Thursday September 12, 2024 EDT | |
a nomad in search of... | |
Paul's Dirty Enduro
Who is Paul?
The Vibe
Who is Mark?
Play by Play
I'm 10-km in now and climbing a moderate, but never-ending uphill section. My riding buddy has shed the plan by dropping me awhile ago and I'm consoling myself with a chunk of Powerbar™. Meanwhile, I listen to the woeful sound of my breathing, combined with the periodic clinking of my derallieurs working the chain to its inevitable reunion with "granny". Life is still good, but it could be better. The end of the 15-km prologue is in sight, but I've broken a spoke along the way and the rear wheel is starting to rub against the rear brakes. If it doesn't get too bad, I'll be okay. Now I'm 20-km in and the rear wheel is not okay. I disconnect my rear brake and wish I'd spent more time adjusting the front one. I reach the point where we 60-Km riders are supposed to peel -off to the East forest areas for the next 2-3 hours. I stop and re-assess the damage and, being that at this point I only have about 5-km to ride out, I decide to call it a day. I arrive back at the Start/finish in time to see my teenage son, who started the 30-km at 1:00 p.m., speed by with a wave and a big smile. I also get see my daughter finish her 15 km race. These are things that I usually miss because I'm on the course myself, so I'm starting to feel better about the DNF (my first ever). 2:00 p.m. time to eat! Paul's Dirty Enduro offers a great meal that this year consisted of garden salad, potato salad, an awesome Tai chicken salad, meat or vegetarian chili, fresh buns and fruit juice. Being one of the first to the food table has its advantages too. We stick around and cheer on the finishing riders and watch the prize awards. Stig Somme wins the 100-Km (actually, 106k) in a blazing 5hrs 37 min (a new course record) and Barb Brzezicki is the women's 100-km winner in 7 hrs 34 min. Some of the brave 100-km riders will be out on the course for 9-10 hours! Interestingly, former Olympic gold medal winning speed skater Gaetan Boucher, competed in the 100 km race, which was pretty cool. Now I'm thinking of next year when I'll finish.... and do really well...and maybe I'll win!...did I say thinking?...more like dreaming...but it's fun... -- Mark Ciana For more information/pictures about Paul's Dirty Enduro, visit the following websites:
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