9 Hours and 45 Minutes of Mesa Verde

I'm a shit giver, I like giving people shit, stirring up trouble, er I mean mature discourse. I like getting people to look out side their world.

In particular I enjoy taking on easy topics. Usually it is the cult like following certain fads seem to take on. Single Speeds, Cyclocross, 29ers - Pro or Con, The weird attack on Gluten (for those who are NOT allergic, which is 96.6% of the gluten free eaters out there), Cross Fit, Leadville, Road racing in Utah without mountains, my local amateur sporting team is better than yours mentalities, MLM magical fruit juices and pills, Utah County 'steep trails' And lets not forget Grizzlies delusional ideologies.

It is all truly absurd though, so if you are super passionate about something like a particular brand of bike frame over another, um, well, damn, i am so sorry for your loss.

So sometimes my criticisms come back to bite me in the ass. Enter the 12 Hours of Mesa Verde...

Low expectations turned into 4 laps in 6 hours and change of giggly fun with delusions of 8 laps in my head.

Lap 5 turned into sore upper back and arms, which led to lap 6 being the last one. 17th place, not shabby, 6 places different than if I would of gone out for my 7th lap.

The course was fun, the Revolution-Peak Fasteners compound was expansive and helpful, mega positive vibrations emanated from the atmosphere, like a freaking Grateful Dead show that had paxil piped in the HVAC system.

But there it was, a few push-ups separated me from 11th place and 116 miles, vs 17th place and 99.25 miles. Seems those Cross Fit junkies/cult members have something going for them. Maybe my 3 year old upper body physique could make use of such a thing....... nope, not going to do it.

All these things leads people to believe that I am grumpy, au contraire, I'm just an asshole.

CLARKS?

I don't understand, it is @ a 1.5 mile section of trail, it's nice and all, but it ain't the holy grail. There is about 30 more miles of trail in Corner Canyon, throw in UC trails and The BST by the U, almost 100 miles of trail ridable, why is i some religious experience when Clarks opens?

Since I am contrarian, I actually have quit riding it.

12 hours solo Saturday, not prepared, except to have fun, the Anthem 29'er is fun, a bit heavy, but fun. The XtC 29er should be here in June for lightness.....