Cap'n Chris Survives XC Race!

This pic is NOT from the race, I was so far back the photographer went home, thought the race was over..




Randy and his wife rolled out to Fontucky Friday night with the trailer and the dogs, and waited for Saturday. Randy was chillin' with the wife (team hoochie:))and the dogs. Randy was probably reday to go, because he races frequently. I on the other hand, haven't raced in FONTANA since 2001. It was really strange to actually be preparing to RACE! With ZERO expectations, the butterflies common to those who actually TRAIN were not present.
With almost no sleep thnks to my stinky Bassett Hound, Beauford, I awoke Saturday at 6 a.m. Jumping in the car and heading to the 'Bucks for coffee was little match for my sleep deprivation. Doing everything right prior to the race (except training, eating right, and pre-riding the course) I was ready to go for the 9:30 start time. Rolling up to staging, I was stunned to see ALL THE SAME SANDBAGGEERS THAT WERE IN MY CLASS SIX YEARS AGO, still squatting in Sport. Sad, real sad. It was nice to see some of the guys, like my bud from Rancho who i used to see at Chino Hills all the time. He has stayed fast, while I have enjoyed The Colonel's Extra Crispy!
The gun went off, and the pack exploded. It was just me and my other old compadre from Bear Valley Bikes watching everyone disappear in front of us. As we caught up on each other's lives, we remembered we were racing and took off. Our excuse is always "let 'em blow up, we'll catch 'em on lap #2! Amazing how few we actually catch up to! Maybe six or eight at best? Anyhow, the only goals I set for myself were not to finish last, to live through it, and to finish in under two hours.
I'm alive, I turned a 1:41:25, and was just a few marks out of the top ten. Randy actually whipped my ass by a little over a minute! He finished in 13th, right ahead of me..although admittedly I never saw him after the start. The race was fun and more techical than I remember it being back in 1492 when I was actually podiuming there. I was surprised by how many people on full suspension bikes could not ride the steep stuff! I blew my old Scareb 80mm through it's travel at least 4 times per lap. The funny thing is, I REALLY HAD A GREAT TIME! It definitely helped that Ihad Randy there as a wing man, and Taylor was heckling me from the DH course.
Bob Meeker was there too, finally getting to heckle me back after YEARS of me giving him crap. He said I was so fat, I had a "muffin top." Ah well..the truth hurts! Bob passed me like I was dead right away. Never saw him after that. Bastard.
Anyhow, I had tons of fun, and may just do another one day soon. Then again, maybe not..

Chris