Shenandoah 100 - What Happens in Shenadoah Stays in Shenandoah

The NECS/Dark Horse Cycles racing team deployed a full battalion of troops to take on the mountains of the Shenandoah 100 (aka S&M 100). Looking to maximize the pain that would be inflicted the full range of weapons were sent, singlespeeds, 1X9s, hardtails, full suspensions and even a 26" wheel bike. Several riders came down with multiple bikes deciding only at the last minute what to ride.
To ensure the troops would have comfortable quarters and a primo place to party, Top Chef and C-Dubs packed up the only vehicle one should take to a race south of the Mason-Dixon line, the Dodge Ram 2500. As you can see, like the early pioneers heading west, our wagon was filled to the brim.Just to rub a bit of salt in the wounds and let everyone know we were on the road a quick detour was made by Dark Horse Cycles to leave a present for the Mayor.Needless to say there was a lot of driving to be done and the idea of spending 8 hours in the cab of this truck was not all that appealing. We did everything we could relieve the pain by eating a lot, consuming massive amounts of gooji berries, pretzels and cookies. Suddenly after 7 hours we came upon the only Starbucks of the entire trip. Within seconds we were hammering down massive iced espressos (with 6 shots in each) and were ready to tear it up once we secured the campsite.
There was no question that this was the place to be for the race and post race party.Top Chef lived up to his billing putting out a delicious pork tenderloin dinner with brown rice and black beans.After drinking all afternoon, dining on a fine pork tenderloin and 2 bottles of red wine we took to the fields for some more partying and late night drunk dialing. As you can see I had tied one on this night but nothing quite matched the endo Paul pulled off when he hit the railroad tie while riding across the field in the dark.Top Chef is one of our lead technical gurus for bike gear and wanted to optimize the low rolling resistance set up by swithching from a 2.2 to a 1.9. Sadly it was a failed effort with the a tire so hard to get on the rim 6 new tubes were sacrificed in the effort and this was the end resultAfter changing 6 tubes Paul finally snaps and seeks his revengeNo sooner had the troops arrived then the Mayor established himself in the base camp throne and began barking orders, his favorite one being "Get me another Dale's Pale Ale - PRONTOThe long drive down and the fresh air seemed to have brought out the kinder gentler Mayor, and as we were to learn later that weekend his feminine side as well. We caught this shot of the Mayor practicing his ballet moves for "Dance of the Forest Creatures".Race day dawned cool and cloudy with temps in the mid 50s and expected to top out in the upper 70s. With the lack of rain over the past week the course was dry, fast but real dusty, everything was in place for some fast times to go down. Close to 600 riders rolled out of Stokesville campground paced by the motocross bikes and finally cut loose right after the iron bridge. With Mike Monte off the front in pursuit of singlespeed glory next up was C-Dubs and Top Chef pulling the train up the first climb and down the ensuing descent.
Then suddenly there was an explosion at aide station 1 and women racers were seen running from the Port-o-John holding their noses as Top Chef stepped out and back into the thick of the racing. The sudden shedding of pounds provided a massive lift in both moral and speed and soon after Top Chef was slicing back through the field encouraging the rest of the troops to hop on his wheel for a fast pull.
Over the balance of the race the entire team kept the pedals spinning, struggled with the massive climbs/walks and railed the flowing descents. By the time the dust had settled back in Stokesville and the awards were doled out it was looking like a successful day for the NECS/Dark Horse Cycles crew with Monte scoring the overall in singlespeed and C-Dubs taking 5th in masters. With everyone but the Mayor back at base with cold yeastly malted beverages in their stomachs we all waited in anticipation of the Mayor's arrival.

