Finally got out of town on Friday at about 2:30 after having to turn around and come back to get my race paperwork. The one thing that I needed to do, call the garden folks, I forgot to do before leaving. I passed a wreck just south of Red Rocks on I-10 and traffic hadn't really slowed down yet as they hadn't even removed the people from the truck. Flat road - flipped vehicle. What's wrong with these people? Just plain silly. Got into Pahoenix right at quittin' time and went 30mph or less most of the way through town. Finally made it to the race area after dark and it was chilly. The weather folks said it was going to be close to 32 degrees and I think that they were right. I got signed in and realized that I forgot my duct tape. D'oHH! Some of the gang had a roll and I was all set to put my check in/time sheet on the front fender of the XR. Setting up the tent wasn't too bad in the dark and the wind. Some of the Arizona Trail Riders gang had already set up a campfire and it was nice to meet some of them.

On Saturday, I figured that I'd leave the little gel cushions out of my Tech 8 boots. This way, theoretically, my ankles would have more space to move around. Well, that didn't really work out and by the time I got it fixed, I had about 5 minutes to get my helmet, camelback, helmet, and gloves on in order to make it to the start line. Being frazzled at the start added to the nervous feelings that I already had and made it tough to ride for the first few miles. I made it to the first special test check-in a little behind the guys on my row, but not much. I don't remember much of the first special test except that there were some rough spots and that my hands, especially my throttle hand, started to go numb because I wasn't relaxed on the bike at all. Then came the sand whoops. Schnikeys! I made it through and checked out into the next transfer section.

I stopped for a few minutes in a sand wash and loaded up on a mocha flavored Clif Shot. After washing it down with some Cytomax, I was off and running. The transfer section was nice and easy and I began to really have a good time. I don't know how much the 50mg of caffeine contributed to this feeling, but it probably didn't hurt. I actually clicked up into 4th and 5th gear in this wash and that's a rare thing for me. For one, I know that if I hit the ground going that fast, I'm not going to bounce really well and second, the XR is only a 250cc bike and it can't really handle pulling my heavy butt in the sand in that gear.

The second special test check-in had a line because everyone seems to take a break there. Since I'd already had my break, I fell into line with a 50+C rider on a KTM - #7V. I went into the test first and he started 15 seconds later. A mile or so into the test, he had made up that 15 seconds on me and came around. I hadn't heard him getting this close and it was a bit shocking to see him scooting around me. Well, that was the kick in the pants that I needed. I just couldn't let him get away and it seemed like he had a pretty good pace going, so I wicked it up a bit. Once I started at his pace, I found that I could not only keep up with him, but I started gaining. Shortly he was right in front of me and after a few bursts of the horn, I was past him and still not going as fast as I could. Another gear, some self-talk, and a bit of singing the theme to the TV show Green Acres into my helmet, and the course just started coming under the front wheel in slow motion. Everything was just right. The bike was behaving as advertised and the trail was beautiful. This special test section had some fast smooth trail, good uphill runs, and of course, sand whoops. It came and went in a blur though and I was happy and sad to see the mile markers that showed the course was almost done. I ended that special test in a wash and would have been happy to have gone another 10 miles or so, but the final tranfer section was short back to the pits. Since I slowed down and stopped at the check-out, I started off again riding like a complete goon near the end where everyone could see. Oh well, they were only watching and I was done for the day. I took my finisher pin, thanked the crew, and was off to get things loaded up for the 3.5 hour drive home.

A smiling and beautiful baby and wife met me at the door around 4pm and my day ended peacefully in the company of family.