I have a big long post about it here complete with pictures:

http://optifat.blogspot.com

However, the summary is that I did it. I came in last in the men's, but not in the beginner class overall. Had I not taken a nasty (and painful!) spill I likely would have come in much higher than that.

But.. I HAD A BLAST! Guess what I'm going to be training up to do more of next year? :D

Cool beans! You also didn't get a DNF! Great job and a great start!

Tom -
For a minute there I was thinking it was going to happen. The pity party hit pretty hard, then I just unhooked the front brake, moved everything to make sure it wasn't broken, and decided that DNF is for wussies!

Of course right now I'm pretty damn sore, but oh well, knew it would happen :).

Tom -
For a minute there I was thinking it was going to happen. The pity party hit pretty hard, then I just unhooked the front brake, moved everything to make sure it wasn't broken, and decided that DNF is for wussies!

Of course right now I'm pretty damn sore, but oh well, knew it would happen :).
But you gutted it out and finished it.....great job! You know the mantra: injuries heal, chicks dig scars and personal glory lasts forever!:p

This is especially true in mountain bike racing!:D

Oh, I should also note that my riding buddy Oliver was formerly a Clydesdale, just as of last year, but really kicked cycling in the ass. He's pretty damn skinny now (as the pics show) and seriously.. first MTB race on a singlespeed geared 32x16 on a hilly beast of a course.. first place? Damn!

Next year is my turn :)

Your the man.

I WAS HOPING YOU WOULD UPDATE.I WANTED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED.
hope you diidnt get to hurt.i didnt have any doubts that you were gonna finish. keep on trucking, youll get em.

Hurt? Nothing a day or two off the bike with some ibuprofen won't cure. Looks pretty gnarly and is sore, but nothing to worry about.

The looking gnarly is good for stories, though :)

i have an ugly scar with some stitchmarks,that i got in the service,while making a beer run.
we were in the barracks,store about to close and,i took off to go get some brew.im riding on the sidewalk and,im hauling cause i got maybe 10 minutes b4 the store closes.weel i go down the handicapped access thingy mashing all out, BUT WHEN I GET TO THE OTHER SIDE,THERES LIKE A 8 INCH CURB. I REMEMBER THINKING -i am so foolish.
then i was eating sidewalk at a high rate of speed. well i was alright. but my downtube on my new univega was bent back in kinda a c shape. went and,got the beer and,when i got back to the barracks,somebody noticed that my sleeve was bloody.my forearm was tore open pretty good.took about 12 stitches and,it looks pretty ugly.

of course now,when i tell about my -WOUND - i always got it defending our country or in a barfight against 5 marines or something. BUT NOW YOU KNOW,THE REAL STORY.

now that i remember those days,i was 185 - 195 and,used to run 4 - 5 miles every morning and,workout for a couple of hours 3 - 4 times a week. but i was 18 -25 and didnt know to keep that up.

hahaha, great story brode! I'm trying to think about how to embellish this one, but I think I'll just probably leave the part where the women's group passed me out... :D

Congrats on finishing the race!!!

Was that at Swanson? I was there two weeks ago on my....Gary Fisher Cobia :D and I broke it. Too much torque on the rear free hub. Bike shop said it was a freak thing that happens once in a while. Warranty's are good.

I was working today (lame) and I saw the 747 with the Shuttle on it's back too. But I was way out in West Omaha.

But you gutted it out and finished it.....great job! You know the mantra: injuries heal, chicks dig scars and personal glory lasts forever!:p

This is especially true in mountain bike racing!:D

He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is nam'd,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian.'
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say 'These wounds I had on Crispian's day.'
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he'll remember, with advantages,
What feats he did that day.

Your the man.

Ben is truly the man. It takes guts for a 400 pound guy to ride a bike. It takes a level of courage more than mere "guts" to enter a race as a fat man. I find our Nebraska friend inspirational.