Mike Montalbano taking top honors in Singlespeed with a blistering 8:02C-Dubs brings it home in 9:54 and 5th in mastersMajor Mike in at 10:31 is ready for the post race pint.Marc Waters made the most of the race day entry bringing it home on the singlespeed in at 11:14Top Chef after crossing the line in 11:29 had only this to say "I finished and there is no reason to ever do this again"
Looking to close out some unfinished business the Mayor strategically placed his lights and paced smartly to make the finish. What he didn't count on was the bone jarring descents that left your hands numb and filling loose. Stopping to shake a bit of life back into his hands, the Mayor looked down only to see a juicy timber rattler coiled and ready to strike. With some fast footwork that rivaled the moves of Riverdance and alerting the other riders of the dangers on the course, the Mayor did his best impersonation of Steve Irwin by picking up a rock and smashing it's head in. With the course cleared it was back to the darkening descent. Further down the trail it was a forest of derailleur eating mountain laurel that brought the Mayor to his knees, literally, as the conversion to a singlespeed commenced under the light of a full moon. Finally rolling into aide station 6 with only 12 miles to go and a chain that was dropping all the time, it was beginning to look grim. The saving grace came in the form of a Gary Fisher, and not just any Fisher bike this one was a women's specific complete with a Terry Ti Butterfly saddle!!
Well over the course of the next 2 hours the Mayor became a changed man, or should I say woman, because it was a kinder and gentler George, after over 13 hours in the saddle, that crossed the finish line that day. There was some random babbling about heading to Sweden for possible sexual reassignment but we all attributed it to the Terry Butterfly mangina saddle and going all day without an I.P.A. By the fifth pint it was the good old Mayor that we know.

Toad Hill Classic - And The Winner Is

The heat was brutal and the 3 barrel of Blind Tiger Six Point IPA was frosty cold. The only race was to the keg, some came by car, some from bed and some even rode there. Out of the ashes, empty pint glasses and a competition to capture the ultimate buzz there emerged not one but two winners -

Toad Hill Classic - Today

No matter what it takes be there.

Dark Horse 40 - La Ruta of the North

Memories of the suffering endured at La Ruta came rushing back like a hot kiss at the end of a wet fist this weekend. The 7th annual Dark Horse Cycles 40 presented not only the organizers, but also the racers with some of the harshest conditions remembered for race day. Humidity and temps were both in the mid 90s before the 9 am start and with all of the rain that has fallen this year the course was changed from a 2x20 mile to a 4x10 mile format. On top of this the only way to avoid the heavy mud was stay on the high ground which meant sending the course up and over every climb available in Stewart. In past years the course usually had 2000+ feet of climbing for the race, this year it was 1000+ feet per lap!
Right from the start the pain and misery began for all and never let up until one either dropped out or made the four laps. Throughout the race the course was strewn with bodies of riders that had gone out too fast, not hydrated properly or succumbed to the tortuous heat. Conditions proved to be so tough that even the pros were pulling the plug by the end of the second lap. The one saving grace was knowing that the Mayor's Super Secret Rest Stop at the 8 mile mark, was being manned by the Sirens of Stewart and these ladies knew just how to make a dehydrated racer feel good - rock & roll music blaring, ice cold PBRs in the coolers and fresh blended frozen margaritas to bring down your core temperature.Along with the cold adult beverages the Sirens were handing out leis for each PBR consumed (redeemable for prizes at the finish) and hiding cash preems worth hundreds of dollars for those that still had enough mental stamina to look at anything but the trail ahead.
When the course finally closed it was a stellar day for Dark Horse racing, taking to the podiums in Sport Singlespeed, Open Mens Team, Expert and Sport Masters, everyone did their best to make the Mayor proud. No sooner did I cross the line then off to the Super Secret stop where the first order of business was to drain a PBRchange into some fresh clothes and wait for my good friend 3 Beer Rossi to come through. It was the perfect excuse to have another PBR with 3 Beer(note the rider coming in behind 3 Beer with multiple leis around his neck) and get ready for the ensuing party at the finish area.
Now for those of you that haven't experienced a Dark Horse race the reality is the race is really just a great excuse to have a party, and boy do the Mayor and Hawaiian Mike know how to throw one. On the menu was fresh grilled chicken, all of the sides your depleted body could desire, a freezer full of popsicles (yes in the middle of the woods we had a freezer FULL of popsicles) and of course beer, lots of beer, in fact lots of really good beer.....Harpoon! Any misery on the course quickly vanish in a sea of hops and barley. To sum it up it was a real challenge on the race course but it was one hell of a party once you finished. Bravo Dark Horse Cycles!!!!!

