Author: Bill

I don’t like smokey bars but there I was, last Friday, sitting at a table with friends waiting.  Waiting for something.  Everyone was looking at me. You know, kind of like when someone shows you the ocean for the first time.  Then IT arrived.

It was this pile of food, looking good all heaped together. A layer of hash browns, then eggs, a big chicken fried steak (I think), all drowning in a bath of gravy. And yes; It was good! Fun times.

We left the Oxford and decided that the Maverick Brew Fest was far more fun than last weeks Hemp Fest. I was drunk but who wasn’t? I mean we were all in the same boat … right? We would get up the next day and go to Helena to camp and race.

The next morning I went to City Brew and started off the recovery with scones and coffee. I went home and tried to get the Griz game on TV. Wouldn’t you know it, someone told the fat cats that the mice were watching the game for free in 07 and so in 08 they implemented some changes. So the Griz game was out for me, a lower class citizen. I’ll just go to Helena … and I went!

About half way to Helena I realized that I forgot to pack my stuff in the car. Ok, now I was pissed … I drove home about 105 mph.  To hell with it.

I simmered and finally gathered enough composure to pack the dam shit and head out again.  Now I was late and the pre ride was in jeopardy.  I arrived in Helena to promptly get lost.  That town is weird.

I got in a pre ride and decided I was not camping until I got in a movie in the comforts of the Beetle complete with surround sound. the movie “2 Seconds”.  I was spiritually there man! I went to bed!

I awoke thinking, “where the hell are my drinking buddies” ? I mean we were in this together … party … ensure a painful race on Sunday …. together … right?

At the start of the race it was apparent I was the only survivor of the brew fest / big pile of crap eating contest to be racing. And to help in recovery I ate brats the night before.  I would surely hurl.  The gun went off.

The usual fast train headed out around the initial loop.  I had forgotten that I was just out pre riding and that I was late for the riders meeting because I crashed and stuffed my helmet with dirt.  I also broke the sole of my shoe.  But that was all forgotten and I was hurtling down the trail in hot pursuit of John C.

I decided to push hard up a climb to bridge up.  I tried to climb a riser in my middle ring and stomped it hard. Crackle, bang, snap! I hopped off and ran up the pitch.  I did not want to break my chain. I hopped back on and it became apparent something bad was wrong.  Sure enough my rear cassette had mangled. and the twisted cog bent my chain.

I turned the bike upside down and set up shop for a long afternoon fix it campaign.I broke the chain in two place and spliced in a connector link.  I checked the cog set.  I would have three gears. The lower half of the set … I thought heck I always wanted to be more proficient with my front shifting.

Lap 2 …  Started in 7th and rode like a mad man. lap 3 … Up to 5th. Lap 4 … caught Geoff Proctor to get into 4th. Lap 5 … Got to within 20 seconds of 3rd place, ended up 4th.

Everyone yelled, another lap!  I knew they were joking but it seemed like a logical thing to do so instead of getting together with my race mates to compare notes I headed out for another lap.  A lap for Marcy. It went fast and you know what, I had a blast.

I came in and everyone seemed to approve of my extra efforts. Then this snotty nosed foggier said in a school house manner “1 more lap, helk helk helk, 1 more”.  Challenged, I said, “OK”. and set out.  As I rode off for another lap I heard a frustrated “Ok, 3 more, no no, 7 more … 7 more man 7 more”.  What the hell is 7, some kinf of scary number?  i rode out another lap.

I came in to find my friends waiting and we enjoyed brats in the parking lot and closed the place down.  On the way home I had my windows all the way down and the moon roof completely open.  I cruised at 60 MPH and truely enjoyed the rest of my evening.  Ah, good times!

All the froggies are whizzing themselves over the latest decision by USA Cycling. First we will do a hostile takeover (USAC taking over NORBA), then we will take away its name (NORBA), and now we will implement our rules (cat system). They say it is the best interest of the sport.  Has anyone noticed that no one races mountain bike any more? Frogs, you cant fix us because you don’t even know us!

