Friends, Sponsors, and Great Customer Service. The Perfect (and rare) Trifecta

I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who has recently been there for me.  Kind words go a long way, but one of the reasons I LOVE the mountain biking community, is the way people go out of the way to help each other.  A week ago, I was cleaning up my bicycle and swapping out parts (converting it back to a geared bike from a single speed) and found a crack in the frame.  Yet another casualty of the Snake Creek Gap Time Trial Series...  This shock came only a half a day from having to put our family dog, Parker, to sleep.  What else could go wrong?  Actually, it seems everything seems to have been going right since then.
Weird. 

Anyhow, I mentioned the fact that I broke my bike frame on facebook, and immediately had people offering up their bikes to use.  Wonderful people like Johnny Garner, Becky and Matt Kicklighter, and a few others as well.  These are people who I've only had the opportunity to meet and speak with a handful of times.  Before I started mountain biking, I had never heard of them, and they had never heard of me.  Bicycling brings people together.  

Dammule's sponsor: Emergen-C

Next,  Emergen-C came through and sent me another 500 packets of Raspberry, Super Orange, and Tropical flavors.  They also sent me about 50 packets of the new 'Electro-Mix' which is designed to mix in a quart of water and replenish valuable electrolytes that athletes lose while exerting themselves.  Thanks Emergen-C!  I let Kenny over at Chainbuster Racing know that I was going to come to the race bringing more  Emergen-C, and he let me know he appreciated it by letting me register for the next race for free! 

Another good friend of mine got a pair of brand new tires to me just in time for the last race!  Racing on bald tires is not quite the safest or the most efficient manner of racing, and since I just registered for school, I'm kind of fiscally unable to buy new tires...   You know who you are, thank you so very much!!!

Next, I drove to Addictive Cycles, which is located in Hoschton Georgia, and showed them my cracked frame.   They got on the horn and contacted the local Niner rep, a man named Mike Stanley.  I've met Mike a few times at races, but I don't think he would know me if we bumped into each other on the street.  He let Addictive Cycles know that the frame would be warrantied, however the new models were not in stock yet, so I'd have to wait for a bit.  Here's the kicker:  they would be happy to give me a loaner bike to ride/race until my replacement frame came back in.  I had to choose from a Niner One-9,  a scandium bike, which is an upgrade from the EMD I had been riding, or an Air 9 Carbon.  The Air 9 Carbon is basically the top-of-the-line model offered by Niner. What luck!?!  I've been wanting to demo one of these for quite some time, and now I'll get to ride it ALL DAY in a 9 hour race.  One word...    AWESOME. 

The Final Snake Creek Gap Time Trial... and the end of my Niner EMD frame

 Going into this final Snake Creek Gap Time Trial,  I had a much better idea of what lay ahead.  Having now completed it 2 times prior, I had goals of knocking off some more time from the previous race, and at the same time be in faster recovery shape so I could go ride my bike again with my girlfriend on Sunday.   A few days before the race however,  old man weather got another idea.  "Lets see how muddy we can make this event" he said.  In the last 48 hours before the race, racers were obsessing over the weather.  Will this huge storm system continue on, and crush us tomorrow?  Looked that way.

click here to get a great deal on a rain poncho!

Now, before I tell you about the mud, the slick peanut-buttery clay which later caked my bike, clothing, and parts of the inside of my car, let me tell you about the tires I was running in the last 3+ races.   I purchased a new set of WTB Wolverine 2.2's all the way back in late September 2010.  They have held up for numerous training rides, some urban mountain bike rambles, at least 5 races,  a trip to sunny Ocala Florida, and plenty of other abuse.  I've been running them tubeless with Stans ZTR355 rims which are laced to White Industries hubs via DT Swiss stainless spokes.  The Wolverines are not the fastest tires, but I've been more than happy with them in basically every type of trail condition.  That being said,  these tires were absolutely finished.  There was almost no center tread left, which affected handling on loose-over-hard surfaces, as well as muddy climbs, descents, and pretty much everywhere else.  

A good friend of mine works for a great tire company it turns out, and she managed to get me a new set of Maxxis Ikons eXception series tires (race tires: lighter weight) which feature the EXO sidewall (for better strength).  I've been riding those WTB Wolverine's for over a year, never had a flat, and never had any reason to change brands.  Until now...