Dark Horse 40 - News Flash

The 2009 Dark Horse 40 is in the books and boy was it a cooker this year. There will be more to follow in the upcoming race report. The heat and humidity were so bad riders were coming in with faces white with salt (and it was not from the margaritas being served at the aide station). For those that did make it the result of losing so many electorlytes were shocking. Here we see NECS member MacGyver before the start of the raceand here he is after finishing depleted of all salt reserves.Same MacGyver only he kept complaining about how his prostrate was flaring up like a tiki torch.

Toad Hill Classic - News Flash

Book you flights, make your hacienda reservations, stop at the embassy for your visa and get you shots. The first annual Toad Hill Classic is on, 8/22 with a 2 pm starting time.

ATTENTION!

C-Dubs reporting for duty. Awaiting orders from HQ.

Wilderness 101 - Mrs. C-Dubs Welcome To My Madness

It has been a week since the complete sufferfest know as the Wilderness 101 took place and after a week of nonstop drinking, to drown the pain, I have finally sobered up enough to recount the horrors that were inflicted on those of us that made the finish but had less then optimal races.
The year’s weather patterns continued unabated as the drive down to Coburn was all rain all the time. Along with softening up the course the rain ensured that campsite setups would be an exercise in frustration as shelters were erected and cars unloaded in the downpour. After sitting around for a couple of hours waiting to get a preride in I surrendered and went out in the rain for a brief ride. Preparation and training for the race had been right on schedule with the exception of heat and humidity which had been nonexistent this summer…..until the days leading up to the race when it suddenly changed from spring like conditions to full on summer in a matter of days. Based on the forecast for race day, heat and high humidity, I knew there was a possibility it would be a long day on the race course so just to get ready for the suffering I unleashed the dominatrix and requested a good whipping to get used to the pain.
A combination of injuries and the economic downturn had trimmed the ranks of the Independent Fabrication team to just 3 participants – Jeff Whittingham in open, Mike Ramponi in singlespeed and Chris Wurster in masters, with Harlan Price nursing a broken wrist and providing moral support to the rest of us. About half way up the first 3 mile climb with the sweat already pouring off of me I knew that the high humidity (90%+) was going to make this a long race, if I survived to the finish. It was my good friends the demons and they had decided to come out and play a bit earlier then usual, oh brother is this going to be a long day of suffering! By the 20 mile aid station I had managed to stay with my primary competition and kept my head down, ground out the miles and consumed as much fluid as possible to try and stay hydrated. Despite feeling like crap I managed to pull out time on the next climb only to flat on the ensuing descent, giving back all of the hard earned time plus some extra. Lady luck was not with me and I managed to flat a second time at the summit of the next climb and finally limped into the 40 mile station with yet another flat! Still not feeling great I resigned myself to being off the podium and turned my focus on making the finish.
The early cloud cover managed to give way to bright hot sunshine right as the big climbs began. The timing was perfect for getting the heat/humidity combo going at worst possible time. Despite this I continued to pound out the miles and fighting dehydration, I actually started to feel better as the race went on, taking back places over the final 45 miles of the race. My spirits were buoyed by the knowledge that short of a mechanical or a crash I was going to make it 7 straight W 101s completed. By the time I managed to get to the finish (a disappointing 7th in Masters) I was so spent and dehydrated that I couldn’t stand and my calf muscles looked like a bag full of worms squirming around. Countless beers and goji tea insured an altered state of mind that would make me forget the pain and repeated promises to myself that I would never come back again if I made the finish. Funny thing is I have made the same promise 7 times now and have broken every time the entry comes up.
One of the highlights of the weekend was the last minute participation of Mrs. C-Dubs, standing in for Marci de Sade. While she only made it to the first check point before dropping she had a great time, racked up the same finishing record as the Mayor and swore to come back next year and go for the 40 mile checkpoint.