In light of next years “improvements” I say we also change the name “mountain bike” to “off road cycling”.  Time to race in the EFTA series where they still call it mountain biking.

I will adjust.  I am just angry and getting old I guess.  I am ancient, better get ready for retirement home.

Finally posted photos from a week ago.

We started out going up towards Sidewinder and then heading up the ridge as if we were doing Sheep Mountain. I got some pretty decent photos as we topped out. Mike L. and I headed off to do Two Larch and ran into the back of the group as we returned.

From there we went towards Marshall Grade but instead turned up some trails that eventually came out at the Ski Area. This is the same trail that I almost broke my neck on. The trail gave me another warning as it ripped my sidewall in my tire and I had to fix a messy (Stan’s) flat.

We also encountered Moose and some pretty frigid temps. It was pretty funny because Mike was saying how over dressed I was but in the end his cheeks were quivering. LOL

We ended the ride at Rattlesnake Gardens with a tall boy and plans to attend the Brew Fest tomorrow night … who is going?

Greetings from Missoula, Montana, where my toes have finally thawed after last night’s chilly adventure with my friend Garland. The sun’s shining today, and I’m gearing up for a ride with the Thursday Night Ride (TNR) crew.

“Our adventure through the deep, dark woods, on long trails where one could easily vanish, battled against the cold that threatened our toes and fingers with frostbite…” ~me

We kicked off from Clinton, following our route to Holloman Saddle, then onto the ridge leading to Miller Peak. Just short of the mountain, we veered onto a logging road for the journey home, which included a freezing descent and climb.

Despite Garland’s dim light, we raced down Sammy B trails back to town, encountering deer on Higgins Avenue—a stark contrast to the wilderness we’d just left behind. My new lights were a game-changer, cutting through the darkness with incredible brightness.

It makes me wonder about the upcoming Remember Marcy Vision Quest (RMVQ). Will anyone get lost, or will the adventure bring them back, just as our lights guided us home?

I picked up Marcy’s ashes today, dont quite know what to do at this point.

I ventured to Mackay for the White Knob Challenge Mountain Bike Race, an experience I’ll cherish forever and plan to repeat. It was an incredible weekend filled with camping, racing, and unforgettable rides. The photos are a testament to the adventure!

I deeply miss Marcy, the circuit’s queen. Soon, I’ll be picking up her ashes, carrying a heavy heart.

I just heard a rumor of a 24 hour race that includes the Sheep Mountain Loop. It will be called Counting the Sheep I believe.  I for one am as excited as all of you granny gear mashing freaks.  I cant wait.

Last night I abandon the TNR and picked up some comfort food. Self destruction at its finest.  Larry D stopped by to add to the carnage.

Good … day … where did morning go? I seem to lose time and space lately.  Along with no motivation I find that my memory is shot.  I cant remember names or what I just did. I am glossed over and in auto pilot.

I think it is like a movie that you take certain scenes from until it doesn’t make any sense. My companion Marcy has been taken out of my movie and nothing makes sense. I cant believe she is gone.

There is hope as I smell a BBQ coming up this weekend and a epic ride as well.  Just what the doctor ordered, a race, BBQ, and singletrack weekend. Contact me for details!

Last night I set out aimlessly to pre ride legs 5 and 6 of the RMVQ. I rode from work to Check Point 4 (point six road gate) which is about 12.3 miles and took me almost an hour due to a beast of a headwind.  I did not feel comfortable and wished I would of just went home.

Leg 5 runs up to the Snow Lodge on top of Snow Bowl in 6.8 miles and 2,903 feet of climbing. I figured about 45 minutes but soon I found myself in difficulty and struggled to make it in an hour and 15 minutes.  Now I am thinking that the RMVQ will take longer then I thought.  Maybe not even possible.

