Tunis
 

Any stories? I get shelled on the first dirt stretch and finished about 10 minutes behind winners.

Course was terrible in comparison to last year. Borderline unsafe. Last year, the dirt stuff was more sandy. This year, not so much. Somewhat grouchy with organizers over a few things on how it came off, but oh well.

I flatted first lap, had a pretty bad day (again). Kinda disappointing since I did really well at this race last year.

Sounds pretty tough out there. Wish I could have made it.

Tunis isn't for sissies! ;)

Long day for me with racing in the morning and volunteering. Rolled with Armadillos and 120psi. Somehow that got me to the finish. I think the 4/5s had over a 50% attrition rate.

Dave's right. Everyone that comes to Tunis should know what they're getting into. That said, I thought the course was fine (considering it was Tunis). The hard pack made for better riding than sand. The one really brutal rough stretch was the only area that I would consider "unsafe". And if you slowed a little and picked a good line and could dodge all the loose water bottles and flatters it wasn't so bad.

I thought the organizers did a good job. Good personnel at the turns, good signage, organized check in, etc. Seems like all the people griping were from Austin. Wink. Wink.

Yeah, I rolled tough tires with high PSI and still flatted. You're right; most of the course was fine. It was really just a couple of spots (the white part, specifically) on the course that I didn't think were good. I think the sand last year was actually considerably better/easier than those.

We got told to pin our numbers incorrectly, then had to do a mass re-pinning right before our start, making my whole team start at the back. Corner marshalls didn't stay at their corners. Wheel trucks wouldn't give people wheels (even if they were on the team who had put wheels in). It took them 15 minutes to tell me how to pay.

I'm not really mad about it.... It's a collegiate race, and I'm not expecting much. I'm just saying that stuff could have been improved upon. I have a bit of a thing with their team right now, anyways, since they went off on me for me getting slightly upset and wanting info on the race when it was less than a month away. Seemed reasonable to me...

That white section was brutal. Felt like riding on moguls. Everything else was on par for Tunis. I will say that the course is much easier than when we first started this race. I remember the first climb (no longer on the course) everyone had to dismount and run 50m because it was too sandy. EPIC!

Like you said, it's a collegiate race with some TxBRA racing thrown in to help the funds. I guarantee you everyone was working as hard as they could. I learned long ago not to worry so much and just enjoy the collegiate racing scene. I had to help put some of the organizer's minds at ease when things were a bit hectic. Yeah, there was some confusion and problems, but life will go on. :)

I crashed out on lap two, in the feedzone when the guy in front of me went down. It was only us two so it wasn't that bad, but I am off the bike for a couple days.

Sorry to hear that Matt. Glad you're generally ok. I'm in the middle of a couple intentional days off the bike - you won't miss the miles :)

This is the hill I was talking about. I took this back in 2002 when they finally put some "gravel" down. The bottom was completely sand. The roads were much looser back then. The A&M rider managed to stay up in the second shot.

Man, that looks like a really fun course. Maybe I can get out there next year.

Put that back in! And sand the course! Me and my MTB skillz approve!

...and sand would be better for the way my....uh...support areas are feeling today.

We might revert back to the "classic" course one year. It's about the same amount of dirt, but a bit longer course.

Suprisingly my body wasn't too dead for my ride today. I really thought I would be aching more. Guess I should have gone harder at Tunis. Ha!

Do it! Next year!'

It hurt to push the pedals today, so I cut my ride short. I'm feeling pretty destroyed.

Thanks. I am really sore today, but I hope to be back on the road by thursday. I might try to do a light ride before then, but I have some really bad swelling/bleeding on the front of my hip. It is in a bad place, because it is right where my leg meets my torso, so I would have a lot of friction right there. Not what I want right now. When is your next race?

oh... and does anyone know how bad a dent needs to be before you replace a helmet? I might post a new thread with pics, but it's not that bad.... :(

The quick response is crash = replace.

Being the practical guy I am, I'd probably check to see if the foam is cracked (it probably is). If so, time to contact the mfg. for a crash replacement.

Get back on your bike, slacker! The best cure for road rash is more riding. It'll loosen you up.

lol
It's the swelling I am worried about... my hip is disgusting. It's better today, so I think I will ride tomorrow, assuming the weather is fine. I would post pictures, but you would **** a brick haha