Mud was the name of the Twisted Tire Spring Cup game this year. How well can you and your gear tolerate several inches of mud and water? I never would have thought that the ability to stop my bike would have been the difference between me getting sixth or second. In the end, I decided to err on the side of caution, safety, etc. and not go out for a sixth lap…the lap that would have locked in 2^nd place.

During/after the first lap, the brakes faded badly. I can’t tell you how much life the pads had left in them to start the race, but it went away fast. I tweaked the barrel adjusters and rolled through holding 2^nd after lap 1. After lap two, the brakes were done. I pitted and we replaced both sets of pads (and I sold a pair of handlebars). The pads were bare. Thank goodness Michelle had some pads…one new pair and we robbed another set from her bike (BIG thanks to Jason for getting me back on the trail as quickly as possible). The bad news was that these new pads went just as quickly as my first two sets. (special note: this is where I lost the race…if I had brought the backup bike, the Rig could have been dialed back in the pit while I held onto Shawn and Konrad (who later blew up his freewheel)).

The next three laps were about surviving with less and less braking power (and not mowing down beginners). For the last three miles or so of lap 5, I had literally zero brakes. If I squeezed the front brake, not only did it do nothing, but the caliper wouldn’t disengage (turns out that the outboard brake pad was gone), so I was opening it with my foot any time that I accidentally squeezed it out of habit. I later discovered that the rear was down to metal on metal.

The good news is that I had the juice in the legs for another lap. Maybe even two. Oh, and did I mention that it rained for the majority of the race?

So was it fun? Yeah, I think it was. If my brakes would have been at 75% for the entirety of the event, it would have been a blast. Laps one and two were definitely fun. I felt bad for destroying the trails…hopefully they bounce back. We’ll find out in the fall.

Big apologies to the Endorphin Enduro guy that I mowed down in lap 1. Sorry bout that wheel. Just for everyone’s edification, he hit something in the bottom of a mud hole and got thrown sideways as he was about to head up between two trees. I was close behind and did all I could to not injure him. His rear wheel paid the price.