The Wheel, disk brakes and suspension was obviously invented before matches…

HMMM! Hungry!

YUM YUM

These sayings have been tried and tested, and took many years to compile. Look and learn. Or just enjoy.

Mountain biking:

– “Hesitation, devastation”
– “Speed is your friend”

– “Low air*, high gear, no fear”           *Tires

– “It is not a ride till there is blood”
– “To label a ride “Epic”, it must be:

– 5 hours or more

– you must get really lost at least once. Really lost like trying to find North by studying moss growth on  trees.
– You must run out of food and water completely. The whole posse should be thoroughly bonked of course. (You know you have a good bonk going if it feels like you have ants walking on your face.) Drink from a dubious source. Stealing fruit or eating berries/roots/leaves/grasshoppers  counts for extra points.

– you must suffer some kind of mechanical. Like running out of spare tubes and stuffing leaves in your tire, or destroying a derailleur hanger and making your bike a single speed with crude tools. (Of which one should be a rock)
– there must be blood, of course.
– the last half hour should be in the dark. Nursing a slow puncture…
Hit the 1st fast food joint on the drive home. Believe me, $20 makes you feels like a millionaire!
Training:

– “no pain, no pain”
– “Training is training and racing is racing”

– “When in doubt, go easy”

Thats all for now…

How does the Caveman unwind after some hectic racing? (Not to mention the traveling!)

He tames the mighty Lake Tahoe on a pink floatie…

He eats the biggest popcorn at the Reno Rodeo…

And yes, he rides a bull!

For those non cricketing nations- “Hat-trick” means 3 in a row…

1) Temecula in Cali
2) Pelham in ‘Bama
3) Richmond, Virginia

Another good day for Cave.

Photo by Rich Cruse XTERRA

It wasn’t all plain bunny clubbing though. I was definately a sitting bunny staring at the headlights. Who listens to pre race briefings anyway? (“a 5 minute train passed directly overhead”- is my official excuse) So I missed part of the swim course and had to go back and round the right buoys. Lost 55 seconds to Craig Evans, but fortunately 99% of the field didn’t listen to the briefing either, so everyone lost time to Craig, it was just a matter of how much…

I jumped on my paint-less boinga boinga bike and tore it up to the best of my ability. This course in downtown Richmond is my favorite, as it is quite technical; some fast, some slow, short steep climbs, water crossings, stairs up, spiraling stairs down, across narrow wooden bridges, over log-piles, and of course, a couple of parts that makes you go “Phew!” when you’re done jumping/ railing/ dropping in. As this race is in the middle of Richmond, there were crowds of spectators at almost every “hotspot.” There is this one steep, rocky, wet, climbing section I planned on running, but when I rounded the corner (i.e. exited the flooded drainpipe) and heard the crowd buzzing I knew “this is the moment of truth- where legends are made.” Adrenaline coursed through my veins and everything went quiet as I poured on the power, willed those tires to grip, pulled on the bars with all my strength, and slowly inched up and over the lip. My hearing came back (the crowd went nuts) and I sprinted off into the forest. No one else rode that part. Today.

The heat and humidity was abrewing- 93 with 85% humidity, I drank like a home sick Australian and racked the bike with a 2.30 lead.

Well, the run was hot and sweaty and two of the more memorable highlights were at water stations:

– Remember last years’ story of the 1st station, where the young gentleman yelled “Dere aint no ice in dere” after it took him 30 seconds to unravel my request for “water with ice”? Well this year he said: “You are winning sir”

– When I stumbled upon the members of aid station number 2, they were no where near their aid station. (as in at least 500m from it) The girls doing rock climbing on the Mayan Ruins were much more interesting. We spotted each other at the same time. (the aid station members and I) They yelled: “Oh sh*t!” and we all started sprinting for aid station number 2. The big boned guy blew early on, but the 2 others were going hell for leather- just meters ahead of me. I giggled: “Dont let me catch you!” The pressure seemed too much and the one guy blew up spectacularly, just short of the water table. But the guy with the big shorts and loose basketball shoes ran like the enemy was be-kreeping him from be-after and got there just in time to hand me 2 cups of well deserved water! Good times.

The unofficial results are:

Men:

1) Moi
2) Seth Wealing about 2.30 down.
3) Mike Vine 5 seconds back
4) Josiah Middaugh

Ladies:
1) Jamie Whitmore
2) Melanie Medical-tent McQaid
3) Jenny Smith
4) Candy Angle
5) Amber Monforte

Here is a peak at my 23lbs Specialized Carbon Epic:

And my new favorite tire: Specialized, The Captain 2.00 Tubeliss. Prototype. (Sorry- on sale soon) The Captain grips exceptionally well in loose corners, punches through leafy debris and yes, they grip wet rocks like day old bubble-gum on a hot sidewalk.

Richmond Virginia

Photo by Dan Hugo

Photos by Rich Cruse

‘T was a hot and sweaty midsummers’ day in Pelham Alabama.

XTERRA folks from all over toed the line at the Oak Mountain State Park, whether for XTERRA Series points, glory, or just fun and games.

This course is well known for it technical (fun) bike course, hilly run route, and of course- the infamous ‘Bama heat and humidity.

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