We managed to pull out of Morgantown 45 minutes later than
expected with a trailer-full of bicycles and three passenger cars, but
spirits were still high as we rolled out. Then came the “slam on your
breaks in the middle of the interstate” traffic on Interstate 79 due
to a little Mazda truck sitting on the roof of its cab in the slow
lane. After clearing that traffic, we made it onto 19 smoothly and
everything was going well. Interstate 77 was also going smoothly; we
stopped at Subway in Bland, VA (very fitting name for the place) and
discussed how we all believed that “Speed enforced by aircraft” meant
that an Apache helicopter would descend from the sky and blow your car
up with a grenade launcher if you drove over the speed limit. Somehow,
all three passenger cars came to this conclusion. After passing the
Jeep and trailer on 79, we never saw them on the drive again so I’m
not sure if they had the same ideas on this.
After satisfactorily filling our bellies, we continued our
journey on 77 until we hit the exit where 77 splits from 81 and we
came to another abrupt halt. Unlike the traffic on 79, however, this
time it continued for about 10 miles. Daniele told me that it was only
a few miles of traffic until we reached a bridge where whatever was
holding us up occurred. Daniele was wrong. We sat in bumper to bumper
traffic, slowly lurching along, cresting one hill just to see the red
tail-lights slowly climbing the next hill. This happened for about 3
hills or ~10 miles when we finally hit the bridge where traffic had
been diverted to the 12-foot-wide shoulder around the area of sanded
liquid. We later found out that a FedEx truck had jackknifed and its
fuel tank had spilled all over the bridge (I feel sorry for whoever is
waiting for those packages).
Finally, we make it onto 421 and find the exit for the park we are
staying in. We drive through the sketchy little town that is
apparently part and/or all of North Wilksboro and turn onto Reservoir
Road. Drive to the end of that and find a gate and no sign of any
teams set up for camping. Great… now what do we do? Thanks to the
power of 3G, I have access to the race flier that gives perfect
directions to the camp location. We crest the hill that leads to the
dam we are supposed to drive across and what do you know, another
gate! Ok, really? Now what? That’s when we notice the 2 VT guys
crawling out of the back of their van in the little parking area by
the gate. They inform us that half their team hiked across the dam and
are sleeping over there, but they are just staying in the van. The
park rangers and the sheriff have been called but there is pretty much
nothing to be done. Well, we can adapt, we’ll just throw our tents up
on this mostly flat grassy knoll beside the gate. No big deal. Well,
apparently it is a big deal. The park rangers drive up and tell us we
aren’t allowed to camp there and we’ll just need to sleep in our cars
for the night. Yes, all 14 of us will sleep well crammed in our 3
sedans and a Jeep! The sheriff also decides to come back after the
park rangers leave and informs the VT guys that he “will not deal with
this all night.” Sorry sir, it is our goal to stay awake because we
have no place to sleep and wreak havoc on your park. We finally get to
the parking lot, waking up the vicious dogs in the Xterra parked there
already and the GW guy sleeping in it, set up camp, and finally get to
sleep. At some point the Jeep furiously rolls in, unhitches the
trailer, and pulls back out to sleep in a hotel because they got lost
and couldn’t find the park. Sorry guys, you had the flier too.
The next day begins at 7am for me and apparently 6:30am for
others. We’re all looking a little tired, but our spirits are still
pretty high considering. We tear down our hard-won camping area, the
jeep shows back up to pull the trailer across the dam, and we head
over to registration. It’s at this point that we realize that we had
been surrounded on three sides by water that night and the hill we had
tried to set up camp on was directly adjacent to a cemetery. Everyone
does there pre-race thing. Several of us head out to pre-ride the
short track course which features a couple of not fun, steep little
climbs at the beginning before looping back around to a flowy smooth
downhill section and back to the hills. They sent the Men’s C category
off a few minutes late and they do their 20 minutes of short track.
The rest of us stood around and cheered on our fellows, especially the
2 freshman who were putting out an astounding effort (big kudos to you
guys!) and watching the VT guy who was leading get legitimately
clotheslined by a vine. Next came the Men’s B race which went smoothly
and without an exciting wreck to report. Mikaela and I then had our
chance to pedal for 20 minutes against each other in the Women’s A/B
race of which we were the only two Bs. Obviously, we exhausted
ourselves in a heroic effort to be the dominant team (sarcasm). After
that, our entire team walked our bikes up the hill to the start of the
downhill to get in a couple of practice runs before the race. We
practiced a couple of times, trying to find the best line through the
gnarly rock garden, then had a nice sit-and-wait at the top of the
hill for the start of the event. Everyone else eventually showed up
and we all sat for a while longer until the event started; then we
rode our bikes down the mountain.