Leg 6 is the decent down to the lodge via the Beargrass Highway.  It is a sweet trail and I started to regain my mojo.  Finally I wanted to be there riding … just where I needed to be at that time.  I started to look forward to this weekend and my friends. I descended to the Ravine Trailhead (check point 6) in a little over 44 minutes for the 11.4 downhill trek.

Not feeling very good any longer I pedaled my aching body Z(I think the loss physically beat me up) back to town and was home 10.8 miles later. In all I had trekked 41.3 miles and climbed 4,000 feet in 3.5 hours.

Tonight is TNR and this weekend is a mountain bike race (the muletrain is reportedly coming) and friends.  An epic to Sheep is on tap for Sunday … who is in?  Stand up and be counted!

Keep an eye out for this bike!  Here is the message from Julie H.

Be on the look out for a silver Specialized Expert Mountain Bike. It was stolen yesterday from our garage sometime between 10am and 9pm. We have another report of a stolen bike from a garage on Hastings street in our neighborhood too.

Contact Me and I’ll let you know her contact info (not posted here for obvious reasons).

Hello from City Brew where I am feeling very alone in this western town that suddenly seems foreign to me. Today is hike day to recover from the weekend but where do I hike? Even more scary is the fact that I have not hiked alone in over 10 years. My hiking buddy has always filled the position of trail companion.  Not only that and inspiring companion. We both wanted to be at the top of some mountain and we wanted to be there before the other.  Without a buddy like that what is the point of even hiking at all?

Imagine the active and energetic friend in this photo, tongue white, lying limp, moments from death. Do you continue to try to help her continue to breath? Even though you don’t know what to do (maybe I could of opened her up and drained her lungs???). Or do you just hold her and look into her eyes so she will have companionship as she dies? I hope I picked the latter in time for her to be with me and not alone on the side of Interstate 90 at exit 197. Marcy has been every stretch in every state from Boston to Idaho on I90 and at 11:30 I said goodbye to my hiking buddy.

So here I am in Missoula and hiking is not in my book of things I want to do any more.  Besides every trail has memories that I just cant face. The only thing I do alone is biking so I guess that is what I will do. Really, I wonder what is the point of anything?

Time to run home to find my old copy of Sim City.  I know I can get lost in that game and don’t even need the outdoors.  Time to leave behind reality and exist in fantasy. Who wants to be out there any way, its raining!

Thank you all for your thoughts. What is everyone doing today?

Marcy has died! At the Butte race she fell onto some stairs from above at the lodge we were hanging out in. I knew immediately something was wrong even though she walked a bit. Everyone at the lodge called frantically on the phone to find a vet but every one in Butte was gone for holiday. They called Anaconda and nothing!

So I set out for Missoula. I felt she would be just fine once we got to a doc. She started having difficulty breathing so I pulled over. She shit blood and started suffocating. I held her in the ditch trying everything I could think of. She died on the side of the road and I just got home. I wish I could go with her.

If Roland of Gilliad were here he would say, “Come come comalla! Come on down to the halla!  And do 8 hours of labah!”

It’s at the clearing at the end of the path, say true. Tomorraw at 10 of the clock in the Bethany of Butte.  Say true! Say true!

The mule in black fled across the great divide, and the gear slingers followed.

Cummon tet, it is Khef that we meet. Help me beat an-tet. It is ka, and ka is a wheel.

“For, what with my whole world-wide wandering,
What with my search drawn out through years, my hope
Dwindled into a ghost not fit to cope
With that obstreperous joy success would bring,
I hardly tried now to rebuke the spring
My heart made, finding failure in its scope.”

~Robert Browning’s Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came

The race will be held at Homestake Lodge Cross Country Ski Area. The course is a 7 mile loop of double track and single track.  It will be fast! Register at 8 AM and the race begins at 10 AM. It is only $40 bucks and you can race in teams or solo … say true! Still not to late to register [sportsbase online].

Roster as of this morning:

1. Chad Dexter of BSC Racing
2. William Martin of Team Muleterro
3. Sten Hertsens of Team Muleterro
4. Max Mcneal
5. Garland Thayer of Missoula Sheepheads