One more PMBAR post

The best thing about Zac breaking his axle is that all the doubts and hindsight regarding our performance doesn't really matter.  I figured out the route I wished we woulda taken, but it just woulda have changed the location and perhaps the timing of our mechanical.

Black>Turkey Pen>Bradley>1206>Yellow Gap>N Mills>Lower Trace>5000>1206>out and back on Laurel>1206>276>475B>225>475B>276>477>Club Gap>Avery>5077>Clawhammer>Maxwell>black

Then again, that route probably would have broke his axle on the second trail, leaving me to figure out if I wanted to be alone for seven hours as opposed to five.

Anyways, the race went as well as it could have.  I'm stoked the I finished (but didn't) my ninth PMBAR, and my only regret was that I missed the first one back in 2003 (my life was in a bit of turmoil at that time).  I don't know if anyone has done all ten.  I should ask.

I musta read the passport a hundred times looking for some trickery on Eric "PMBAR Honcho" Wever's part.

photo cred: Brado

I was even trying to read it coming down Maxwell Cove.  Riding down Maxwell one handed with your face in a book trying to glean details and hidden messages is not a good idea... especially when you're holding it with your right hand (front brake+gravel+high speeds).

Pack-less PMBAR 2012 was a success though.

Zac's bike 

Note the three missing chainring bolts.  While he was waiting for a lift back to the start, a girl on a single speed came up to the grilled cheese stop missing three bolts on her bike.  Her ring was held on with zip-ties.  Zac gave them up, never got 'em back.  Poor Zac, can't win for losing.

Dicky's bike

Once again, the By:Stickel delivered.  This thing rails in Pisgah, but I'm talking about Pack-less PMBAR right now.  I made nine hours on six bottles, and had I been racing and giving a shit about "performance," I woulda iodined a seventh bottle at Bradley Creek.  I will do this again in the future, assuming the temps at the start are warm enough that I won't have layers that need shed and stored later in the day.

The future?  Of course I'm going back.  My first four years at PMBAR were MM&O (Mandatory, Minimum, and Out) so we could get back to the beer ASAP.  Then Elk and I went for it in 2008, the hardest PMBAR in history, and pulled out a second place.  We still managed to drink our fair share of beer, so my days of MM&O were over.  Thad and I snagged a second place the next year, but after that, the string of bad luck began.  Water poisoned Thad, wooden nickel hi-jinx, and now this.  Next year?  Hell yeah.

Because no matter what happens, this happens:

photo cred: Eric

Standing around all night watching racers come in and hearing the war stories.  The later it gets, the better the stories.  So many of them start with "We decided to hike up Turkey Pen..."

Once again, I stayed around after the race was over and helped Eric with the tear down.

photo cred: Eric

We were the last to leave the scene this year, and young Zac was rewarded with a box filled with 15 burritos.  The box burst open on the long walk back to camp, but the burritos were saved with minimal damage.

I've only let out 4,379 gasps of exasperation since Saturday.  I think I'm getting over it.

I hate that PMBAR is but once a year, but knowing that I might have a chance to get some Pisgah revenge in a couple weeks...

It's so on.  I know I've got it in my legs now, so it's just a matter of riding 70 miles in Pisgah as fast as I can.

And to all those people that I mighta told "This year's PMBAR was harder than the Pisgah 111K will be"....

I lied. 

The Eleventy-one will be a bitch and a half. 

Oh yeah, the Fönbags are here.  I'll talk about that more later when I get the chance.