Single Speed World Championships
Durango, CO 2009
Here I am again, sitting in Durango Bagel like it's 2008. I am back in Durango for a part homecoming, part bachelor party, part single speed worlds. Combine those for on exhausting but overly satisfying weekend.
The fun began about an hour after my plane landed on Thursday. I went on a great mountain bike ride to stretch the legs out, and more importantly feel the Durango dirt again. Schmidty, Jesse and T Wells threw an awesome bachelor party for me. We know it was a success because it did make the police blotter in the Durango Herald.
8:15 p.m. There was a loud party in the 600 block of Valentine Drive. Police responded and learned it was a bachelor party, and the participants were about to move it downtown.
After we moved the party downtown this is how things began-
And this is how it ended. At Denny's like any other successful evening on the town.
The next day I made sure to make it into the backcountry for a little hiking a my first ever attempt at fly fishing. And yes, that is a black bear we saw on the way to the trail head. Then, we found it's tracks on the trail we were hiking. Sketchy.
Finally, Saturday was here and it was time for teh Single Speed World Championships. Over 2,,000 people showed up, 987 of them in full costume. Everything ranging from cops to penguins. It rocked. The course was 22 miles on literally the most difficult course possible. There was an epic hike-a-bike lasting about 25 minutes as we crawled out way up the mountain side. Once on top, it was Raider's Ridge. If you don't know the Ridge, here is what you need to know. Hold you line and balance at 3 mph while riding the most technical terrain imaginable and don't fall to the right or you wont touch ground again for a thousand feet or so. There was a small prop plane flying overhead for that entire section, I will source out the video/photos they shot.
After about 2 1/2 hours of grueling singletrack and climbing I made it to the finish line somewhere in the top 50 I've heard. Oh, and I can't forget the hilarious feed stations on course- about a half dozen beer feeds, a pot feed, more beer feeds, a live band, and then finally a whiskey and bacon feed just before the final section of trail. Epic. I did not take part in them all, only some.
Check out this sweet picture of Danny Pate. You may remember him for this years Tour de France where he rode for Garmin-Slipstream. He totally rocks, and on this day he was rocking the penguin suit.
To wrap things up, Saturday evening belonged to the party at Ska Brewing. It was 'hosting camp'. This is where there is a compition to decide where Single Speed Worlds will be held the following year. Chad 'Chainsaw' Cheeny put together a basketball game, with New Zealand and Italy represented. Try to imagine a bunch of cyclist throwing down in a b-ball game. It was a joke and it was a funny one.
The fun began about an hour after my plane landed on Thursday. I went on a great mountain bike ride to stretch the legs out, and more importantly feel the Durango dirt again. Schmidty, Jesse and T Wells threw an awesome bachelor party for me. We know it was a success because it did make the police blotter in the Durango Herald.
8:15 p.m. There was a loud party in the 600 block of Valentine Drive. Police responded and learned it was a bachelor party, and the participants were about to move it downtown.
After we moved the party downtown this is how things began-
And this is how it ended. At Denny's like any other successful evening on the town.
The next day I made sure to make it into the backcountry for a little hiking a my first ever attempt at fly fishing. And yes, that is a black bear we saw on the way to the trail head. Then, we found it's tracks on the trail we were hiking. Sketchy.
Finally, Saturday was here and it was time for teh Single Speed World Championships. Over 2,,000 people showed up, 987 of them in full costume. Everything ranging from cops to penguins. It rocked. The course was 22 miles on literally the most difficult course possible. There was an epic hike-a-bike lasting about 25 minutes as we crawled out way up the mountain side. Once on top, it was Raider's Ridge. If you don't know the Ridge, here is what you need to know. Hold you line and balance at 3 mph while riding the most technical terrain imaginable and don't fall to the right or you wont touch ground again for a thousand feet or so. There was a small prop plane flying overhead for that entire section, I will source out the video/photos they shot.
After about 2 1/2 hours of grueling singletrack and climbing I made it to the finish line somewhere in the top 50 I've heard. Oh, and I can't forget the hilarious feed stations on course- about a half dozen beer feeds, a pot feed, more beer feeds, a live band, and then finally a whiskey and bacon feed just before the final section of trail. Epic. I did not take part in them all, only some.
Check out this sweet picture of Danny Pate. You may remember him for this years Tour de France where he rode for Garmin-Slipstream. He totally rocks, and on this day he was rocking the penguin suit.
To wrap things up, Saturday evening belonged to the party at Ska Brewing. It was 'hosting camp'. This is where there is a compition to decide where Single Speed Worlds will be held the following year. Chad 'Chainsaw' Cheeny put together a basketball game, with New Zealand and Italy represented. Try to imagine a bunch of cyclist throwing down in a b-ball game. It was a joke and it was a funny one.
The outcome... We will see you in New Zealand in 2010.
