What Was And What Is To Be - 2011 In Retrospective

Here it is Christmas weekend, I have just wrapped up an intense day of work and am sitting on the sofa, baby bourbon in hand and Apocalypse Now playing in the background. What does this have to do with life, cycling and this blog – well not much other then it is an annual tradition and my opportunity to take a slice of time to myself when I look back on the year past and ponder what has happened and the predictions of what is to come in the New Year. It is perhaps the one and only time that I remotely attempt to write something with philosophical value rather then my typical fear and loathing toilet type humor.
As we rolled into 2011 life was not in a particularly good place, the positive memories of my class victory at the 6 hours of Cathedral Pines were a fading memory due to all of the prescription medications I was starting to ingest to fend off the worsening pain. Despite this the NECS crew made the annual New Year’s day pilgrimage to Dark Horse Cycles for the first trail ride of the year.Timing was on our side as shortly after this the snows started coming and never seemed to end . Spending up to 6 hours shoveling off a couple of roofs to prevent a collapse didn’t help with the problems in my hip and before long it was time to put the WADA to the test and head to the Center for Nuclear Medicine and the first round of direct injections so I could survive the season.Despite a worsening physical condition the NECS/MRC were in full training for the Tour of the Battenkill with Top Chef and C-Dubbs scouting the Chinaman 100 as a potential non race for the 2012 calendar. Well it was all for naught as cold rainy conditions found most of the NECS huddled in the dojo reciting the scriptures and posing for shots in the Shanghai gallery. Clearly this preparation provided us with a superior attitude and superior state of mind as we took on the trails of Stewart State Forest for the East Coast’s biggest, badass singlespeed race, Singlespeed-a-Palooza.While everyone made a real go of the course, yours truly (despite massive doses of steroids) rode the course in a Percocet induced haze trying my hardest to finish last – and wouldn’t you know it , I fucked up and finished second-to-last. Not that it mattered, it was a mudfest that I thoroughly enjoyed and was great preparation for my (hopefully final) indoctrination into the cult of Team Seagal.
Now for those that have followed the fabled stories of singlespeed wrist snapping glory coming out of the land of breweries, the trails of Middle Fork are a place held on an equal status with the likes of Moab, Kingdom Trails and for NECS locals, Stewart on steroids. Heading to St. Louis I was at a point where the pain had become so bad that many a night was spent standing (yes it was the one comfortable position) and sleep was becoming more rarefied then oxygen on the summit of Everest. There was a concern that a 50 mile singlespeed race might not be in the best interest of my ultimate goal of completing my 9th straight Wilderness 101 but the lure of finally riding with Team Seagal was right up there with a hit of crack or heroin – I couldn’t say no. Well Middle Fork lived up to it’s top billing and despite the most intense pain and suffering to date (once again the triple lindy was called upon)it was amazors and on the calendar for next year.
Back from St. Louis it was off to the Center for Nuclear Medicine and the final round of ‘roids to, hopefully, get me to the finish line of the Wilderness 101. Well the shot worked and the training continued in earnest with a rain soaked NECS Grand Fondo being the final big push before toeing the line for what might possibly be my final race.
Finally the end of July arrived and having suffered through a close to a year of pain I stepped up to the line for my 9th W101 with complete confidence in my condition but almost no confidence in my ability of my hip to survive the course. Survive I did, but it was not a pretty sight, and on the final stretch over the Fisherman’s trail I was reduced to using my bike as a crutch as I struggled over the boulders and hike-a-bike sections before finally rolling into the campground 10 hours after the start.
Having made it to the finish I officially called it a year for riding and settled back into an alcohol induced haze over the following days before limping into the Hospital for Special Surgery for the Ti upgrade.
Well the surgery was a success and under surgeon’s orders I was back on the bike (on a trainer) less then 3 weeks later.Rehabilitation was going well with one small exception – after almost a year on and off painkillers I was suffering from a bit of addiction withdrawal. Nothing too bad, no bugs crawling all over me but it was there and on top of the physical rehab I had to slowly withdraw from the opiates that had made life tolerable through all the pain.
Here we are in December and once again I have missed Cxmas (something that will not happen next year) but am in a state where I should be able to make the annual Dark Horse New Year’s Day ride. So what does all of this mean for the coming year? Racing for podiums is now a thing of the past, it is time to get back to what got me into this sport, having fun with your mates and getting in a lot of great rides. I will have to test my new hip and see if the rigors and beating of the trails are tolerable or if I am forced to a fate worse then being labeled an adulterous with a scarlet letter R on my forehead – a roadie. I like to be the proverbial optimist and have loaded up the race schedule with a mix of mtb, Ultracross, Ultarendurance and good old fun organized rides. Until then, happy trails.