NICA Mountain Bike Race Weekend in Warsaw

 

First off, I was no fan of the NICA race course or the venue last year. We were so pleasantly surprised when we arrived to this years version and saw the beautiful lake, and the great course that the fine people of Warsaw laid out for us.  Wow.  If you pan left on this first photo, you can see just how many tents there were. These races are HUGE!! Reminds me of national BMX races in the 80's.

Eli has had a rough go of it lately.  He had his wisdom teeth pulled in August and quite a few complications have ensued.  Since leaving Texas last weekend, he's been suffering with more tooth pain. We asked many times if he'd like to skip the Warsaw race but he really wanted to do this one. The solid turnout meant he had a lot of fast people to race again. Great weather, great course, it was hard for him to say no.

It is great to have the varsity riders go off as the first race of the day.  For one, there's is the longest race and that means heat is always a factor. And two, who likes to wait around?? He was in great spirits and although I was a nervous wreck, I survived watching them take off.

After a blistering first lap, Eli was second wheel in a 6-man train. I was over the moon with excitement, because that is a pretty elite group. He had two more laps to get the job done. At the end of the second lap, he was holding fourth, battling it out with one of his usual rivals. Still looking strong, too. As I saw him come around the last corner in his finishing lap, I saw that he had given it his all and he finished a very impressive 5th place, again making the podium.

Even though he finished his race around 10am, the award ceremonies don't occur until 4pm. Most riders and families stay, because it's important to be there for the other riders, and even more important to recognize the hard work by cheering the podium finishers. This was just a portion of the people supporting their teams and their riders.

The final Varsity podium.  So proud of Eli, and so happy that he has found joy in something that is so healthy and fulfilling. Two out of three podiums so far, he's hoping to be in the top five points at the end of the season in October.

Long Drive, Quick Visit, Totally Worth It

Hanna moved to Texas a few weeks ago, and it was absolutely time to go visit her in her new home.  She moved to North Dallas, a busy and bustling part of the world. Eli and I arrived and it was hot and sweaty, although St. Louis was actually hotter. So we took a selfie.

Hanna's new place was fabulous, although still lacking a bit in the personal touch department. I liked the place, as it was big and pretty quiet considering how noisy the Dallas area can be. Our bikes and gear took over the place, naturally. 

Hanna has the greatest taste in food, and she has been checking out the great places around her area. She found a Greek place that serves up Subway-style, where you can just pick whatever you'd like to make your meal. I ate until I had a stomach ache.  Then we went for ice cream.

I've already told you that she's a marketing maven for Wiley X sunglasses.  Sure enough, she had a couple sample pairs on her kitchen counter.  I chose my weapon for the weekend and wore these babies all the way up until she took them away from me as we left.

We got some riding in on the bike paths close to her apartment.  The area is full of them, but it does take a bit of reconnaissance to scope out the safest routes.  I did some exploring the next morning as Eli did his schooling online, and Hanna worked from her home office. Later in the day, we all went for a fun ride. She was riding as strong as ever, and even took a local QOM on a climb!  Atta girl. 

She took us to downtown Dallas on our last night there.  We had dinner at a fantastic Mexican place and I ate until my stomach hurt.  We walked around a cool part of town that reminded me of the Grove, and then we got ice cream again. 

Overall, it was a great trip. We have been missing her since she left, and it was great to be able to see her in the new environment and get a chance to see what she does for a living. One thing that hasn't changed is her commitment to her fitness. After riding together a couple of times, it's clear that she hasn't gotten any slower. Of course, she sends me photos of her recent gains from the gym. Ok, girl! You win! I used to try to keep up with her, but I've just given up and told her I'll never have muscles like her again! Can't wait to see her again. 

A Conversation with...The Hound Dog

Me: Remi! What did you do?? Mommy spent all day cleaning up the office! What is this mess?

Remi: What mess are you speaking of?

Me: All the stuffing!  What do you mean WHAT MESS?

Remi: The stuffing isn't a mess.  It was the internals of a stuffed toy and it had to be liberated.

Me: You can't just go "liberating" the stuffing out of everything.  And everything isn't a chew toy!

Remi: Alright, this isn't just about the stuffing, is it? Something has upset you. Bad day at work?

Me: REMI!!!

Remi: Can we play with the frisbee now?

Let's talk about OLD SCHOOL for a Minute

Over the last 2 years, I've been around a LOT of younger riders. A lot of the kids involved in mountain biking and mountain bike racing are in NICA, the school-age racing organization that has taken the country by storm.  So many new kids are joining the wonderful world of bikes! I've talked to many of them about "the old days" and how things were when mountain biking and racing were fairly new. The oldest photo I can find of myself was this gem from 1989. Yes, that's a cotton Nike shirt, along with cotton gloves...flat pedals...horrible helmet...and one of those old mountain bikes that nobody would want to ride today, equipped mostly with warmed-over touring bikes components. Racing in the mud was not at all uncommon, and racing on an old motocross course was VERY common. I was 22 and pretty sure that bikes couldn't get much better than this. The racing classes were more vague then, so I just signed up for whatever the top class was and lined up to race.

Things progress pretty fast in life. And in mountain biking.  Product development gave us lighter and better-functioning equipment, along with things to wear other than cotton. Lots of choices in actual mountain bike tires, not just warmed over cruiser stuff. Different component groups from numerous companies. No suspension fork yet in 1992, although they were making their way onto most bikes by then. Racing classes were Beginner, Sport, Expert, and Pro. Sometimes as Experts we were lucky enough to have a couple Pros sign up so we could get our butts kicked in really, really well. Traveling to national races, I remember having more than 60 guys signed up in my age group, and age groups were set up in 5-year increments!

Carbon fiber, titanium, suspension, lycra, sealed-bearing everything, Kevlar beaded and belted tires, V-brakes, and just after this photo from Greensfelder in 1999, tubeless tires!! Mountain biking was in full swing around the world. Cross Country races were everywhere, with at least three series going on in Missouri alone this year. Companies were still very eager to find aspiring racers and give away parts and bikes and kits. Big, big events, outside of the national races, were everywhere. Tour de Wolf in Memphis had huge cash purses and pros and amateurs alike came from all over the country to ride a flat, fast course for a chance at glory. St. Louis had the American Mountain Bike Challenge (AMBC) race which was amazing considering how few places around the country scored the huge event. 

(Thank you to Flannery Allison for always making me look faster than I am)

 And 2022? So much equipment progress. Big wheels. Big tires. Disc brakes. Carbon fiber in every direction. Electronic shifting, some wireless even. More suspension in one bike than any 10 bikes had from 1990! Cross country racing had taken a back seat to other types of mountain bike competition over the last 10-15 years. Enduro. Downhill. All types of dual-slalom type racing. But as fun and inclusive as those types of racing are, I think that organizations like NICA have turned an entire generation of youngsters on to XC racing again.  I get the feeling when I'm at these amazing events that XC racing (and mountain biking in general) is on it's way to the next big explosion of participation. It's so exciting. I'm blessed enough to be involved in the business of bikes, and my wife and I are so pleased to be a sponsor of the Otters, the South City Composite team. And lastly, my youngest son has taken to mountain biking, big time. 

It's fun to look back on the last 35 years, at least from one man's perspective, and see how far we've come. But it's more exciting to see where it might be going.