Triple Dip '21: Part Two

Our journey to the final stage was beautiful.  Who knew what a web of trails and whatnot they had down there in South Carolina?  Everyone?

Some not so much trails tho:

Pop out in some neighborhood so we can fill our bottles at an outdoor dog wash station.

Back into the woods and we find ourselves at some crazy jump line built by twelve year olds (mebbe this happened before I got canine lupus from my water bottle?)

This little shredder kept us entertained.  While I wasn't up for trying the double that you had to duck into a ditch and under a fallen tree to hit, I found a steep hillside reminiscent to the old Devil's Drop at Poplar Tent that I had to go hit at least once.  I rolled down it, and then the little shredder decided he needed to give me some advice.

"You gotta let off the brakes."

After giving him the finger (behind his back), I said "C'mon, son. Follow me."

Ripped back to the top of the hill and went full send down the hillside to discover there's about zero rollout before you find yourself flying down the back and into the creek.

S.T.I.L. I swear.

Mebbe Bryan's picture is better but he has fat fingers

Thank you, Shimano, for making good dicks breaks.

And now on to the final stage.

Only I can screw this up now.  Kesean and the cross guy have been up in the points enough to make it so I can't stop being a tryer.  That and the fact that the scoring system was this random chip thing that I couldn't make sense out of at all.  I think the first one I got was green and had "dq" written on it.  At one point, someone handed me some chips that he said I was supposed to get for winning a couple stages earlier that I had no idea I'd not got already.  Then there's random chips for wheelies and jumps and general strange things to the point that I'm either winning at this point or I'm totally not.

Hmmm...

Stage Five

Everyone is lining up and tossing packs in the dirt.  I throw off my pack, then pitch my bottles... and after a few moments to consider it... my shirt.  It only takes a hot minute before the peloton joins in and it's a shirtless race. 

Kesean prescient enough to capture the moment.

We'd gotten a sorta incomplete course preview rolling into the start... something bridges but don't take them... or do(?), a pump house... one lap?

We go off and I'm just out front at the start.  Left at the pump house (what's a pump house?), out into the field... start climbing up.

There's a guy just standing there pointing to my left.  Doesn't feel correct, but I'm the guinea pig here... so I go left and down a drainage instead of a trail.  A few riders follow me and we scramble to get back to wherever it was we needed to be.

And then we pop out to a road and there is no one there.  Apparently, the marshal got confused with his lefts and rights and sent us totally the wrong way.  So here we are in this neighborhood none of us has ever seen... but then I see an outdoor St Patrick's Day party that we'd passed on the way to the trail... so mebbe we're going the right way (we're totally not).

Since I knew how to at least get back to where we started from where the party was, I led the shirtless pack past the house of revelers... which I'm guessing this was not something they were planning on seeing today. 

Back into the woods and on the course... bridge one (don't take it?)... bridge two (go through the creek?)...

and to the final creek crossing with no bridge that we were told would take a certain level of commitment and upon seeing it, a certain level of being Jeff Lenosky... and outta the woods for a final first place with Kesean taking another second.

From there, head back to town... stop for a beer... see my first "real" mountain bike (my third if you count a Giant Sedona and a Nashbar elevated stay nightmare)...

And then over to Hobo's for the awards and beer out on the lawn.

Even though I "won" four outta five stages, I still didn't know if this was going to come down to some kinda chip thing... and then it didn't and I won an award... and then there was a chip thing... and I won a goblet... and I'm pretty sure I accidentally traded my first award for a pint of beer... but I still retained the goblet.

Went on the mantle as soon as I got home, but mebbe I'll eat chili or oatmeal outta it at some point.

I sure do love these pointless events.  I wish there were more of them, but being that I helped put on six of them in the past, I realize they're almost harder than putting on a "legit" event.  It's one of the best ways to spend the day in the woods riding around with friends there is.  Thanks to those guys and gals who put in all the hard work, and I hope they squeeze out a few more before they eventually burn out.

R.I.P. Dirt Rag Punk Bike Enduro, Tour duh Charlotte, Wheels to the Farm, and Definitely Not Tour duh Charlotte (Tour duh Todd).

VIVA TRIPLE DIP.

Most photos cred: Mary Kaye Zugelder