A Good Idea at the Time

So I finally convinced Jeremy to do a 12 hour solo race. To get him to register, it took months of talking it up along with many a disparaging comment in regard to his sexual orientation and a constant questioning of the existence (or lack there of) of his male reproductive system. So off we rolled towards Fayetteville, TN. After a possibly scenic drive of perhaps between 1 and 6 hours, we arrived at the historic cotton mill preserve. We went to the registration tent to pick up our hefty swag bags containing a pint glass, socks, t-shirt, cowbell, and other random goodies. I of course didn’t check the size of my shirt until the next week and ended up with a large…sweet! Afterwards, we set up our tent along with Ross Spence, support crew to the stars.

Our camp ended up being right beside Nat Ross, who is the endurance king of the big wheeled Gary Fisher crew. After grilling some burgers, which at the time were of course the greatest thing I had ever eaten, we hopped back in the car to head to Wal-Mart for survival supplies. Apparently, when it gets dark in the middle of nowhere in April, it gets cold…really cold…who knew? After getting a few things to stay warm, we pitched the tent and settled in. Since the race started early at 8:00 am, we set the alarm for 5:00 am to ensure we had plenty of time to get ready, eat, and get organized. For absolutely no reason whatsoever, I say again, Jeremy set the alarm for 5:00 am.

After being woken up way too early by the digital cacophony of Jeremy’s cell phone, we got dressed and headed off to consume the bountiful goodness of pancakes and sausage that were provided. The temperature was warming up nicely, so I was able to start the race in full-on summer wear. Since it was a lemans start, we dumped the bikes off at the bottom of a grassy hill in the field. I was racing my pair of ProCalibers, while Jeremy brought his Tanasi hardtail and his NRS full suspension. Ross volunteered to help us out in between his duties as the crewman of DeJay and Fuzzy (fast SS guys). As the time was ticking away, we lined up in the field to await the run start. Jeremy decided he wanted to be in the photos, so he moved to stand beside Tinker before the start.