The Stoopid Not Quite 50...

I made my way to State College Saturday for the Stoopid 50. I was lucky enough to be staying with Wes' parents, who are just awesome people. I got there around 2ish and decided to hit Tussey ridge for a little ride.

The trails and the view were awesome. I even hooked up with Jeff Schalk and Anna on the ridge.

After a good ride, some awesome home made lasagna, and a good nights sleep, I was ready to go.

I started pretty slow up the road climb, which made riding the ridge difficult. I was stuck behind a group of people that were having a tough time in the rocks. After some frustrating sections I finally managed to get some open space in front of me and I let it rip. At the bottom of the descent I saw a guy who had crashed and was in pretty bad shape. I stopped to see how he was. I got him off to the side, and as comfortable as possible, then continued on hoping to see a marshall along the way.

It wasn't long until things started falling apart. My legs were not feeling good and my stomach wasn't very happy either. I made it to the aid station, drank a beer, ate bunch of food and carried on. I saw Wes' dad on the road and gave a quick wave. I kept expecting to feel better, but it went the opposite way.

I was on a section of the course that had 2 way traffic and was thinking of calling it a day there. Instead I kept going. I was no longer having fun, I was just suffering, so I decided to pull the plug when I hit the aid station again. I'm glad I did, there was nothing but fire road left, but there were 3 big climbs that I just didn't have in me. Lucky for me Wes' dad was at the aid station with a cooler of beer. Unfortunately my stomach was so jacked up I couldn't enjoy one. I can't thank the Shempf's enough for all they did for me this weekend.

In the end I did 36 miles in just under 4.5 hours with 4219 feet of climbing. Nothing to be happy about, but it is what it is.

I think I will drown my sorrows with a few of these tonight.

Cheers,

Buddy