Heart of Darkness

For 40 days and 40 nights the rains have lashed the surfaces of the East coast making this summer the wettest that any of us can remember. With all racers having survived the mudfests called Singlespeed-a-Palooza and Dark Horse Gallop, it was time for the crew at Dark Horse Cycles to begin laying out the course for the Dark Horse 40. With water levels not seen since the Jamestown flood the team set out with survival locator beacons and waterwings to scope out a rideable course.Immediately the speculation began on where Hawaiian Mike was and there was unanimous agreement among the troops that due to the rain Mike was is a state of bliss on the couch surrounded by doughnuts and surfing the channels for the latest Simpsons episode.Normally the 40 is a 2 lap event that spans all corners of Stewart and provides a mix of buff singletrack, short punchy climbs and smooth flowing sections that leave your mouth watering for more. The current conditions have changed all of that and the general consensus (read that to be Mayoral Mandate) was to change the format to 4 laps of 10 miles each to provide more opportunities for those with broken spirits to hit the keg a bit earlier. The day's conditions put a smile on the faces of Tom "3 Beer" Rossi and C-Dubs since there would be plenty of water obstacles to ensure neither of us (and those that got too close) would come away either dry or clean. As we set out on the first recon lap our efforts were quickly thwarted by massive flooding and deep mud with 3 Beer and Top Chef going at it in the water only to take each other out and end up taking a swim together.
As we pushed on deeper and deeper into the jungle in search of the ultimate lap we suddenly found ourselves trapped by a fast flowing river of water across a spot that is normally not more then a couple of inches deep. Normally in these situations we would call up Hawaiian Mike from the back of the pack to do his Moses impersonation and part the waters in typical stylebut having missed out on the ride once again the troops had to make the leech infested crossing at full depth.Here we have the 24 Hr of Moab team (sans Mike) preparing for sudden dessert floods.Shop Sidekick showing everyone how to clear the river (and later how to service you bottom bracket and hubs).Once we had cleared the river it was out to the flats where 3 Beer and C-Dubs plotted race strategy and proper gearing with Hawaiian Mikewho provided this feedback
The end result of the day's ride, soaking wet, covered in mud, all smiles and of course massive carb loading at the cooler afterwards where 3 Beer was caught flashing his gang sign

Dark Horse Brewery - Stupid F*#king Customer Double IPA

This just released grainy picture has confirmed what everyone on the Dark Horse Cycles Racing team has long suspected but never been able to confirm - Dark Horse Cycles Double I.P.A. is secretly being brewed in the the woods of Stewart State Forest by that crotchety old brewmaster - The Mayor - caught in this shot taste testing "Stupid F*#king Customer Double I.P.A.".Later in the parking lot the Mayor was heard slurring something about a "peaty taste with a hint of methane, horse manure and a beautiful puss green coloring", "pehaps the best double I.P.A. this side of Route 84". When Top Chef offered up a Dale's Pale Ale this was the Mayor's reaction -

Shop Sidekick's Technicolor Yawn

Alp d' Minnewaska 1 - Cyclists 0. Having been shown the beast of the East, Shop Sidekick has made it his personal goal to be the first to summit the Alp on a singlespeed. This past week on yet another reconnisence run to the summit, Shop decided to have a go at the lower slopes in big ring and really put the hurt on everyone he was with. It was an impressive show and left us in awe until a sudden sweat broke and in an attempt to clear his throat he instead cleared his stomach.....all over the Alp.

