Faster Mustache/Loose Nuts: Wheels to the Farm '16

6:50AM on Friday.  Drinking coffee and waiting.  Incoming call from Bill Nye.  He's bailing on the entire trip.  Sick.  Lame.

Meh.

Wait for Daily to show up, come up with some plan B type stuff, hit the road.

Hours later, we're at the Chicopee Woods Mountain Bike Park.  Ride.  Ride some more.  And a little more... just enough to really make my injured toe get angry.  Get in the car in time to hit the start of rush hour in Atlanta.  Googlemaps telling me that it will take 45 minutes to make the final 12 miles to the Airbnb.  Briefly consider leaving the car and riding the rest of the way.  I can't believe humans live with this on the day-to-day.

Stay in the car until we get to our destination, get situated in our glorious basement apartment, head over to Loose Nuts Cycles to meet up with the rest of the Charlotte crew for beerings.  Stay longer than anticipated, realize most of us haven't eaten since breakfast, go out way too late for Mexican food and more beer.  Get lost on the way back to our dank dwelling, despite it being less than a mile away from the restaurant.

Wake up feeling a little rough.  Head out for breakfast... burrito #2 of the trip for me, #3 for Daily.  Register for the race at Loose Nuts.

photo cred: Chris Kelly

Get ready for a long day in the saddle.

photo cred: Chris Kelly

Five mile or so roll out to the first stage of the day.  We're in a familiar place to where some of the race went down in '15.  I try to decide if my semi-familiarity is a good or a bad thing.

photo cred: Chris Kelly

Line up for the start at the front.  You can't think about winning if you don't at least throw some (or all) caution to the wind.  Ready, set, go... and the youthful looking man on the single speed Niner puts a big gap on me in less than thirty seconds.  Meh.

photo cred: Chris Kelly

I manage to make it over the giant rock pile at the entrance to the double track (that I never bothered to try to ride last year because of my OMB... Old Man Back).  I commence to chasing down the guy who doesn't even look half my age on the first painful go at the climb.  Look back.  He's not coming with me.  Three uneventful laps total of long-busting effort and I cross the line in first place with a decent gap.

photo cred: Chris Kelly

Maybe I can actually win this year?

Maybe...