Specialized Bicycles
This past weekend TRW along with 100's of other riders creeped out of their dens to roll through one of the best races of the year...the BT Epic. Although the temperature was hardly above freezing, the trails would be blazing with leg powered, two wheeled crotch burners. Red Wheelers, Turbo, Corey, "The Mitch", Peat and I were anxious to get moving. It's not everyday where we get to spend countless hours in the saddle rolling through some of the best single track in the state.
As stated in the last post, crushing Berryman was a must, but the Berryman always has a way crushing you. Corey, Turbo, and "the Mitch", Peat, and I were busy crushing
All things seemed to rolling well until I heard the whistling sound of a deflated tire. Hey it happens, but when one runs tubeless it's never a good sound...sidewall slashed. As this happened I then cursed and waved to nearly every person in the BT Epic pass me by. Oh well, it's a sweet day of single track. Fix it and move on...but unfortunately this happened two more times within the first 24 miles (By the way I want to thank the dude who gave me a third tube). To make matters worse, why not break my saddle in the process???? Thankfully I finally reached the Berryman Campground which was the 2nd checkpoint. Upon arrival the great Furhmann was nursing a cracked thumb (as i said earlier, Berryman finds ways to crush you). He lended me his saddle and I was off to leg #3 of the BT Epic. Little did I know this was an evil ploy by Furhmann to punish my taint. He secretly camoflaged this kind gesture with giving me the most gooch pounding saddle known to man. Luckily as my gluteus was being tortured by this midevil Bontrager seat the rest of TRW was warding off the hillbilly squirrel hunters.
The toothless hillbillies didn't want anything to do with a bunch of dudes decked out in skin tight lycra...they knew better.
The race continued and the bonking grew closer, some of our asses grew more sore, but we continued to grind our way to the finish line. As many curve balls as the ole' BT Epic can throw your way, there's no reason not to soak in the day, enjoy the beautiful weather, and keep driving the legs through the finish line. Hey...there was free bbq and beer at the finish...why not bust your tail to get there???? Who can pass up that!?!?!? Let "the Mitch" eat!!!!
Thanks to Springfield Bike Co. for putting on this event. We love attending and can't wait for next year!
Sorry I missed this, but my alarm clock went off at 4:30am and I just didn't have it in me to make the long drive down and suffer for 6-7 hours and drive straight back. Maybe next year.
So who won the battle between Corey and Turbo?
Posted by: Stoney | Oct 26, 2011 at 06:42 PM
I want to say "Thanks" to Noel. We love the pit support. You are awesome!
Posted by: Mitch | Oct 26, 2011 at 08:19 PM
Corey got me this race. I was out front the whole race, and coming into the last checkpoint i was hurting. I sat down for about 10 minutes, ate a sandwich, drank a gatorade, and took care of some business. Corey rolled in, grabbed some water and got my butt back on the trail. Gave me a new wave of energy for the last leg. We cruised through the singletrack for awhile together. I eventually gained some ground on the climbs and didn't know where he was. I popped out on the gravel for the last 6 miles and Corey ran me down with a little over a mile left to go. He pulled me the rest of the way in. Great race for both of us.
Posted by: turbo | Oct 26, 2011 at 08:28 PM
Noelle, your pit support was definitely needed. Thanks a bunch! Here's a link to a bunch of pictures of the race http://www.flickr.com/photos/dragonflycole75/
Posted by: Matt | Oct 27, 2011 at 06:54 AM
Thanks guys - always happy to help. And Mitch - THANK YOU FOR BREAKFAST - it was AWESOME!
Posted by: Noelle | Oct 27, 2011 at 10:35 AM
that was an awesome race and great efforts by everyone. Matt and the Mitch persevered despite mechanical difficultites. Cory and Turbo set a relentless pace. Hanging out with the team after the race was great too. And a big thanks to Noelle for race support.
I'm looking forward to some cross racing this fall followed by some serious gravel during the winter. Go team red wheel!
Posted by: Peat | Oct 27, 2011 at 11:26 AM
It was the best and most fun race for me all year. Riding with turbo for awhile and finishing together made my year! The only thing missing was barry! We have a good thing going with Noelle as crew and Cole with pics. As Peat said "Go team red wheel!"
Posted by: Corey | Oct 28, 2011 at 12:05 PM
reading this shit really makes me homesick. i love this race.
Posted by: barry | Nov 08, 2011 at 08:38 PM