the weather taunted the racers the night before the event
then the weather showed the racer's its sunday best
clear temps day and night
cool in the evening... but not frigidly so
hot in the day... but not painfully so
the course was pretty darn close to as good as it could possibly be
there were a few minor changes to the course from last year
those changes were for the better
a section of fireroad double track was swapped out for some more time in the woods
part of which was some additional pleasure in the pine forests
the race was fun
hard work with all sorts of gratification
long winding turns rather than short tight single track
making for a fast and fluid course
hands off the brakes and let it roll sort of course
I will admit that each lap I wish had been a tad shorter
or maybe the removal of the hike-a-bike section
which I assume only the gods with helium in their tires and wings on their ankles were able to ride
I got my money's worth by racing five laps
the bike and the body held out well
I was loving my monkey... OUT ON THE COURSE NOT IN THE TENT
get your mind out of the gutter
I was loving my Karate Monkey with gears and front suspension
but... I will admit that I would have raced a squishy double banger if I owned such a thing
the Jamis Single came along for a ride
but did not get to sample any of the course
there were just too many places were I was hammering a big gear... not the big ring... but a big gear
it was a good weekend
everything balanced pretty well
there were two DCMTB City Bikes teams camped together
along with a cluster of other teams who had racers who were either part of City Bikes or friends to City Bikes
a good time was shared by all
there was a buffet table with healthy food from our sponsors P Street Whole Foods
and there was an assortment of crap that I snagged from Walmart on the drive out to the race
everyone helped take care of everyone
that all paid off in the end
video from the event on a Pittsburgh Mountain Bike Site