KSF'ed Up Weekend

What is the KSF'ed Up Weekend? It's a little bit of a race, little bit of a ride, a lot of hurt, and ton of fun. The K.S.F'ed.W. went down in, around, near, up, down and over the Kanawha State Forest in West Virginia. Home to one of the toughest XC races on the W.V.M.B.A. schedule, and NEAR the home my endurance freak/friend Brad.

This ride/race was Brad's gift of pain to his friends that on this day included me, Don, Montana, Rob, and a few of Brad's Charleston Crew (Aaron was supposed to be there, but was off doing Aaron things in NYC). We were treated to 40 miles, over 6,000 feet of climbing, fast single track, hidden game path "trails," SLOW up hill grinds, insane calf muscle exploding hike-a-bikes, and even MORE insane steep, rocky, rutted, OH SHIT! down hills! At the end of the day I wasn't sure weather to thank Brad or punch him in the face.

The day started with 5 of us doing 20 miles and hitting some of the amazing trails that are part of the Black Bear race course, then stopping for some pizza back at the parking lot, picking up a few experienced local friends and heading back out for more.

I knew going in I would be the slowest of the group. No big deal but my slow, steady pace is light years behind the speed and skills of the other four guys. And the locals we added for the second 20 had way more experience on those trails, as well as bigger, more man sized balls for the freakish descents. The goal was to enjoy a day in the saddle fast or slow with friends, and enjoy some food and good beer at the end. And that is exactly what I did.

Me and D-POW rocking the XXC Kitz

At about mile 35 I was descending a trail off the back of the group (of course) and heard a swift "snap" sound, looked down and saw my derailleur dragging along my bike. DOH!!! So I stop, pick up my bike and start hoofing down to meet up with the group and access the damage. As I approached I saw a few guys hovered over Don's Mamasita. I figured he must have flatted or broke a chain or something. I soon found out Don ALSO snapped his derailleur off. DOUBLE DOH!! Unreal!!

So with the help of the prepared with every tool known to man locals, we set about to get back up in ridding. Don would convert to a single speed and since I read the pre-event e mails from Brad and heeded his warning/suggestion to bring an extra hanger, I would continue on with the epic with all 27 gears, rather than walk back to the car and avoid the pain that was yet to come. Although I think the only gear I was recently using was 22/34 by this time! LOL!

We were soon off and even sooner at the base of another hike-a-bike. After stepping, sliding and clawing up, we were back on our bikes. At least until Don's chain jumped, jammed, locked, and bent his skewer. DOH! Chain need to be broke, etc, and now Don was done. I was starting to run out of water, drink, and desire and as Don started off on his coast/hike to the car and I could feel the envy creep into my mind.

Hike-a-Bike #4 or #14 I can't remember.

There was still more climbing, more hike-a-bikes, and more genital shrinking downhills to do. It seemed that the last 5 miles went like this- hike-a-bike, ride a bit of a ridge line with me lagging far behind, do a ball busting down hill, have me ask if the ride is about done, and repeat.

Looking back at the very UN-planned La Ruta hike.

I was starting to get a little bit bitchy and getting tad frustrated by my inferior abilities on the bike, but there really was no option but to keep on keepin' on. In the end I made it just fine, and it was worth it. I experienced some new trails with some great friends, met some new folks, and had a great time.

There was some loose score keeping for climbs and descents, I really didn't figure into any of that (Montana crushed), but still took home some hardware in the form of the KSF'ed Up Weekend Lanterne Rouge trophy. Thanks Brad. I think.

We spent the entire day rolling, hiking, and bleeding over KSF, then headed back to Brad's crib to watch basketball, drink beer, eat chili and burgers. What a fantastic day. Big thanks to Brad for the early season memories, the burnt bacon, and the hospitality. You done good.

Me, my attorney, and some mid ride pizza.

I did learn some things over the weekend- Brad is gong to crush some events this year, folks will be hearing about the Montana ('91) for quite a few years to come (fast and skilled!), Don should read his e mails and watch walking down stairs, Jamie Oliver needs more than an English accent to keep the folks of Huntingdon from their pizza and chicken nuggets, Clash of The Titans sucks (sorry Montana), I know nothing about basketball except how to do a chest pass (thanks Brad), Rob is one of the strongest riders I know, I need to push bigger gears, ride more dirt, drop 10+ pounds and stick with my new Slim Fast program that is endorsed by Tracy Gold.

Later.

P.S. Big Thanks to Rob L. for the use of some of the pics. I took the others. No thanks to me, they're not that good.