All three people that have read a blogpost that I may have written during past racing seasons might (strong emphasis on the might) notice that I did not blog at all this season. Its a simple fact, and not one that I'm particularly proud of given my self-imposed responsibilities to team supporters and sponsors. Meh...what are you gonna do? Sometimes you crush it and sometimes you fail miserably. Chalk up blogging during the 2012 racing season in the failed miserably column. The truth is I didn't have much to say that was worth hearing. I was in my own head a lot, brooding, and not often in the mood for sharing in no small part to what follows.
Why am I blogging now? Boredom mostly. I know it sounds lame, but my season is over and I haven't been able to bring myself to participate in a CX race this year yet. With Granogue cancelled, its not looking likely that I will. That pretty much just leaves work-work, house-work, and riding, the latter of which I'm not doing very much of lately. Those of you who know me might at this point wonder, "What about K-town, Sophie, family, and all your great friends?" To which I reply that they are all awesome, and I am truly blessed, but they are not the subject of this blog. This blog is for me and the meaningless things I have to say about nothing of consequence and no one in particular. I need something to occupy my mind, which has been restless of late, and you can only do housework for so long before you want to bang your head against the drywall you just finished spackling.
Back to racing...2012 went not at all as expected, but pretty good nonetheless. I may as well have taken all of my plans for the season and set them ablaze on day one as the season did not unfold according to my very carefully choreographed plan. There's something deeper in there about expectations, mice and men, and being open to your expectations amounting to less than nothing in the grand scheme of things but such philosophical discussions will have to wait for a future blog.
What follows are the plans that didn't happen in 2012. Consider this a montage post where we cover six months of failed races in a five(ish) minute read (alright it might be longer than five minutes). If you want to pretend that I'm John Cusack in some 80's coming of age movie working through some seemingly insurmountable, not even remotely close to real-life, obstacle and failing miserably while a ballad plays in the background feel free, I would be honored.
AFC Sugar Hill XC
We've done this in the past and its been awesome. When the time came to pull the trigger, we looked at the weather, saw a slight chance of rain, and instead of the trigger we pulled the plug like the wussies that we sometimes are. It did not rain. By all accounts it was a beautiful day and a good time was had by all, except us as we didn't attend...FAIL.
Tuscarora MTB Enduro
We haven't done this in the past and so were looking forward to a change of pace. Again when the time came to pull the trigger, we looked at the weather, saw a more than slight chance of rain, and instead of the trigger we pulled the plug like the wussies that we apparently more than sometimes are. It did rain, mud was aplenty, trails and bikes alike were destroyed, and yet a good time was still had by all, except us as we didn't attend. FAIL...again.
MASS Team Relay
Opted out of this race this year in favor of Single-speed-a-palooza. FAIL...yet again.
Single-speed-a-palooza
Was eyeing this race up all year and...Could. Not. Wait. If all went according to plan (HA!), it was looking more than likely that I would podium if not win. However, a couple of weeks before the race we incurred a death in the family. The service was scheduled for the day of the race and...well, you get the picture. Life happens or in this case, ceases to happen. The service was an awesome tribute to a pillar of K-town's family, her grandfather Godfrey Greenhow. A man who's inner strength was belied only by his kind and gentle spirit. Truly awesome to have known him.
To compound missing the race, after the service a gaggle of K-town's 20-something cousins and a handful of their closest 20-something friends and I were playing a game of ultimate frisbee. Yup, ultimate frisbee. No one else thought it was weird that we were playing ultimate frisbee after a funeral, so I played along. Or at least tried to play along. The pick-up game of ultimate frisbee was precipitated by a post-funeral trip to the Flying Pig in Malvern where we lifted a glass or three to K-town's grandfather. Again, no one else found this weird so I drank along. Now I don't want to toot my own horn too loudly, but ultimate frisbee is one of my useless talents. One that is based almost solely on my being historically rather fleet of foot. Thinking that I would show K-town's 20-something cousins and said handful of their closest 20-something friends that their youth had nothing on me and my fleet-feet I ran around that ultimate frisbee field like I too was 20-something. The fact that I am no longer 20-something, and the fact that I was slightly post-toast dehydrated, saw me pull both hammies in one particularly lively sprint down the frisbee field. I limped off the field crestfallen with not just my pride hurt, drove home, and sat in a tub filled with ice for the rest of the evening. Color me dejected. Sadly I have become that not so old but yet not so young guy that pulls something during a pick-up game. Again, life happens but Single-speed-a-palooza 2012 did not. FAIL...again.
Iron Hill Challenge
Quite simply, Iron Hill Challenge was spent spectating while I nursed my sore legs and fed and watered teammates. FAIL...yet again.
Bike Line Spring XC @ Fair Hill
Skipped in favor of NUE Race No. 2 the Mohican 100...1/8 FAIL (since Mohican 100 was pretty good).
Stoopid 50 Marathon
I did this race in 2010 and vowed never to do it again. Not just because as a single-speeder that podiums on a good day, you get what could only be described as the shaft at this race from the standpoint of prizes, but also because the race is aptly named. So much gravel road climbing at the end it just doesn't make any sense. Don't get me wrong, I like hard races and I don't race for money or prizes, but the difficulty coupled with the aforementioned shaft places this race in the "only if I must" category...and I mustn't. I mean, come on man, throw the single-speeders a freaking bone or get rid of the category all together...WIN.
Guy's Neshaminy Classic
Prior to this year I had never crashed out of a race. That streak ended abruptly and painfully this year. I was excited for the Neshaminy Classic. I usually race well there. I think its the mix of tech and climbing that sees me do pretty well. The field was stacked for this race and I was on a new-to-me, slightly-used, fancy race bike that I was excited about if not quite yet totally comfortable with. Didn't have the best start, didn't get in to the woods in the top 10, but fought well through 1.5 laps and found myself in sixth, ahead of my most noteworthy rivals for the year, and perched to pull in and hopefully finish fifth. A finish I would have been really happy with. However, 1.5 laps in, despite all the potential race-ending obstacles on the course, I fell hard on what, after a post crash inspection, appeared to be a whole lot of nothing. Wrung my bell, tweaked my shoulder, and mashed up my knuckles on something pretty hard (they still hurt). Pulled the plug, did the slow-roll/hike-of-shame out of the woods, and heckled for the remainder of the race...FAIL.
D&Q Summer Sizzler
Skipped in favor of SS Nationals in Sun Valley Idaho...1/8 FAIL (since Idaho was awesome).
Bear Creek Resort MASS Finals Weekend
Historically, I don't race here unless I absolutely have to. Not because I don't like the trails, they're super technical bordering on sketchy, but fun and challenging. Racing here is tough to be sure, but not impossible. However, since my focus was on endurance this year and I was not in the running for a podium spot in the MASS series, I didn't absolutely have to and so did not. I will have to change my tune in 2013 as nationals will be held here and I plan (there's that word again) to challenge in the SS race. Beer was drank, heckles were giving, and if a good time was not had by all it was at least had by me...1/16 FAIL (since I don't normally race here anyway).
Rattling Creek
Didn't do it out of sheer unadulterated laziness...FAIL.
Iron Cross 2012
Dito...FAIL.
I promise, we raced in 2012...eventually. I'll get to the other not so failed half of the 2012 racing retrospective shortly.
S. Rivers
