John Pilcher, Canal Crown Tree Massacre!
The Sport class is always a good race and this time it was no different. Brian Williams kept doing what he does and landed the 3 spot. He just barely knocked Jimmy C off the podium. Speaking of Jimmy C, I'm pretty sure there's nothing left of the stairs as he completely crushed them on the climb. I swear there were chunks of wood flying off his back tire. What made this race really unique was the fact there was a tie for first place between Kris "I only do the clockwise races" Fausnight and Bobby "I swear I'm not a sandbagger" Boham. Being that we've never had a tie we really didn't know what to do. We threw around some good, and not so good, ideas then somebody said let 'em chug for the win. Obviously there was no arm twisting necessary there. So they chose their poison from my cooler, we got the megaphone ready, and they proceeded to do their impression of a young man at Kappa Alpha rush week. Being that Kris's can was empty and Bobby had Miller Lite all over him, Kris got the win! Could you imagine if everything was settled that way?
Last, but certainly not least was my favorite, the beginner class. It's really good to see people step out of their comfort zone and give something new a try. Most of the beginner class is folks that have never raced and in some cases never ridden the trail. It's all in the name of fun, and fun was had. Jerry Murphy put it down once again and landed himself in third (must be that vintage dirt bike racing). There must be something in the water because Bob Kogel, Matt's dad, landed himself in second place as well. And then first place went to not only someone making their race debut, but also the youngest competitor. Josh Boham came out and cleaned house in the beginner class. Someone is definitely moving up to sport next year, maybe even expert if he keeps things up.
But the real highlight of the evening was not the racers with the fastest times or the ones with the best placing. This goes back to the idea of trying something new. My wife Kim had contemplated doing one of the CCTT's each time, but it never seemed to happen (probably because she was always helping set up or taking registration). While she was signing people up at race 4 she was going back and forth with the idea giving it a try. She pre-rode the course, she had all her gear with her, but the struggle continued. To back track a little we let the beginner and sport class go first this time. Kim was still torn, but it was too late to jump in as the group was finishing up. That is until Jeff G showed up. Jeff races the beginner class and was running behind schedule, or on time as we typically run the beginners last. So we told Jeff to hurry up, sign in, and run after the last expert racer goes off. So Kim signed him in, I gave him a number plate, and he was ready. Then like a phoenix rising through the flames, Kim throws down the pen, puts on her helmet, and says screw it I'm racing. At this point I was freaking out and trying to get her pumped up at the start. While my efforts may have been appreciated, as I look back I was probably doing more harm than good. Off she goes into what is becoming darkness. I know my wife well and I know she's not a fan of the woods at night. I'm hoping she makes it back out of the trail before the sun falls over the Canal Jungle. Almost 18.5 minutes later, Kim crosses the finish line, 1.5 minutes faster than her original goal. I asked her how it went and she said it was getting really dark, really quick and she was trying to keep the boogey man from getting her! She definitely earned a pat on the back for that one. I have a feeling Kim will be putting down the sign-up sheets and picking up her bike next year!
Kim Jordan gets out of the woods just in time!
Bryan Nuckols right behind team Rabobank on the run-up!
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