Team "weregoingtofinishthisyear" did not finish this year. Last year we got 3 CPs over a 63-mile route, and DNF'd. This year we got 0 CPs over a 6.3-mile route, and DNF'd. There wasn't much we could do about it though.
There was nothing silly or adventurous about the start this year; no wooden nickels. It was a bit different, however, in that Eric announced that we would not be getting our passports until we hit Pressley Gap. This meant one giant clusterfuckingly slow climb up Black. Once we got up there, we decided to hit the most western, mandatory CP at the gate on 225, so we headed down Maxwell and Clawhammer. Upon hitting the stables, Mike somehow crashed while going around the gate and banged his knees up pretty bad. He popped right up, thankfully, but quickly realized that his front wheel had somehow taco'd, and our race was over.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed, but this stuff happens. We slowly made our way down 477 to 276, and decided to make a stop in the river for Mike to "ice" his knees a bit in the cold water. We got back to the start/finish at Smoker's Cove, and concluded after little debate that 10am was as good a time as any to start drinking. After a beer there, we headed up to Stephen Janes' grilled cheese and Coke oasis to take him a beer and hang out a bit. After being entertained by the riders for a while, we headed to the Hub to see if they could save Mike's wheel, and have a couple more beers and our first Daggie's burgers, which were pretty damn good.
So, definitely not a good PMBAR, but Mike wasn't hurt too badly, the wheel is fairly fixed, and it was still a fun day. I doubt I'll be able to do next year's PMBAR because of my pending knee surgery and long recovery time, but I'll be back for 2014, and team "weregoingtogetatleastonecheckpointthisyear" will get at least one CP, for real.
Tough break! At least you were out there trying. I was stuck in Indiana with out a partner. I hope to head back again next year if only to hang out and ride.
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