Sketches of Ramsey's

I started to write a recap of Ramsey's Revenge, which took place this past Sunday at Ramsey's Farm in Wilmington, DE, and as I did it seemed that I had forgotten all about writing, the English language, and basically everything else I have learned since the second grade. Here is an excerpt:

Yeah, not good. So I put some c. 2007 Dan Deacon on my headphones and did the dishes, and while doing so said to myself, "Hey, why not just list some things that were fun or memorable? Forget about building a story or trying to pry some pretense out of the day, you moron." So that's what I'm doing. 

In kind of, but not really, chronological order:

• It did not rain the day of, or the day before, or the day before that. Those of you that have raced this year know this has not been the norm. The trails were fast and fun and perfect. 
• The temperature was phenomenal. I feel like every year at Ramsey's it is very hot and very humid. I think this year it just touched 80° and was relatively dry. 

• Meeting Jake and his family, and Chris Hays' family, and having RJ's son cheer me on through every lap, and getting to hang with the other members of the dred.not team was awesome. Being on a team with a bunch of veterans of the sport with a similar focus is extremely motivating. 
• Having the Shore Cycle Sports/Team EPS riders and their families set up just across from us, and seeing them out on the trail, was really cool. They are all killing it across multiple categories and generations!
• The relaxed atmosphere beforehand. I find that I feel much calmer before these endurance races, as opposed to the XC races I used to do. Maybe it's because, at least this season, I know I'm not even close to podium contention in the Men's Endurance Open category, so, while I'm still out to do my best, I don't have the added stress of duking it out with other riders for the top spot (not defeatist, just the facts). Maybe it's because I don't have to worry about the hard jump off the line that comes with the XC races. Whatever it is, it feels more like I'm getting ready to do a really long, hard ride than a race. 

Rob and I to the left, laughing, as Jake makes the contentious jump. Photo credit: First Place Photo

• Speaking of jumps off the line, the count came: 5...4...3...and then there goes Jake, jumping the gun! Hilarity ensued. See above.
• The course was newish this year. It went in the opposite direction as previous iterations, cut out some stuff and added some stuff. It started with a long climb, threw in a bunch of punchy climbs, some pretty steep longish climbs, and a nice long grinder of a climb right in the middle. It had flowing downhill sections with nice, tacky dirt. It had some tricky, rocky water crossings, some big log overs, some mud, and a technical rock garden with a relentless Heckle Pit.
• I made it through the rock garden just fine six out of seven times. My smoothest and fastest run was the only time I did it with a Krispy Kreme doughnut in my mouth. Lesson learned. Always take the doughnut.

Video credit: Obviously not me.

• The one time I didn't make it fine, which was during lap five, I stuffed my front wheel and instantly endo'd. I stayed balanced on my front wheel for what felt like 10 seconds, smiling, while the Heckle Pit, well, heckled. Video evidence has surfaced that shows it was really just about two seconds before I decided to hop over the bars and catch my bike behind me. The Heckle Pit howled and cheered and made it way more memorable than the other six times. With each subsequent lap, they were down there, screaming, "ENDO!" 
• I ended up riding with Kevin for almost the first two laps (the same Kevin from the Dirty Double Cross, who I guess is now considered a "reoccurring character" on this blog).  I assured him I wasn't shadowing him purposefully, but his pace just happened to feel right. Towards the end of the second lap, I passed him, and said I'd see him again. I did, sometime during the long climb in the middle of the course, I think in lap five, when he passed me. I probably would have done better if I had just kept his pace the entire race. 
• As he passed me, he said something to the extent of, "I hate this climb." Exactly in that instant a cramp shot up my inner thigh. Thanks Kevin!
• As I was spinning in my lowest gear up one of the very steep climbs, I saw Jaime, a singlespeeder, walking near the top. "Put a derailleur on that bike!" I yelled. He laughed, crested the top, hopped on his bike, and rode on. Very shortly after, I made a dumb, and incredibly loud, mis-shift. I knew Jaime heard it and that I had put my muddy, SPD'd foot in my mouth. We had a good laugh about it at end of the race.
• At the beginning of the 6th lap, I stopped at our tent for water and took off. Halfway up the climb my thigh cramped so badly that I had to had to get off and stretch for a minute. I knew I had been drinking enough, so maybe I didn't eat enough, or have enough electrolytes, or maybe I pushed it a little hard up the hill. Who knows? Science, I guess.
• Going into this year, I was unsure how I felt about these short-lap endurance races. I thought it would be a little bit mind-bending. As far as mountain bike endurance events, I had only done two editions of the Shenandoah 100, which is a long course with very little retreading of ground. I still think I prefer one big loop, or maybe two long loops, but I have to say I really enjoy these short loop endurance races. You get to completely digest the course and all that it has to offer. And it's pretty fun passing through the team tent area over and over, or seeing the same volunteers time and again. It gives you more of an appreciation of just how much of their time they give when you see them in the same spot seven times in four hours.
• I came across some kids (I say "kids" but I think they were in their lower 20s. I'm 37, I can call them kids, right?) carrying a wicker basket. As I rode by them, I asked if they were collecting mushrooms, and they said they were, but hadn't found anything edible. I told them I had seen some chicken of the woods back towards the beginning of the course, and they seemed excited, but as I rode away I realized they probably didn't know where the course began. Maybe I'll mount a basket on the Scalpel so I can grab dinner while I race....

Photo Credit: First Place Photo

• After the race was over and the podiums were called and the prizes were given, Kevin, Rob, Sam and I were standing around talking and decided to go sit at a picnic table in the shade and have a beer*. One beer turned into a couple, and soon Scotty, one of the organizers, came over and sat with us, pointing out that we had shut the place down. We looked around and realized he was right: we were the only non-organizers left. The stiff southeast breeze that was blowing down over the hill complimented the shade of the tent and cooled the afternoon to possibly the most perfect temperature imaginable for human relaxation. That combined with great company, wide-ranging conversation, and cold beers led us to abandon all sense of time. But, alas, families and dogs were waiting back home, so we talked a bit more, packed up our things, and left. Even the heavy afternoon traffic back to New Jersey that always haunts these races couldn't shake the great feeling of a full day of biking with friends. 

Thanks to Circus Bear Productions for putting in all the time and hard work necessary to throw such a great event! 

*Since alcohol is forbidden from the park, the beer mentioned here is a purely fictional device used to drive the story. However, to flesh out the details, let's say that these beers were Dogfish Head's Namaste, Sea Quench, and, my new favorite post-race beer, the low ABV, big taste Slightly Mighty. Also, one of these fictional beers may have been a Levante Cloudy & Cumbersome. And remember, when drinking alcohol before you have to drive, ALWAYS drink responsibly, because the excuse that they are just fictional devices does not fly in the real world.