I have to start by talking about Rachael's birthday. For years I have been trying to get reservation's at Gilmores, an upscale restaurant in West Chester. This year it finally happened, and I have to say it was worth the wait. The food was spectacular, through in great service and a nice atmosphere, and you have a very nice night out.
Saturday I went for a short ride to try and loosen the legs a little before the Long Pine Classic, I felt pretty good and even through in a couple of efforts.
Later that night we went to a nice Fourth of July celebration, good food and good fireworks.
Yesterday was the Long Pine Classic race in Michaux. This is a new event put on by Fast Forward Racing. Not an endurance race, but anytime I can ride Michaux and only do 1 lap, I am there. Since this was a cross country race, a the start was pretty fast. Being on a single speed and running a conservative gear, I was quickly spit out the back. It wasn't before the course went up and I started to reel in a lot of people. The most amazing thing, was I felt pretty damn good.
I had to work around quite a few people,and at one point I tried to pass by going over a big log, it would have been fine except for the big rock that I stoved my wheel into. Over the bars I went, not a big deal, or so I thought. Turns out I managed to taco my rear brake rotor, it was so bad that I had to stop and try to straighten it, which was near impossible with out a wrench. I got it so the wheel would kind of turn and took off again. I managed to catch a bunch of people a second time and was still feeling good, when I noticed my back tire felt squishy. I stopped through in a cO2, and went again. Half mile later my tire was flat again. Now I had to stop and put a tube in. By this time I had lost well over half an hour, and had decided to just ride and enjoy the trails. Lucky for me Mike Yarnell was in the same boat, so we rode the rest of the course together. I think we came in just under 3 hours.
The boys at Fast Forward Racing did an awesome job. Zach was very organized and I thought things ran smoothly. Props to Larry Camp for laying out what I thought was one of the best Michaux courses I've done. By no means was it easy, with 3600' of climbing in 23 miles, but it was a lot of fun.
Next up is another trip to Michaux, for the Curse of Dark Hollow in two weeks. Still not sure if I am doing the 40 miler or the 20 miler, I guess I will figure it out soon.
Cheers,
Buddy
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