Details? Nah, just more diversions

More Breck Epic?

Why not.

Yes, I did start the week with a 33X23 gear ratio. Yes, it did suck. I thought it would be nice to climb on the bike as opposed to next to it, but it was so s-l-o-w I could barely stand it. The gear was swapped to a more appropriate 33X20 after the first day, and it worked out way better for me even though it would be another few days till I felt good enough to turn it over consistently.

The Stan's Raven? It lasted 2.3 days at the Breck Epic. I saw Peter ahead of me on a downhill and decided to press my luck to pass him. As I slammed my way down a rocky descent I could feel things getting mushy in the rear. Shortly after that my chain flew off and I flew by Peter in a cacophonous ruckus of chain slap and rim slammage. At the bottom both Peter and I came into the aid station on a flat rear tire. Here's where I got loopy.

I flipped my bike upside down near the food area of the aid station. The volunteers told me there were mechanics about 20 feet further down, but I told them I was OK. Since it was sort of a slow leak I took the Big Air out of my drop bag and decided to see if the Stan's fluid would clog the hole. I had trouble finding the leak since it was at the rim near the valve stem (which confused me at first), but eventually I found the tear in the sidewall right where it met the rim. I picked up the whole bike and tried to shake it to get the Stan's to settle in at the hole, but I couldn't get it to seal. I was asked by the volunteers if I needed help more times than I can remember, and I did a fine job making matters worse stumbling around trying to decide if I should boot the rear tire or what ever else I might do. Finally I went down to the mechanics with just the wheel, got a new tire, struggled without a tire lever, found one, struggled some more, and finally the mechanic just took my shit from my fumbling hands and inflated my now tubed Kenda Small Block to 40 PSI. I pissed away an inordinate amount of time at with the tire swap since the whole concept of "mechanical support" threw me for a loop. Had I just been out in the middle of nowhere I woulda found the hole, booted the tire, and tossed in a tube in short order, but with the option of assistance I floundered and pissed away twice as much time as necessary.

I officially met Sonya Looney, and she did not punch me for making certain comments about her need for an Ergon green bikini. Between her and Jennifer Tilley I found myself being schooled on the dance floor Friday night, and my knees are now wrecked as a consequence. Just as in Durango at the SSWC09 I danced so hard I blew out my Teva's which is now a sure indicator of having too good of a time.

That's all for now. I over slept on the couch last night since my still compromised lungs had me coughing and wheezing all night.

all photos taken by Yuki Saito