'You WILL be attacked by eagles'

There's nothing like being on the start line of a mountain bike race. As the event director looks at his stop watch and yells, '2 minutes!' the nerves in the group begin to elevate. My nerves are exceptionally elevated when I know I'll have to push my body and mind to the limit for the next 5 hours, as was the case in the Laramie Enduro this weekend.

Now on top of that, our race director added two little pieces of information before the gun went off. The first was a reminder that last year, a particular section of the race course had claimed, 'a set of broken ribs, a couple broken legs, a few collar bones and a broken back - in addition to the countless cases of road rash. So be careful on that descent.'

'Also, be aware that you will be attacked by eagles about a mile after that descent. There is an eagle's nest that you will ride past. That's just the way it is.'

I'm really pleased to report that I didn't really crash and I did not get attacked by the threatening eagles.

The Laramie Enduro is one of my favorite races and I didn't know I was going to race it up until 3 days before the start when Rich, the director, invited me in. With the winners of the last three editions of this race toeing the line, I knew it was going to be a real hard day in the saddle.

The last time I raced this event(07) I was fortunate enough to go home with the win. The same was true for Jay Henry(08) and Barkley Robinson(09). This trio of riders would ultimately make up the front group and we would end up riding with one another for three and a half hours. The pace was ridiculous at times and it seemed that each one of us could make it to the line first. I was feeling really good, but had a few 'spot of bother' moments. In one of those moments, I totally smashed into a rock with my drive train and destroyed my brand new chain. My mistake on that part of the trail eventually cost me a chance to see the last climb with Jay and Barkley. I did a little trail side maintenance and began my journey to the finish line with my bike stuck in the big ring. (I now have even more respect for you single speeders!) In reality, it wasn't so bad and save for a flat tire on the way, I made it back in decent time and ended up 3rd. Jay ended up putting a little time into Barkley and grabbed the win - even after he flatted early on in the race. I felt proud to be racing in that group of guys. They're some of the nicest fellas in the peleton and at the end of the day, it was fun to re-hash our time riding together in the race. Jay's wife, Cynthia, saved my day by handing me bottles at a few points along the course.



Overall it was a great, albeit short, trip. Rob and I drove up and I crashed with friends, Ward and Bobby. Ward, being a man of preparation, handed me a nifty little map with aid station, elevation and mileage markings.



Five hours will do ya in. Today is a day for cleaning, resting and eating. Until the next time - ciao.