other than Sarah W. had made a late night arrival.
Was the start of the race EPIC? If near 300 mountain bikers tearing ass through crisp morning air to go ride 55 miles of sweet singletrack and gravel roads isn't, then hand me my needle and thread.
Did I have a strategy? Keep Dave, the Bald Chimp in sight!
Did Dave have a strategy? Keep me in sight! After divulging this we both decided to ride together as much as possible.
Was I sucking wind on the initial climb? EPICally!
Did I catch up to Dave at the first check point? Yes, then I sat on his wheel while he murdered 10 miles of singletrack and every person wearing Lycra that sat in his way. It was effing EPIC.
Did I take my turn at the front? Yes, after the second checkpoint I took the helm till the 2nd major climb turned my legs into a EPIC FAIL jello mold cake.
Did we eventually catch the lone singlespeed racer in front of us none other than Peat Henry? Yes and he was suffering in an EPIC way with his 32x17 gearing.
Did we get off course? Yes, but only for a short distance. Not near as Epic as the lead group which consisted of my buddies Travis and Garet. They had ridden 5 minutes out then turned around only to run into us.
Did the race change at that point? Yes, all of a sudden there were 12 guys together instead of 4 heading into the gravel section. It was about to get EPIC once again.
Did I get dropped on the gravel? Yes but Garet was smoked and he pulled me along while I spun my brains out to try and keep up, thanks dude!
Did I experience any muscle cramping? Affirmative, 9 miles of gravel back to Berrymen campground gave me opportunity to down nutirition.
16 miles of racing lay ahead with Dave and Peat out in front of me, did I give up? Hell no, blew through the last checkpoint without stopping on a mission to experience some full on pain.
Did I catch Peat? Double affirmative!
Did I catch Travis at the same time? Yep
Did that put Travis in a pickle? Yes Sir, he wanted to stay with me but not pull Peat along.
Did I up the intestity? Understatement! For the next 30 minutes I rode as hard as possible with cramps on every switchback.
And? I eventually bridged up to Dave, who "didn't have a lot of fight left in him!" You and me both buddy.
Did Dave and I bust out the last little climb then spin our brains out on the gravel back to the finish? Yes, and it still hurt. But we "checked our 6" the whole time keeping an eye out for Peat.
Did Ethos take the 1 2 in SS? Hells' yeah! It was an EPIC battle the whole race. But it couldn't have ended any better than rolling across the finish line with a friend and teammate. Dave had asked me if I wanted to try and sprint it out to the line. I declined, he had slowed for me on all of the last 3 little rises on the gravel road.
Did he take the win? Yes he deserved it. Now if I had known that SS paid out $$$$ I would have whipped my pump out and jammed it in his front wheel "Breaking Away" style.
Was the race well promoted? Double understatement! Awesome course, and venue. Unreal social atmosphere, tons of bikers and their families hanging out in the post race spectacular fall weather sipping on beer and cola's while chowing on BBQ.
Did I have BBQ? No you silly, I'm a Veg!
Did everyone finish with style? Yes!
Did everyone have as good a time at the bonfire that night as they did racing? I know something with 2 thumbs and a gray beard that did, this guy!
Did I train hard for this race? Yes, but never alone! Always with friends, some slower some faster just out riding trails and having a good time. So thanks to all of my pals who have joined me in trail time this year it has been a blast and it's not going to stop this winter!