Alp d' Minnewaska

Well loyal fans of the New East Coast Syndicate, this past Sunday was a continuation of the painfest of training that leads up to the Wilderness 101, a race that hurt so bad I swore never to go back yet find myself prepping for a seventh consecutive start.
On the menu for the day was the fabled climb up Alp d' Minneswaska. While not quite on a scale with those of the tour, this offroad painfest serves you up a main course of 14 switchbacks and a veritcal gain of 1300+ feet in a scant 2.9 miles with several pitches exceeding 14% grade and follows with a dessert portion of another 14 switchbacks and a gain of 700+ feet in 1.9 miles. With most of the troops off doing battle at Kittatinny, Shop Sidekick (still pouting over missing the Peekamoose 100), opted for the beating to be doled out the day's ride.
Warming up with a preride meeting in the C-Dubs man cave, Shop and I set out at an easy paced roll over to the base of the climb (I was still feeling a bit ragged from yesterday's 62 mile offroad racepace training ride) before paying homeage to the gods of climbing and setting off.
After setting off up the trail below (this picture doesn't reflect the impending doom)it wasn't long before my legs started screaming and I was cursing the previous night's bottles of wine. In true warrior spirit I pushed on, with Shop Sidekick showing mercy and not riding off into the distance (probably because he didn't know where to go) leaving me to eat his dust. Half way up I took a gut check/lung rebuild and rested for 5 minutes listening to the frogs in the pond and thinking of the days when I was young and would have been tossing M-80s into the water. From here the trail/fireroad washe out as the pitch steepened with it tipping up to 14% at one point. We were going so slow that at one point (I believe it was a hullcination) I thought I saw an old man with walker pass me.
Finally cresting the top we were blessed with a couple of miles of nice rolling singletrack before round two, the carriage road to the summit where we were blessed with this view.It was all smiles realizing that the ride home would be more then 80% downhill with speeds in excess of 35 mph being hit on the lower part of the alp. Back at the man cave it was straight to the fridge for a cold yeastly malted beverage before hitting the couch for well earned rest.

The Independence Day Assault on the Peekamoose 100

To celebrate our nation's independence day and to kick off the official training for the Wilderness 101, the NECS planned for a century ride in the back country of Ulster county. The ride featured 3 great climbs, both ways over the Shawangunks and a summmit of Peekamoose in the middle just for good measure. And to add just a bit more spice to the ride this would be self supported with no stops for food or drink, think of it as a tame version of the Bataan death march.
News of the pending ride went over about as well hitting a hornet's nest with a stick and then standing there for the onslaught of stingers. There was a fair amount of interest expressed, to join in for a portion of the ride, and only Shop Sidekick was in for the long haul (as long as the Mayor closed shop for the day and with the kegerator freshly tapped hell would freeze over first) so it looked like it was going to be me and the demons only.
To beat the hordes of weekend travelers that would make the climb up to Minnewaska State Park look as crowded as the Col du Galibier during a tour stage, I saddled up with a 70 oz camelbak, 4 large bottles and enough food to feed a drought stricken sub Saharan family for a week and rolled out of the driveway at 6am. The 5 mile climb was immediately followed by an equally as long high speed descent (clocked 41 mph) before the long grind into the backwoods of Sullivan County started. The silence of the ride was broken by my playlist from the Cape Epic and it was the start of the climb to the summit of Peekamoose mountain, a climb that while not steep runs on for the better part of 10 miles and takes you through a land that is straight out of Deliverance - 1st cousins married, mangy dogs and the fear that I would be enslaved to either split firewood or service some toothless hag for the remainder of my life. Safety came in the form of beer swilling and dope smoking campers lining the river in stunned silence as I pedaled by.
Once over the summit it was about an hour before stopping at Jack & Luna's, Top Chefs favorite midride espresso bar, for a double shot and the climb back over Minnewaska State Park. The beauty in this ride is the last 7 miles are downhill and easy rollers to the finish where a fridge of cold beer and post ride goji berry snacks were sure to recharge the batteries. Simply put today was just Living The Dream.

