Burnin at the Bluffs

As much as I would have loved to race 12hr solo at Burnin this year, I decided it would be in my best interest to race on a team for 3 reasons. They are I just came off a 24hr solo MTN bike race last month, I will have BT Epic 2 weeks later, and most importantly, I wanted to have more fun since I have done so many endurance races solo this year. Don't get me wrong...I was still going for the BUCKLE!

The team was formed consisting of Carrie Cash, Jamie Valencheck, and myself. Rock on! I was pumped because this was going to be fun and fast race. Our biggest competitor going into the race was Team AB Cycles-Sarah Parrish, Mia Phillips, and Beth Weimer. I have race against these 3 in many races and I know their strengths! This was going to be a close race. These girls are fast. We had a short huddle Friday night and we wrote down our order. Their team said they drew straws and Mia was going first. Are they bluffing? I figured they were and said I bet Sarah will be standing at the start. So, we decided to have Cash take Sarah on for the 1st lap. The plan would be for me to go 3rd so I would ride on the darkest lap since I love night riding and could do a double lap in the end if a 9th lap was needed.

Saturday AM..racers surrounded the start line for a short run to their bikes. Surprise! Sarah Parrish at the start line. This is going to be an awesome race. Gun went off and so did the smoke bombs. You could hardly see your bikes. Cash bolts off the start like a bull with horns are chasing her. Off she goes. After an hour goes by, the guys start coming through from their 1st lap. Among the 1st 15 guys is Cash! She was smokin with a time of 1:17. Oh yeah...that's with changing a flat! Jamie and I completed our laps in under 1:30. I was excited about this because I was so much faster on my 1x9 geared bike than my single speed I usually ride out there.

After we competed our 1st round of laps, Mia came in with a possible fractured wrist from a crash. I saw Beth standing at the start not knowing if she should take off. I yelled to her to just go since still on the clock. Carrie and I walked Mia to the 1st aid tent then, I rode down to her campsite to find Sarah to let her know Mia was injured. Total bummer. Our favorite team lost a member and now they were down to 2 racers. This wasn't the race I wanted and felt bad for Mia. Her wrist was pretty swollen.

We kept riding hard for the rest of the race. Anything can happen and I knew Sarah and Beth wouldn't give up. They have lots of experience in endurance racing. Cash started off our 2nd round of laps. On the trail, she heard something that sounded like a rock hitting the ground. Later, she realized she had lost her shifter when trying to shift. She knew exactly where she heard it so rode backwards on the course yelling "racer coming, racer coming" to try to avoid a crash while riding full speed. She found the shifter and put the front shifter upside down on opposite site so she could shift in the back. She still came in off that lap at 1:22. Wow. Would you believe she flatted on her 3rd lap too? But, that barely slows her down.

Jamie had the best luck. No crashes and smokin times. I had 2 good crashes on my 2nd lap but, no injuries. I went out on the 8th lap not sure if I would go back out for another to make 9. I came in within 10 minutes of cut-off. Cash and Jamie were each standing there with a beer and said I didn't need to go back out. "We won the Buckle!"

Berryman Epic on board next and starting to build my fixed geared MTN bike. New bike just arrived and hub is ordered. Hoping Mia has a speedy recovery.