Vague Idea Racing: Triple Dip '21: Part One

No preamble. Not this time. Not really.

I spent two evenings getting my shit together. It takes some forethought to prepare for an entire day on the bike with five race stages of unknown distances on unknown trails. It's not an easy thing to do, tryna figure out how to fit a whole pizza into a small fanny pack. Add to that the fact that I won't know if we'll be able to toss the pack on the ground while racing or have to carry it because it's a point-to-point (who knows), you don't wanna be racing with the kitchen sink on your back.

I get to the parking lot way too early, like I do. Check in. Get ready. Some random guy notices the single gear on my bike and asks me all about how single speeds work.

"How do you climb?"

"Isn't that hard?"

"Etc?"

I find Bryan getting ready. He offers me a beer.

"What time is it? Not that I don't know it is truly too early for beer, but do I have time to drink it before the start."

It's 8:49AM. Plenty of time before what I'm assuming will be a 9:??AM start.

Derp. This would be the moment that I realize I never re-installed my Super 8 strap to my top tube after Shart Tarck ended... where I planned on storing some of my layers and such as the day warmed. Also meh.

Roll out to the first race stage. In a brilliant homage to the pointlessness of the Tour duh Charlotte, after 2.5 miles of riding through neighborhoods, we go right past the parking lot where we'd just left our cars minutes ago.

Get to the Stage One start. I line up towards the front. The course description is vague... as it should be. We take off, and I have the hole shot. The course marshal ahead on the double track is pointing to our right. I see a hairpin turn into the trail, slow way up... and the guy who didn't understand single speeds in the parking lot turns right early and up through the weeds taking the lead. No rules, no gods. Truly in the spirit of an event of this nature...

but we go right into a steep climb and he's in waaaaaaaaay to tall of a gear.

How do gears even work?

I get around him in one of the few places where the trail is wide enough, and now the rest of the group is kinda stuck behind him. I make it to the finish line first. Hooray, me.

Roll over to Stage Two. Line up on a dirt road. A guy on a cross bike gets out ahead, and taking a cue from Stage One, I cut the turn into the first trail harder than he can.

With this kinda blind racing, being in the lead can be a disadvantage. You are the guinea pig, and the riders behind get to benefit from your mistakes, not only in navigation, but also terrible line choices. Now the cross bike is ahead of everyone else, and the trail is getting chunky. I can now get a gap.

Somehow, Walter got his full squish bike around the cross guy and is closing on me. Pop out of the trail onto a steep dirt road. I think it's gonna go my way, being on a SS and not having an option but to stay on the pedals, but then it flattens out. Poop. I'm expecting him to use his gears and close it back up, but it pitches up one more time, I pop out, see the spectators... and as I come into the finish...

One lap to go!

No one said anything about two laps. Then again, no one said anything about not two laps. Come to find out, the spectators suggested it, and RJ said "Why not?"

One more time around and I've opened up the gap. Come out of the woods to a place where I think I'm supposed to turn up the dirt road but the marshal isn't there anymore and I had my head buried in pain so I don't know if this is correct or not but it is the price you pay for being in first. Fortunately, I chose correctly. Finish in first, look back, and cross bike guy totally squashed the climb and everyone else to snag a close second.

Roll to Stage Three.

It's a narrow start. We're probably only four across going right into a trail that's wide enough for 1.75 riders at a time.

We're gonna go up, stay left unless told differently, to the top, rocks, stay left unless right... something... ? It's basically going to be a race of who can get clipped in first and stay out front... I tell myself.

I guess Shart Tarck was good practice, and I get clipped in and take the lead from the start.

Kesean is right on my wheel going up, I make what feels like the correct turns, and as we dive back down to the finish and along the creek, I can feel Kesean breathing down my neck. His bike with a bunch of moving parts combined with all the mistakes I'm making, and it feels like if he can get around, he's gonna get this one. Finally, I can see the spectators, and the logs they piled up in the middle of the trail. Full sprint, jump the logs, take the win...

but with Kesean basically right there with me.

Stage Four.

We're told it's gonna be flat. Seems like this always has to happen. Tour duh Charlotte, Wheels to the Farm, Tour duh Todd (Definitely Not Tour duh Charlotte)... there's always that stage with a whole lotta flat to take the gas outta the single speed folks. Nature of the business, single speeder's blues.

We line up ten or twelve wide... which makes sense. We talk some random teenager on a Santa Cruz that we found in the woods into joining us. We have about twenty yards to sort things out before entering the trail. I go in first, but Kesean and the cross guy are right behind me... as well as everyone else.

My 32X18 is spun out and I'm pretty much helpless. We'd had the long open power line section pointed out to us, and I knew since this was two laps, the geared folks were going to have their way with me. I can feel Kesean going to pass on the power line and then the cross guy came by like a freight train. Dammit.

He's flying out ahead with a huge lead towards a marshal that's telling him to stay right... and because it's what happens when you're bleeding outta your eyeballs, he dives to the left.

Guinea pig style.

Kesean and I keep it going the right way, but I'm pretty confident that not only are we both gonna get caught by the cross guy before the finish of the second lap, Kesean is totally gonna crush the power line and destroy me.

Through the trail, out to the power line... and Kesean comes flying around me. Look back... cross guy is nowhere in sight. Mebbe that missed turn has squanched his will to live. I can't even come close to matching Kesean to the finish. Second place for me here.