AS A PROMOTER I GET A LOT OF FEEDBACK... it's expected, it's the things I don't see and probably don't appreciate.  The result:  we get a little better every year.

Yesterday's unOFFICIAL TMWC was my favorite to date.  It wasn't my fastest day.  It wasn't the biggest turnout.  But...

We had the results in real-time.

We had plenty of interlopers, the folks who show up once a year and really blow it out... dragging our posse to new PRs.

We had donuts!

We had PVidmar, one of the OGs, back after 3 years down under.

We had our first timed KOM from the bike trail to the top of Live Oak.

We had our largest turn out of ladies.

We had an abundance of happy people.

We had a rider take an early flyer that would probably have stuck had he known the course... doh!

We had guys from Utah and Arizona in town just because... and a cat from New Zealand!

We had great sponsors:  TwoHubs, Stage21, Sariol Legal, Monster Energy,  Sejuicedbar and PEDALindustries.

We had on bike video and a drone - check 'em below... they're awesome!

We had the best volunteers ever:  Susie, Shelby and Dawn.

We crowned John Janneck unOFFICIAL Tuesday Morning World Champion of 2019!

But for me it was extra special because I got a chance to ride with my son Trevor from the Wall to the Dragstrip.  We reminisced about his first TMWC 10 years ago, when he was in high school... and all the fun racing he did while in college.  Honestly, there was nothing better than being with my best riding buddy on my favorite course on an absolutely beautiful morning surrounded by my posse.  He's moving out of state in August, and I'll miss him... but every Tuesday when we hit the final miles I'll think back on this day and smile.

As the day wound down, nice messages came in thanking me for putting on another unOFFICIAL, but I think Jorge's text summed it up best:

The most friendly race I've ever done. 

#itsjustasocialride



FRIENDS... tomorrow is the annual unOFFICIAL Tuesday Morning World Championships.

3 things you need to know for tomorrow:

1.  You need a timing chip, so get to the start early.  We'll be ready for you by 6:10am.  We start at the park off of Antonio and Oaktree.  Parking is limited.  If you're driving, there's plenty of parking at the church on Oso and Antonio.

2.  We have a KOM from the start of El Toro Bike Trail to the top of Live Oak.  This will be chip timed, which means the fastest person on that segment wins - not necessarily the first person over the top... why?, because we want to keep things together as much as possible until we hit the bike trail.  There's $50 to the top male and female riders sponsored by our friends at Sariol Legal.

3.  We have a code, and EVERYBODY is expected to abide by it:

Have fun.
Obey the law.
Make new friends.

IS IT FAIR TO CALL TODAY'S MTB RIDE GRUELING?  It was 97 miles.  Nearly 10,000 feet of climbing.  Just over 7 hours.  Strava called it an Historic Effort... which began at 440am.  

But is it grueling if we choose to do it?  Nobody forced me.  Quite the opposite, I was invited.  And I leapt at the chance to ride with my kindred soul from AZ, Markell, on the old Blackstar Racing Leadville training ride. 

We live to find out what we've got physically.  How far can we push?  Just what exactly What is in the tank? is more important than what's left... because when we do it right, nothing is left.

But, there's something else.  There's this thing where we tell ourselves I'm going to do X, X being something crazy, and our bodies usually perform to expectation.  Could be a spritely 90 minute circuit with a pack of animals or an unfathomable endurance metric.  Most of the time, the body is game to play.

Right up to the end, I felt great today. 

Sure, there were moments of severe distress but I backed it down a bit and the power came right back.

Then, I got home.

Dismounted.

Truly struggled to open the front door.

Nearly collapsed on the floor.

Covered in sweat.  Panting.  In desperate need of something, but failing to form the commands to myself necessary to regain my bearings.

I made my way to the kitchen.  Grabbed blender.  Poured in fruit, protein, water.  Stabbed at the Smoothie setting.

Drank it.

The cold.  The sugar.  The feeling of coming back to life.

Made another.

Chased it  with 44oz of ice water.

Showered.

Napped.

Groggily blogged.

Was it grueling or satisfying?

_____ 

Bonus surprise, Markell's OG brother Mike joined us for the most savory portion from Whiting Ranch to the top of Harding.  He is an out of shape legend, who's ridden scant miles this year... and still clobbered me on Harding.

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THE CULTURE OF OUR RIDE:

While the ride itself is an eyeball-gouging, hair-pulling affair... it's all in jest, an effort to push and applaud each other.

But, what happens when someone breaks one of the the pillars of our culture?  Once, or every now and then... hey, we all mistakes.  I'm taking about a consistent offender.

We can say, do nothing.

But, at what cost?

The cost of saying, doing nothing is losing the culture of the ride.  Lose the culture, lose the ride.  The cost of saying something is an unknown... so remember, a spoonful of sugar hopes the medicine go down.

What are you going to do?

It's your ride...
or team,
or family,
or business,
or community,
or _______

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SOME IDEAS DON'T WORK.  Like my idea to make The unOFFICIAL TMWC Invite Only.  What a FAIL! 

It wasn't to exclude anybody, but to make sure the crew got a personal invite before it sold out.

My thinking was it would sell out super fast.

It didn't.

And... a bunch of people think they aren't invited.  The opposite of what I'd hoped.

Ay carumba!

Registration is now open to ALL, no invite needed.

Here's the link: https://replaytiming.com/register/2019-tmwc/

So fellas... pass the word along por favor... or Toddy's gonna take this one in the chorts.