SSWC09 Part Three: Wanted Dead or Alive

After the events of the following days I had burnt all my SSWC matches. Once the basketball game was over I headed back to the room with George and Mandy. It was a pleasant, somewhat surreal ride on a bike path next to a burbling river with the mountains in the background. We discussed what we should do with our remaining two days in Durango. Things had to be worked out, and I would definitely have to rally if I was gonna come through in the ninth inning.

Sunday we could either try to get out for a ride or watch bike polo all day. Bike polo it is. All the cool kids were gonna be there, so why not at least try to be as cool as the cool kids.

Cool kids (in the background) and me, Fuzzy, and George

photo cred: Mandy

Watching bike polo with Fuzzy, Ernesto, Dejay, etc while the likes of Buck, Jake, Christina, and Tommawicki swung mallets was some sort of fun. Like watching TV... without commercials but with drastic changes in temperature and periodic rain. In between matches (or maybe during) I did my best to save up some energy for a ride on Monday.

photo cred: Mandy

Somehow after the final polo matches we ended up with all the cool kids in a room full of stragglers and locals. The hanger ons and the got no better place to be's... in a big room pulling tables together for one last hurrah before going our separate ways. A fitting end had it been the end for us...

On Monday Mandy really wanted to get Matt McFee to drive us way the hell outta town for some epic adventure on Hermosa Creek. I was worried we'd never pull it off in time to get the bikes packed and dropped at the local shipping facility before they closed. George agreed, and the least adventurous majority ruled. We headed out to the Horse Gulch area for a spin on the in-town trails and up into the surrounding mountains. About an hour into the ride George's knee had enough and told George to turn around. Mandy and I ventured further out and saw just a little more of what Durango had to offer. It was awesome.

So, in conclusion....

SSWC09 was spectacular. The event was over the top, the course was superb, and the atmosphere was... well just what you would expect from 1,000+ scuzzy, almost vagrant, single speeders. The folks behind the scenes really pulled one off for the ages. I have no idea how they did it. On top of all that I would really recommend that everybody who loves to mountain bike visit Durango before they die. The riding was just breathtaking and the variety of terrain and scenery just can't be described well enough with words. The altitude wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, and the town, although a bit kitschy (I mean that with a lot of respect) was as inviting to mountain bikers as any I've ever seen. The only problem I have now is figuring out how I'm gonna get back there before I die (again).

And as I said before I left, a big thanks to George and Mandy of Bike 29, Matt McFee of Hermosa Tours, and the folks at Backcountry Research for making my SSWC09 dreams come true.

BTW: The Misfit Psycles Pfopsularity Crontrest ends this Thursday. If you want to see what the hell I would do with a 26" wheeled dirt jump/park bike click on this link like one hundred times or something.