I participated in my first Mt. bike race this past weekend and it seems I picked a great one to start with. The conditions were like nothing I have ever experienced before, mud, snow, rain, huge puddles.. This was a great introduction to Washington State Mt. bike racing and my riding buddies will no longer need to tell me to embrace the mud it seems I have taken it to a whole new level!
Here are some of the funny posts from the biker chat forum after the race
"Ok that hurt. The snow. The temperature. The peanut butter section. Ouch. Kudos to everyone who made the trip in the face of such horrible weather, this will definitely be one to remember. Thanks Kevin for the great course as usual, even if it was more suitable for a jetski than a bike... "
"Good times! Yesterday's frigid frolic in Tahuya was my first mountain bike race since 2001 and man was it a blast! Aside from the wear and tear on the bike, the body, and the mud I'm still picking from beneath my fingernails and, ahem, other regions I had a really good time. After the race, I crawled inside my Element, stripped naked, and just sat there hugging my knees for about 20 minutes. I think the feeling came back to my feet somewhere around Bellevue on the drive home."
Look at that mud!
Here is a picture of one person's brake pads after the race. Mine were worn to the metal as well and my Yeti sounded more like a garage sale of old parts than the high performance machine that it is after the abuse it suffered at Tahuya!
