Helter Skelter...Continued Thoughts on the 12 Hours of Mesa Verde..by Bob

Well . . . it began with Chuck deciding to completely rebuild his front fork minutes before departure and ended when an ER doc at the Cortez hospital sewed four stitches into Bob’s cheek late Saturday night. In between, the chaos there was . . . more chaos:

1. Pre-ride (aka Helter Skelter) – Six Rez Dogs – Peter, Alan, Chad, Jack, Chuck and Bob - joined by Rez Dog adoptee, Paul, landed at Phil’s World Friday afternoon and looked like they were being attacked by the pack just south of the Bread Springs loop hill. They spread to the wind. Every man for himself. Parking in different spots. Fanning out onto different sections of the course. Then somehow managing to regroup.

2. Pre-game meal (Will Night Guy appear?) – There was a buzz in the air before the pre-game meal at Paul and Sarah Berry’s home in Mancos. Would Night Guy appear? You know who I’m talking about. He’s the guy – one of Chuck’s multiple personalities - who famously appeared the night before DtD and left Chuck massively hung over. In Cortez, would Night Guy write checks that Morning Guy couldn’t cash? In spite of a concentrated effort to lure him out, Night Guy was - for the most part - kept under wraps as the pack devoured a fantastic meal in a fantastic setting.

3. Camp Chatter (How do you hit a sheep on a road bike?):

• Jerseys – The excitement leading up to the unveiling of this year’s jerseys is off the charts. Most of the chatter centered on the addition of a sheep. A sheep? Yes, a sheep. You know. The sheep that Peter T-boned at 25 miles mph on the Bread Springs loop descent. How do you hit a sheep on a road bike? That will have to wait. Back to Phil’s World. It was agreed by all that adding a sheep to the jersey design was a stroke of pure genius.

• Equipment - Bob started things off on his first lap by splattering on Tuffy’s Rim and breaking the nose off his new $90 seat. As Paul was switching it out, Chuck took one look at it and accused Bob of eating it. He asked if he could have a bite. Chad was next. Has there ever been a race when some part of Peter’s bike didn’t end up on Chad’s bike by the end of the day? This weekend it was a disc. Chuck’s newly rebuilt fork was one of the few bike parts that didn’t flair up.

• Stray Dogs – Of course, anyone who didn’t show was chewed on. Greg’s top form and Andy’s love life were hot topics. There was unanimity that Andy’s love life was going in a good direction, but there was mixed opinion on whether his closet need to be dry walled. Greg’s top form also drew mixed opinion. Would it usher in a reign of terror or an age of enlightenment? Inexplicably, Chuck’s arch nemesis’s, Dirk and Chuck W., somehow flew under the radar this weekend.

• Chad meets the Captain – When Chad was in college, there was one poster on the wall. Ned Overend. As Chad was walking around the fairgrounds, who did he bump into? Yeah, you got it. Ned. The Legend. And in this case, the legend was not only a legend, he was a friendly, gracious guy who enjoyed taking some time to talk to a young guy with a hand drawn picture of a rez dog on his jersey. Pretty cool.

• Chuck’s camel back – Have you seen the camelback that Chuck bought at the Gallup flea market? I’m sure you have. If you’ve seen him in the past month, he has probably shown it off to you every time. It’s the one that has 23 separate compartments and expands to 2 ¾ feet. He wore it in the race. No joke. In the race. One racer from Colorado said he was going to the Himalayas in the fall and asked Chuck if he could borrow it.

• Chuck’s deception and Bob’s penance – Just before the next to last lap, it became obvious that Bob would be heading out several minutes ahead of Chuck. A brash challenge followed: “You may catch me, but you can forget about getting by me.” Ten miles later as Tuffy’s Rim loomed ahead, Bob heard a rider approach quickly and in a low, deep, foreign voice growl “Rider up”. As Bob pulled over, a cackling Chuck blazed by. Still stinging from the defeat/deception, Bob put in another lap in which Tuffy’s Rim kicked his ass for a second time and left him looking like the alpha male rez dog (the one on the far end of the Red Rock loop that has personal relationship with Dirk’s achilles and Chuck’s calf) had him for dinner.

4. The Race (Podium. No Mas.):

• 12HOMV has gone big time; it’s no longer a low key, regional race. The rider cap is now 750 rather than 500 and it still sells out in a few days in January. National level riders show up and the cut off time for the last lap has been moved up from 6 to 6:30.

• Jack and Bob hit their goal of 7 laps (114.20 miles) in Duo Geezer (50+). Jack: “They really need to think about changing that name.” Last year they would have been on the five place podium. This year they were 7^th out of 12.

• Chad, Peter, Chuck and Alan put in 8 laps (131.20 miles) and just missed the cut off for a ninth lap by six minutes. Last year they would have had 24 minutes to spare. They ended up 10th out of 42. Last year they were 4^th and shared the podium with Price, Tomac, Wiens and Brown who were 2^nd. This year Ned replaced Price on the Local Legends and they finished 3^rd behind Waltworks-Fuentes Design and last year’s winners, Directory Plus.

5. A closing question – Did Chuck’s shock really hold up or did he just pull a spare out of camelback compartment # 17 when it blew up on him mid-race? Just asking.