I have a big long post about it here complete with pictures:

http://optifat.blogspot.com

However, the summary is that I did it. I came in last in the men's, but not in the beginner class overall. Had I not taken a nasty (and painful!) spill I likely would have come in much higher than that.

But.. I HAD A BLAST! Guess what I'm going to be training up to do more of next year? :D

I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy!

I said to myself "unhook the front break, get on the saddle and finish this *******". http://dune.servint.com/uploads/c_laugh.gif





Good job on finishing. I don't know much about dirt racing, but it sounds fun. How long was the track?

Congrats on finishing the race!!!

Was that at Swanson? I was there two weeks ago on my....Gary Fisher Cobia :D and I broke it. Too much torque on the rear free hub. Bike shop said it was a freak thing that happens once in a while. Warranty's are good.

I was working today (lame) and I saw the 747 with the Shuttle on it's back too. But I was way out in West Omaha.

It indeed was at Swanson! That place is pretty crazy, the first time I rode it I kept not getting enough momentum into those twisty climbs and would end up half falling off and walking it. Thankfully that wasn't an issue yesterday, just my... yeah :).

Hahah how ironic on the Cobia! Did you buy yours at Highgear? They had a *sweet* demo built up as a 1x9, but they weren't willing to sell it. Those things really make a difference on the log crossings, I went over them significantly faster than I did on my Specialized.

I said to myself "unhook the front break, get on the saddle and finish this *******". http://dune.servint.com/uploads/c_laugh.gif





Good job on finishing. I don't know much about dirt racing, but it sounds fun. How long was the track?

I think they said it was 4.6 miles, which is deceptive. My buddy who brought in first came in at 21.5 minutes, completely spent. That lap time was on par with the intermediate/expert class (who do two laps instead of one), with most of the beginner class falling into the 25-35 minute range. So quick math will show even fast people aren't pushing a very high speed average.. there are some rough climbs in there.

But man was it fun. Can't wait to do it again!

Ben is truly the man. It takes guts for a 400 pound guy to ride a bike. It takes a level of courage more than mere "guts" to enter a race as a fat man. I find our Nebraska friend inspirational.

I think all of us are "the man". They should rename the forum to "Clydesdales - we'll kick your a**!"

I think all of us are "the man". They should rename the forum to "Clydesdales - we'll kick your a**!"

All of us are the man, save the women, of course.

BTW, Ben, there's a surprise for you on my blog.

All of us are the man, save the women, of course.

BTW, Ben, there's a surprise for you on my blog.

Whoa.. thanks Neil! I'm quite honored :D

Also.. great job for you this weekend! I still can't hit the magical century mark, maybe I'll man up and try it sometime in July :).

I can't let the Historian out do me.

It indeed was at Swanson! That place is pretty crazy, the first time I rode it I kept not getting enough momentum into those twisty climbs and would end up half falling off and walking it. Thankfully that wasn't an issue yesterday, just my... yeah :).

Hahah how ironic on the Cobia! Did you buy yours at Highgear? They had a *sweet* demo built up as a 1x9, but they weren't willing to sell it. Those things really make a difference on the log crossings, I went over them significantly faster than I did on my Specialized.

I got my Cobia last spring at The Bike Rack (Blue's sister store here in Omaha). I really like it for the logs, but some tight trails make the 29er feel a bit slow. Turns are fun if there is a burm and you have good speed, but the tight technical stuff seems little harder. To tell you the truth, if I were to do it over, I would look at the new full suspension stuff. As it is, I am going to watch eBay for a used Gary Fisher 29" Full Susp. frame, and swap over all my stuff.

