Can we take a moment to appreciate Bike Monkey? Who do I idolize in local MTB culture? Bike Monkey. Who do I want to be like when I grow up? Carlos Perez. The Wednesday before Boggs V, the Bike Monkey crew was out in the snow, see pictures here http://boggs.bikemonkey.net/, and camped at the grounds for the freezing days leading up the event. They braved icicles and rainstorms to put on this race. In times where MTB classics are a dying breed, this team of relentless promoters are growing our sport with top notch, high quality events. So thank you Bike Monkey. Without you, we’d be stuck doing short laps on a fire-road in a suburban park. Take everything you may hate about mtb races and now think of the exact opposite and you’ll get Boggs V. The course was perfectly marked. Timing was done with excellent accuracy and few to none errors. Awards ceremony was done within an hour of the last racer crossing the finish line. The medals were beautifully crafted, a true reward for an entry fee. All around it was easy to see where the registration fees went--they went into making a well-oiled race machine that everyone benefited from. Oh and did I mention the delicious omnivorous, GF and vegan friendly FREE meal to all racers?
My very kind, and mucho talented teammate Jen Jordan agreed to a two-woman race with me. I won’t lie, I wanted to win Boggs V from the minute I saw the medals on the Bike Monkey website (see pictures). Most of my friends have heard my ramblings about being competitive. I like racing. I like going out and throwing down everything I have in me, even when I come in dead last. JJ willingly matched and surpassed my efforts, beating my lap times by about 3 minutes, thankfully. I knew this course would suit her abilities, and it did.
Of course it was a hard race. The mud was unpredictable, sometimes slippery, sometimes tacky. There were big snow patches on the ground. I wanted to win so badly, that it helped me stay positive throughout the race. I believed in us. I knew that we could make it happen. I just had to keep making circles. Starting the last lap a little girl stood on the side of the trail shouting “Never give up!”. Cresting the last big climb, and flying down the last fire-road I let out a victory yell.
I pushed it hard in the last hundred meters. I head people cheering. They might have been cheering for someone else, but I felt them cheering for me. I can’t describe the happiness that overcame me. Their cheers were the greatest reward for a hard lap. Jen and I had done it; we had won.
I am so grateful for her. I don’t really know how to describe it, so I’ll just say:
Thank you Jen. Thank you for working with me.
Garmin Geekery:
