Last weekend saw the annual gathering of one speed wonders for the Liberty Jamboree stage race. As usual, the weather was brutally hot. When we left the festivities after 6pm it was still 102F. Ouch! As always, race director Jim and his awesome wife and in-laws put on a top notch event that had us heaving our lungs out in stage sprints to collect points in hopes of winning the event.
Sprinting is not my strength but that's never stopped me from digging deep and suffering. I only managed to capture a win on one stage and that's because I pulled a Contador on defending champ Mike Pierce. Winning the stage means wearing the yellow jersy, the unwashed and highly toxic garmet that gets passed from rider to ride through out the race and is forbidden from being washed each year. It is both a priviledge and a treat to put this petri dish on your bare skin. Did I mention it was HOT and we were racing our balls off?
When it is all said and done your accumulated points are wagered in a game of beat the dealer black jack at the post race BBQ. I managed to capture enough points to make a showing at the game and wound up in 3rd due to my card shark skills. Ricky d nabbed 2nd and Tony B. pulled out a well deserved win. He was riding strong all day and deserved the crown. Defending champ Mike P. came to the table with the most points but went bust. SSO rider Becky rocked the win for the ladies. Even better than the swag we got was the fact that the racers contributed over $400 for a small boy suffering from cancer. Big thanks to everyone who helped put the race on.
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With beautiful weather on tap this past weekend it was absolutely necessary to take full advantage of it via two wheels. Friday usually isn't a ride day (other than commuting), but my wife and I headed up to the local trails and logged a fun ride on bone dry trails. We then rolled home and grilled up some tasty vittles and had some adult beverages.
With lots of bike options bouncing around in our head the previous couple of days, we finally settled on "The Ice Cream Ride" where we'd head out from our back door, climb over the Catoctin Mountain ridge on some dirt roads, then descend down the western side into the Middletown Valley on scenic, low traffic roads and roll into South Mountain Creamery. After refueling on some fresh ice cream we worked out way back along some A+ rural roads and back up to the ridge, riding it's spine for a few miles before dropping back into town. When it was all done we had 57 miles under our belt which meant we were hunger, so we cleaned up and swapped bikes to putz over to the brewpub for refueling.
Sunday had rain in the forecast, but the percentages dropped overnight and Mike and I headed to the trails for a few hours of rocks and dirt. The legs were feeling the previous day's ride as we started climbing out of the gate, first the dirt road, then Extended Death March, then Death March proper. Yow! Tough start, but I've got no one to blame but myself considering I was leading the route. Legs came around a little later on in the ride. Finished on some sweet downhill just like every ride should end. Completed the day with some steamed crabs and a free blues concert in the park. It was a fun filled weekend.
