In long races, there is plenty of time for things to go wrong. The list of items that can possibly go bad is long.
I mentioned I would update you on a few of the other folks I knew that rode the Leadville 100 Mountain Bike Race. The racer in the first photo is Steve Douglas. Also in the photo is Steve's twin brother Paul and Dave Newman's dad, Pete Newman.
Steve leads a Sunday ride group, The Breakfast Club, out of Ft. Collins, Colorado, a neighboring city to mine. Our two Sunday ride groups will often join forces for more fun.
Steve was the inspiration for the Twirlie Hotdog column. He has been known to eat twirlie hotdogs on a long ride and the dogs are like nitro fuel for him. I've seen twirlie dogs and Frosty Angels fuel him on to a strong ride. But, I digress.
On race day Steve broke a chain and had several setbacks to get the chain repaired. He said, "The chain broke once, but I broke many times."
After the race he commented on his mental argument with himself. "I have a buckle, don't need one...I still have time to finish under 12...I have a buckle, don't need one...I still have time to finish under 12..."
Showing true athletic grit, he finished sub-12 hours and did indeed earn another coveted belt buckle.
The next photo is Dave Newman. He is another Breakfast Club rider. Dave is a relatively inexperienced racer. If I remember correctly, the 2006 Leadville race was his first bike race. Right on Dave, start and live large.
Unfortunately Dave's stomach went south on him during the race. He was forced to slow down late in the race, but still managed to finish faster than last year.
You can also see Paul Douglas and Peter Newman in the photo, crew support for both Steve and Dave. In the background you can see some of the other racers' crew members lined up along the dirt road. Crew members can be extremely helpful to racers.
The final Breakfast Club member in this blog is Ron (Ronald) Kennedy. I didn't have a good action photo of Ron, so his is an award receiving photo. Ron's crew team included his wife and two daughters.
Crewing can also be incredibly boring. I got a crewing t-shirt for my hubby that says, "I'm not here for a good time, I'm here for a long time." No lie.
The crew member taking the photos of Steve and Dave is Dave's mom, Mary. Did I mention it is best if crew members have a great sense of humor? This crew team introduced themselves as Peter, Paul and Mary.
I love the slogan you put on your husband's t-shirt. I may have to borrow that myself! I'm glad you recognized crew members. Without them and volunteers, the majority of races wouldn't be able to be put on. They're invaluable and deserve a load of thanks. In my ideal world, everyone who races would also volunteer for a least a couple events per year.