If you ever want to go riding on some trails in Omaha, let me know. Besides Swanson, have you ridden any other single track in Omaha? We have a couple others that are just as fun, in different ways. Lake Manawa (in C.B.) is a riot. It is all flat too, so no grueling hill climbs. A local group that maintains the trails has built some teeter totters and elevated trail stuff to play on. Nothing too crazy....unless you want to try log riding :D

I got my Cobia last spring at The Bike Rack (Blue's sister store here in Omaha). I really like it for the logs, but some tight trails make the 29er feel a bit slow. Turns are fun if there is a burm and you have good speed, but the tight technical stuff seems little harder. To tell you the truth, if I were to do it over, I would look at the new full suspension stuff. As it is, I am going to watch eBay for a used Gary Fisher 29" Full Susp. frame, and swap over all my stuff.

If you ever want to go riding on some trails in Omaha, let me know. Besides Swanson, have you ridden any other single track in Omaha? We have a couple others that are just as fun, in different ways. Lake Manawa (in C.B.) is a riot. It is all flat too, so no grueling hill climbs. A local group that maintains the trails has built some teeter totters and elevated trail stuff to play on. Nothing too crazy....unless you want to try log riding :D

Sounds good! The group I do weekend rides with is already abuzz with talk of heading back up after Oliver dominated the beginner class. I usually am in COuncil Bluffs about once a month, my fiancee has family there, so I'd like to hit up Manawa.

Thanks for the report on the 29er. I'm debating what to do, but I think for now I'm going to work on speeding/bulking up my Specialized, and picking up a 29er SS for commuting. What can I say, while I totally dig my roadie, I'm just a MTBer at heart.

I'll shoot you a PM the next time I head up that way, and maybe we can get a mini forum ride together at Manawa.

Sounds like it was a blast! Congrats!

I got my Cobia last spring at The Bike Rack (Blue's sister store here in Omaha). I really like it for the logs, but some tight trails make the 29er feel a bit slow. Turns are fun if there is a burm and you have good speed, but the tight technical stuff seems little harder. To tell you the truth, if I were to do it over, I would look at the new full suspension stuff. As it is, I am going to watch eBay for a used Gary Fisher 29" Full Susp. frame, and swap over all my stuff.

If you ever want to go riding on some trails in Omaha, let me know. Besides Swanson, have you ridden any other single track in Omaha? We have a couple others that are just as fun, in different ways. Lake Manawa (in C.B.) is a riot. It is all flat too, so no grueling hill climbs. A local group that maintains the trails has built some teeter totters and elevated trail stuff to play on. Nothing too crazy....unless you want to try log riding :D


If you want a 29er FS wait until next year, Gary Fisher is releasing the HiFi 29er, that should be one sweet bike. I have a HiFi right now and I love it, one of the best mountain bike rides I have ever been on :)

If you want a 29er FS wait until next year, Gary Fisher is releasing the HiFi 29er, that should be one sweet bike. I have a HiFi right now and I love it, one of the best mountain bike rides I have ever been on :)

The "ride the best" demo truck had the new HiFi 29ers and... wow. Just.. wow. Also the new '08 Paragons. Man those bikes were insanely sweet. The HiFi 29er and the Trek 69er seemed to be the hands-down most popular rides that they had there, everyone who rode both loved 'em.

Of course, people were impressed by the Fuel EX 9.5, but hey.

Me, I didn't even put my butt on 'em. I figured no sense torturing myself with envy for the next ten years :)

I have trouble holding myself back on "free" demo's. I go demo motorcycles just because I can. Then I get excited about them and tell my wife how cool it was. I get the, "You don't need a NEW motorcycle...you just GOT ONE!!!" I know, I know.

I have trouble holding myself back on "free" demo's. I go demo motorcycles just because I can. Then I get excited about them and tell my wife how cool it was. I get the, "You don't need a NEW motorcycle...you just GOT ONE!!!" I know, I know.

I've found that it's generally painful to respond to that with "la la la I don't hear it when girls talk!"

:D

But how true. I know had I tried something more high-end I'd be totally hooked on it. As it is, I'm pretty welll hooked on the fisher Cobia. I wish they would have had a Rig to try out, but whaddya get.

Darn bikes.. detrimental to my bank account!