The image above is property of Maxxis

 Literally the night before the race, I committed a cardinal racing sin:  I put something brand new that was untested by me on the bike.  Ordinarily this would simply not stand, adding new things to your bike, your routine, etc. brings in new variables to an already difficult equation.   New variables can often lead to failure and you should ALWAYS test them out BEFORE race day.  But my tires were about as bald as a baby's behind and I didn't have much choice.  These Ikons were also 2.2's, but they looked faster.  Smaller tread blocks = less rolling resistance, lightweight, and I couldn't wait to try them out. 

Dammule riding through the infamous 'Dry Creek'

In the first 2 miles, racers quickly descend to 'Dry Creek' crossing,  which has historically been very wet.  Tires felt fast.  Once you cross that stream, it's all uphill for quite some time.  I hit a few deep mud patches and felt the tires slipping but they are true race tires, not designed for mud.  Later the mud got worse, and I had some slightly more serious slippage going on.  The first 17 miles has a lot of mud, with a couple sections so steep and slick that everyone had no choice other than 'Hike-a-bike'.   I knew once I got through that 17 and on to the next half, the rocky soil would be ridiculously fast on these new tires.   A few racers passed me.  I passed a few racers.  The trend continued.  3/4 way through the race there is a long annoying gravel road climb, and the mud was getting the best of me.  I weaved from left to right where ever the road had more dry patches and continued hammering on the singlespeed.  Of the three races, I had not felt this good so far into the course.  At the top of the climb I ate a Hammer Gel, (my fourth or fifth of the day) and then continued on towards the finish.  I should have taken another gel, just before the rock garden I bonked.  I couldn't choose a good line to save my life.  I was running INTO rocks, instead of OVER them.  At any second I was sure to go off a cliff, or just over the handlebars face first into a boulder or three.  It never happened though, and after shouting a few profanities I made it to the last climb.  

Try some Hammer Gel today!

The radio towers.  When racers see these, they know they are almost finished.  This knowledge gives them wings.  Super powers even.  Although I felt pretty baked, I went careening down the gravel road and turned into the last couple hundred feet of single track.  Pulling onto the road and looking through the fog for cars coming down the mountain behind me, I quickly pedaled up to the maximum cadence and ducked down into the 'aerodynamic tuck'.  These tires were quick.  In the fog, ducked down behind my number plate I quickly caught 4 or 5 other racers in the remaining mile, pulled into the Dalton Convention Center and blasted across the finish.  My work was done...

Yazoo brewing company sponsored this event with several kegs of beer.  I also brought my own.  And since the forecast looked so crummy days in advance, the wonderful folks of NWGA-SORBA rented a few very large tents, and made a small tent-city for the awards ceremony, prize raffle, and for the beer drinking festivities.  If you completed all three of the 34 mile races this year,  (also known as the 3x34 challenge) you were awarded a really cool belt buckle.  The wonderful Clay and Krista Combs also had a tent, and set it up right next to the 'tent city' so we could grab beer, come back and drink under their less crowded tent.  Eddie Delacruz, myself, Clay, Krista, Charles Nahas, and several other familiar faces all hung out here and watched the sky fall out.  Later, when most people were leaving and the crowd was growing thin,  Eddie and I picked up the tent and walked the entire thing over to Clay and Krista's camper,  where dinner was waiting.   Smoked Pork Butts!!!  Now this is Racing!!!  

I left the bike covered in mud in the back of my car for a week.  That course is so rough I was amazed at how well the bike held up.  It wasn't until I decided to clean up the bike and change some parts that I noticed the crack.  I did a double-take.  Yep, definitely a crack.  Second time I have broken a frame in 13 months.  Niner builds a great riding bike, and has a 2 year warranty though so all is well.   The previous frame I broke was a 2005 Gary Fisher Marlin.  This time it was a 2009 Niner EMD 9.  Both are aluminum.  I may have to switch to steel for my frames if this keeps up.   So I have only one week until the next 9 hour race at Conyers, and now my frame is broken.  I was thinking about racing my CX bike,  but Mike Stanley from Niner came through, and agreed to loan me a demo bike.   Pics and race review to come!  Stay Tuned!!!