Toad Hill Classic

Pay attention riders, the Toad Hill Classic will be coming up this summer. Preliminary course layout was worked on today.Stenger (aka Braveheart)showing his moxie on the transition

Darkhorse Gallop - Guppies Gone Wild

It might not have rained for 40 days and 40 nights but there has been rain for 50 of the last 67 days. That meant the normally "smooth as a Brazilian bikini wax" trails of Stewart were going to be bordering on a complete mud bog and mayhem would surely ensue. Conditions were so tough that during a pre race check of the course Hawaiian Mike repeatedly lost his footing on a section of Skip & Bill's and came up covered from head to toe but was still all smiles because he didn't spill a drop of beer.
Being another "home race" the entire Darkhorse Racing team held a mandatory pre race meeting at the team headquarters where race strategy was planned and the final pounds were shed to guarantee speed on the course. Recent stories in the sports sections have noted that Real Madrid had recently paid 130 million for the rights to Ronaldo. After reading this the Mayor chuckled and was heard to comment how it only cost him a six pack of Stone IPA to obtain the services of C-Dubs from the IF crew. With contracts still being finalized and marketing rights being ironed out C-Dubs was forced to race incognito for this round as Pee Wee Herman,but was all smiles when he learned that Hawaiian Mike had a secret stash of Brooklyn Lager in the truck for post race festivities (being the wily old Mayor the keg remained untapped until C-Dubs and 650B had hit the course). Having done in my back in a big way last week at the Stoopid 50 I opted for the complete sandbagger approach and entered the sport wrist snapping class to have a fun ride with Rossi and wreck havoc on the trails.
It didn't take long, with a attempt to "pants" or master of ceremonies, Hawaiian Mike, in front of the ladies class and then with the start of the singlespeeds we let the field speed off before asking if it was time to start. Casual banter ruled the opening prologue but as the mud deepened and the going got tough Rossi began to fade off the back and by the time he came out of the woods he had a look of pure guppy -
Soon after it was the to the high point of the course on Major Mike (usually one of the driest sections) and it looked like this -
and if you think these conditions were bad the river crossing were running so deep that the Navy Seals, returning the favor after Darkhorse Racing broke up the terrorists ring in Stewart, volunteered to assist riders with the river crossings - For Rossi the pain and suffering was only to get worse as at one point on the course riders were coming out of the trail and commenting on the crazed looking rider squatting in the bush with a boulder in his hands (aka C-Dubs)at one of the big mud holes laying in wait for Tom. The attempt failed to make a dent in the overall mud covering and it was back to riding for the finish. With so many troops on the course the Darkhorse Racing team had men and women streaming over the line like lemmings over a cliff and placing several (Walter & Bobbie) in the top 10. One look at Top Chef and our soon to be newest member Griff tells you how much fun all the men had on father's day!

Stoopid 50

The Independent Fabrication team showed up in force at the Stoopid 50 with six riders (Harlan, Elk, Greg "the leg", Buck, Vt. Jeff and Wurster) representing the spectrum of classes and putting in some solid and some not so solid rides - Harlan 3rd overall, Elk 7th in singlespeed and the rest of the crew coming in all over the place but with smiles on their faces. During a preride of the course on Saturday some of the scenery suddenly started to look very familiar (in a painful kind of way) and at the top of several different climbs I realized I was on the Wilderness 101 course. Further riding brought back more memories, this time of the 2005 Singlespeed Worlds, turns out the course was a combo of the two and if memory held true it was going to be one of the more painful rides on record.
After weeks of never ending cool rainy conditions race day dawned with clear skies and warming temps making this the hottest ride of the season. The start was a controlled role out from Tussey Mountain ski area with a 2+ mile climb up the fireroad before spilling onto some beautiful singletrack and ridge riding (that is if you had time to take the scenery in). The first 4 miles of singletrack had more trees across the trails and rock gardens then I ride in a full season back home. I now realize just how spoiled we are with singletrack as smooth as glass, this was rough and raw with sections that would put a smile on your face and a half mile later have you shaking your head and commenting on how stoopid this course was.
The next 25 miles of the race saw a mix of fireroads and even more singletrack with even more logs and rock gardens. At least the race ended with 12+ miles of fireroad climbing before being dumped onto a 2 mile descent that was loaded with, yes more rock gardens. With the Masters class age cut at 45 the results were painful to look at - 12th in class and a sore back from a misadjusted seat.
My memory of the race is log crossings as numerous as theseand rock gardens that seemed like these