After we were all done, we made our way back to the cars to get
some foodstuffs in our bellies before the Super D. We ate and some
decided to practice the Super D course which really wasn’t too much
different from the downhill with the exception of a few extra twists
and turns. We all took our time getting back up to the top but we
still happened to be the first team there. We found what we assumed
was the start area and people practiced running to their bikes for the
Le Mans start. We concluded that Jake needed a new pair of shoes after
doing a burn out and falling down while taking off, at which we
laughed hysterically. Others had some amusing practice running-starts
as well. Everyone eventually showed up again and we all hung out for a
while, still hoping we were in the right spot for the start. We were.
Then after some Le Mans starts and splits between categories, we all
eventually pedaled down the hill in the Super D. Sadly, DeCann took a
spill on his way down which messed up his shoulder and caused him to
have to sit out the cross-country the next day. We have since banned
him from participating in any more gravity events.
After many hours in the heat, dust, sweat, and chamois, we were
finally done with racing. Though it wasn’t the toughest day, I am
confident in saying that we were all done. However, the best part of
the day was still to come. We had witnessed some of the VT riders
coming back from a dip in the reservoir between the downhill and Super
D and so decided that we should have a bathe in said reservoir. That
was the most amazing feeling ever and possibly one of the best
experiences of my cycling career. The cooling effects of the water
must have released a huge amount of endorphins in all of us because we
were simply giddy. Laughing, frolicking, and having an all-around
joyous time. Judging by the amount of dirt I scrubbed off of myself
Sunday night in the shower, I don’t think it really did anything for
getting us clean, but it sure lifted the spirits.
After drying off and putting on some dry, non-lycra clothes, we
headed out to find some grub. We had been arguing about where to go
for at least 3 hours and finally decided we would deal with the gastro-
intestinal effects and partake of the Mexican restaurant where the
road team always eats. After getting lost once again, we finally find
the place and sit down to a yummy meal. We laughed, discussed the
races, ate about 12 baskets of tortilla chips, and had enough plates
to feed most of an army. Afterwards, Mikaela and I sat complaining
about our food-babies, Oprah and Shania respectively and our food
induced comas. We were tired. We then made a quick Wal-Mart stop for
DeCann to get a heating pad and for some team road sodas.
We quickly made our way back to the camp, which we had luckily
set up earlier in the day so we could just enjoy the evening. The
sodas were broken into and the stand was set up to work on bikes. I
noticed the fire VT had going so I decided to join them for some
mountain biking spirit. If the laughter was any indication, the sodas
had their intended effect on the team and the WVUers were having a
good time as well. Eventually a park ranger pulled in and told us to
put the fire out and I suppose turn the music off considering it ended
at the same time. The two teams socialized for a while until the clock
struck at 11 and everyone quickly disappeared into tents. With some
rustling and snoring, we all fell into exhausted sleep.
The next day dawned much the same as the one before. Everyone
rolled out of sleeping bags looking a little more tired and I think
just ready to get the day over with. We ate, did a bit of last minute
bike maintenance, changed, and mentally prepared ourselves for the
last race of the weekend. The Men’s C/ Women’s B categories started
somewhere close to 9am and did a 6.4 mile lap which included more
climbing than I had mentally prepared for but was easily ride-able. I
sat behind Marco for a good part of the ride and every now and then
heard Mikaela’s breaks speaking behind me (she wasn’t feeling great
that morning). I warned her about the switch backs that were coming up
and hoped I hadn’t distracted her into wrecking. I had warning to slow
down after the first sharp turn and hearing brakes squealing and tires
skidding on rocks. That turned out to be Cameron having a minor crash
that skinned up his palm. Marco and I caught up to Cameron and
Daniele, at which point Marco found a place to pass and disappeared
into the twists and turns. I decided the guys were setting a good
enough pace for me and just sat in behind them, enjoying the fact that
I wasn’t alone for the first time in a race. When the XC trail met up
with the Super D course they dropped me and I finished the last little
bit alone.
They started the Men’s A race, which we didn’t have anybody
racing in, then the Men’s B/ Women’s A. Kyle was our only B rider for
that race so while he did his 2 laps, the rest of us packed up the
tents and started loading the trailer. After playing an hour long game
of bike Tetris, we fit all but 2 of the bikes in the trailer without
their wheels and found space for all the wheels as well. It was a
tight fit, but we finally managed. After Kyle came in from his laps
looking hot and tired, we let him cool down for a bit before throwing
his bike on a rack, loading up and heading out. We left the parking
lot by 1 which I am pretty sure is some kind of WVU Cycling record.
The drive back was uneventful and we never hit any accidents.
Around Summersville or so we started hitting rain and as we got off
the interstate at Star City, we heard the obnoxious blasts of the
Weather Center issuing a severe thunderstorm warning. Daniele and I
pulled into the Bike House a bit before the rest and began to dread
having to unpack in the delude issuing from the sky. Little did we
know, that was going to be the Morgantown weather for the entire week.
Everyone else came in a little behind us and after waiting for the
trailer, which did not stop for a game of mini golf, we got the
trailer unloaded and everyone headed to their houses to shower and
recoup. It was a great weekend of riding and I can’t wait for this
weekend.
Sequoya
PS: Results will hopefully go up soon and we’ll pass those along.
