I’ve been a roadie. Yup. A self avowed spandex wearing road weenie.
I started as a Cat 5 and slowly moved my way up to Cat 2 over the years. Dirt? Who needs dirt when you can have fun cruising on asphalt.
Well- that was my view. Note the past tense. A couple years ago I got my first taste of dirt through cyclocross. The first time I had heard about it, I was like what’s up with this “cyclocross” thing? Running? Dirt? Ewww… Nonetheless, I decided to give it a try. My first race was at the season opener at the Cross Crusade in ’06 and I raced as a beginner. A Cat 3 road racer racing beginners. Hey- it WAS my first race. I distinctly remember riding along when one of the officials, Lisa to be exact, exclaiming at the top of her lungs, “SANDBAGGER.” That word was forever burned into my memory. In the end I did take 3rd place. How things have changed since that first taste of dirt.
This year I burned out. Too many hours suffering in cold and rain. I couldn’t muster the motivation to get on the road bike, I looked at my bike and didn’t want to get on it. During the King’s Valley road race I was feeling really good. I went up to the front of the pack at one point and was chatting with Carl Decker, Team Giant. Jake Rathe, Jelly Belly led an attack up the left hand side and the pack surged in response. Having no motivation, I shrugged my shoulders and said have a great race to Carl. After the pack had passed, I turned around and rode back to the start. I was so done with the road.
So, after many years of friendly jibing by Mike Ripley and others, I finally picked up a mountain bike in April. I jumped in with both feet and picked up a carbon Blue dual suspension bike. At the races the bike always attracts attention. People are amazed at the weight of the bike and I’m riding some heavy, indestructible wheels. The bike is awesome. The pilot needs some work.
My first race on the mountain bike was the Mudslinger. Oh boy oh boy did I pick a doozy of a race for my first experience racing a mountain bike. Lisa’s words were still echoing in my head so I chose to race Cat 2 and in the end it was the right choice. I’ve never pretended to be a hill climber and I never pretended to be really good in the mud. The Mudslinger provided these in buckets. I felt like the gods of suffering were out to smite me. Bombing down hills with water bars with my front wheel wandering all over the place I did my best to suppress my roadie instincts. Granny gears? I had thought those were only for weenies. Mudslinger proved me wrong. Those were some epic grades there.
Even through the pain, even through the “what the hell am I doing moments”, I knew I had found the joy of mountain biking and was hooked.
I’ve been having lots of fun riding and racing my mountain bike. I’ve been crashing a lot, but every time I pick myself back up and get back on with the grin. See (http://gallery.me.com/sugahara#100025) I’m also back on the road bike and have found that riding both is a great way to stave off the burnout. Short track has been a hoot and is good practice for the upcoming cross season where I’ll be riding as a Masters A. And I’ll also be sporting a brand new Blue Norcross cyclocross bike too.
