Monday, March 24, 2008

COPPER 08


AND... I think it goes like this... Reports from the Teams... What a Race! What a Great Day! Comments flying around from riders after the Race. From the expected norms... Like the most common one... "MAN THIS RACE WAS HARD"... To the, I was fighting off cramps! I couldn't hang on with the Skinny Dudes! I hung with the Skinny Dudes for one lap! We had them in our sights... Almost! To the "Hey Guys"... Wrong way! Then realizing this doesn't look right! Where'd they Go? Adrenaline +50... Pulse triples... Guys not working... Screaming "PULL THROUGH G#* D#% IT"... Beating your brains senseless on bad roads... Chasing... Chasing...Chasing... Pulse still screaming at 170+... What another hill... Crap! Finally the top. Wait a minute. That must mean this is the dreaded down hill... Now for some, this is not a big deal, but for others, it feels like a Death March at 40+ mph. Insides screaming, hands going numb... Oh yeah! Then there's the praying thing... Please front forks, don't SNAP! Don't Hincape... Please, Please don't Hincape... I'm goin DIE! Making deals... I know it's the day before Easter, and I know I've said a few extra cuss words today... But I promise let me survive this and I will to be extra good tomorrow! Thinking all along HTFU!... I HATE TO LOSE! HTFU... One lap down one to go... ARRGGHHHHH! Just like the instructions on a bottle of cream rinse... That word REPEAT... That in so many words describes Copper!
You'll not only hear it from our Masters Team, but from all the teams across the board. What it was like to ride Copper! On our second lap we were passing, and picking up riders from all category's, Cat 1's to Cat 3's. You couldn't help but think that a one point they were feeling pretty good. Then sometime during the Race, as Phil and Paul would say... The lights went out! We would see countless riders riding back down the hill in the reverse direction, thinking this is closer way to their car, that's what I'd guess. You know something in side them saying... DONE, OVER, FINISHED! Copper beats you up that way, part of you doesn't blame them.
We had a good Race... All the DBC Masters finished! HFTU Baby! Even though our A group fell apart, Karl and Bob held tough for a descent finish. Lee, Justin, Pat, and myself formed a great
alliance amongst ourselves, and toughed it out to the end together (one of the pho-togs has a picture of us coming across the line together, four wide). In the B group... In they came... Derek, then Lorne, and the the ultimate in HTFU... Robin! In the Masters 45+ 4/5 although un-offical at this moment... Nelson pulled off another Top Ten! Not bad from a guy who keeps saying... I'm not a Climber! Great job Nelson, way to HTFU... Then followed by Kevin.
At the end, as in every Great Race, people/racers were standing around talking about the/their day... Great Races will do that you know... Talk about them... They leave memories... Good thing I guess...
So next Year... Think about Copper... Think about how it will make you feel... Think about how you too might talk about it.
This Race called the California Pari-Roubaix of the North.



2 comments:

Jason Eiserich said...

hey Fred! Great report...i have that one on the schedule for next year!

cheers, jas

BIG said...

Next year?

Nice to hear those words, Jas.