Frosty Weekend

The Man.
Greg "Thirstywork" Matyas,
Frosty Bottom 50 Champ
and owner of Speedway Cycles

I don't even know where to start. The sub-zero cold in the Campbell Tract portion of the course? The fact that twice as many people showed up to race this year, compared with last year's inaugural Frosty Bottom 50/25? The frozen free hub that forced me off the bike to spin the pedals by hand three times in the first few miles, trying to get the pawls to engage?

Or maybe the frozen toes that forced some riders to stop at the halfway point? Or the frozen hydration tubes that deprived racers of critical fluids and made them look like zombies at the finish line?

After riding the 50 Saturday, working on the house all day Sunday and downing a couple of beers during the evening awards ceremony at Chain Reaction Cycles, I still can't figure out what to write about the race. In the end, it had all the elements of any good mountain bike ride: some suffering, some highs, some lows, some fun, some stories to tell.

Sometimes, a good day on a bike isn't measured in miles or hours. It's measured by the number of empty Clif Bar wrappers and shredded, sticky Gu packs in your pockets; the feel of cooked legs; the satisfied feeling that comes with overcoming any bullshit that got in your way, and still reaching the finish line in a respectable time.

Add it all up and you have a good day, because it was spent riding a bike with a bunch of cool people.

Thanks to Bill and Jamie from Chain Reaction, and all the volunteers who stood outside in the cold to help make it happen.

Sunday's post-race party

at Chain Reaction.