The Reason You Only See 29er Singlespeeds

The fast rolling capabilities of the 29er wheel have proven time and again to be superior to both the 26" and 650b formats, as can be seen in the shot below of one dinosaur chasing another dinosaur on small wheels.

Singlespeed-a-Palooza

This weekend Darkhorse Cycles hosted an event that in the future is sure to become the benchmark for racing on the East Coast - Singlespeed-a-Palooza!!! Now any time there is an event that has the ability to set the standards, such as this one, there will be a number of non believers, but trust me my friends this is the real deal - great racing, cash prems and lots of cold beer (otherwise know as mtb nirvana) and totally kick ass singletrack riding.
With a momumental event such as this there are two approaches to the racing - a) I am going to go out there and kick some serious ass or b) I am going to get a serious ass kicking by the young xc punks so it's time to party. Well my dear friends and loyal fans of the New East Coast Syndicate, it is a no brainer to tell you where my head was at -choice b. Prior to the race the latest steed in the NECS stable was equipped with the flask of Mexico's finest agave, a hula girl on the bars, a ukuele converted to a camelbak and yes the preverbial "carrot on a stick" only this was a PBR on stick to motivate me around the 20 mile course.

Festivities began with the preride by the base of the climb up Major Mike where, with akido like skills, I tapped the keg of Shock Top Belgian White Ale (and a shot of Del Maguay Tobala) before rolling up to the starting line for the preride announcements. Well the horn sounded, the pro race started and I turned to the organizers to see if it was time to race. Sure enough the field was already 100 yards up the road by the time I realized I should be rolling. Well a couple of quick strums of the ukelele a shot of Tobala and it was off to the races, with one of the sport riders commenting "it sure would suck to get beaten by the guy with the beer can on his bike".

The riding was sweet flowing single track that snaked through the woods and often a rider a couple of minutes ahead or behind was not more then 50 feet away. RIde I did and party along the way I did even better, with my loyal and trusty Beth being a course marshall there was no need to carry any extra yeasty malted beverages, they were ice cold at the midlap check point crying my name out. A quick chug and it was back at it until the end of the first lap at the base of Major Mike, the biggest climb of the day. To the shock of some and amusement of others it was a swig of the agave and a nice cold Shock Top Belgian before heading back out for the second lap. At this point the field was stretched out enough that riding was pretty much a solo event. While I was tempted to wait at the bridge on Skip & Bill's to give 650B another soaking the call of the unopened IPA was clawing at the base of my skull and I rode on stopping only at the wife's station for a quick wardrobe change before pushing on to the finish and the kegs.
And the verdict - with over 200 riders, cash prems and lots of cold beer - Darkhorse Cycles once again showed how to host an event that surely will become the benchmark for single speed races on the East Coast. The Mayor, Shop Sidekick and Hawaiian Mike did a fantastic job and made sure we were well equipped after the race with pint glasses, tshirts and bottle openers to commerate the event. For me this was a great time, a lot of fun and a chance to really cut loose before the long distance season kicks off in two weeks with the Stoopid 50, game on!