Stoudt's Summerfest 2013-

Dear Reader,

My name is fatmarc vanderbacon. I am a complicated creature, a fine mix of debonair and adrenaline. I often wake up and realize that it is a perfect day outside, and spend it on my couch feeling guilty. I am a mudder.  my mother, she was a mudder. My father he was a mudder too.

see I told you.

Go to your calendar, and circle the dates of July 12/13 2014, or thereabouts. Stoudt's Summerfest is an event not to be missed. SUCH A GOOD DAY.  Now I'll say the course was a little on the short side, and a second hose at the bike wash would have gone a long way,  but that said it was the most fun 1.5 miles you could squeeze into a lap. The fact that the course was a little muddy, added another layer of awesomeness to the event for me. Congrats to the entire JB Bikes Team for an outstanding and wicked fun event.

Buddy the keg breaker and I competed in the 2 person class of the 4 hour relay. After it was all said and done we finished up 2nd- 3 minutes or so out of first. I have to be honest, I am really stoked. I'm known for doing a little "Google Stalking" or "scouting" before a race. BTW Hey COLIN What's a brother gotta do to get some "mountainbikeresults.com" going? But I digress, know the field, know the course. I pride myself in preparing for these events.

On paper, I thought we'd battle for 5th or so. That said I knew with 16 teams, there would be some super tight and fast racing. I love this style of racing, and frankly for the first 2 hours I could see the race leaders, just in front of us, and I could hear 4th and 5th breathing down our necks. I have said, and I know this to be true about myself, that I enjoy the fight, more than winning. Meaning, I love the battle, the scrape. The drive to win, isn't want keeps me in this game. Not saying I don't like to win once in a while, but damn the fight is what I love. Today there was tons of fast, tight back and forth racing. It was awesome, I left the Stoudt's brewery with a belly full of pulled pork, a six pack in my cooler and a smile on my face. Here's a couple of quick additional thoughts..

Congrats to Travis and Scott for a hard fought win today.
 Congrats to Webster and Curtis for landing on the box and some super tight racing...

- Usually when Buddy and I race together, I'm generally the starter. It goes back a long ways, but we have these rules about team events and batting order... When we were pre-riding I saw that Buddy, who doesn't share my affinity for mud, was cleaning sections much better than I was. He's technically a stronger rider than I am, and it showed today. 10 minutes to the start, we called an audible, as the run was short, Buddy also doesn't share my affinity for running, and Buddy agreed to start. Here's a quick video of the racers coming down the hill after the run.

Buddy finished up the lap in third overall and was able to help launch us into a great ride today. He crushed that first lap, and frankly set a tone for our team for the day. It was rad.

-This is my C3: Twenty 20 Cycling Company teammate  Glen "the Nature Boy" Turner. He raced on a 4 man team today called the 4 horsemen.(along with Derek, Keith and Mark)

Pretty clear to me who the better Nature Boy is...

The end of month uniform violation fees that come from our director can be steep. That said being that Glen raced in hot pants and a feather boa all day will probably result in amnesty. The fact that his team (along with Derek, Keith and Mark) passed a championship belt to each other on each transition, and threw down smoking fast laps will certain garner a uniform violation fine waiver. These guys were turning the fastest laps all day. Congrats for the  well deserved win in the 4 man class.

Pricey was teamed with Dennisbike on the day, and one of the favorites in our class. Chris had a bike "modification" about half way through that hurt their chances. Geared to single speed...

Dennis tapped out 7 laps in a row, while Pricey tried to get his bike functional again..

Weaver Cycles Team Represented today... (4th)

James and I have been racing together for a LONG time...

The People Primarily responsible for me not being able to walk up stairs- heck walk at all today.

Philly Ciclisimo Compound. Like Pryor needed amplification!

- This is Didi Deluxe of Didi Deluxe and the Dirt Devils.

Wonder if we could lure Didi down to Granogue next year for our podium ceremonies?

The band played after the awards. I only caught one song, but did listen in to them on the You Tubes. They kick ass. She was pretty much the best unintentional podium woman EVER. As I was getting off the podium and they were getting ready to go on, she says to me, "why are you the only one still wearing your gear? I liked seeing all you guys in your spandex!" I laughed and told her that we kicked ass all day, and now it was their turn. She smiled and said they would. She was super cool.

It was a long day, but a great one. I'm stoked as I felt as good on the bike today as I have all year. I know that Buddy and I were well prepared, and left everything we had out on the hillside of the Stoudt's Brewery. So Stoked right now...

thanks for reading.

respect
vanderbacon