Absolute Mayhem

The Mayhem race lived up to it's name. Not that it wasn't well organized, just the opposite in fact. The whole event was well run and probably one of the most relaxed and fun races I have ever done. Our team "Wang Chung Tonight" was comprised of me, Dirk, Zac, and the Brat. The format was this: A 13 mile loop with 5 timed sections. The fasted riders time on the team gets saved and calculated toward the overall team time. So if one guys bites it in a section then its no big deal 'cause the other dudes can still post a good time. This was the first time I rode with Dirk, he is a former motocross dude so his handling skills are pretty good. He raged down the first section and actually set the overall record for that section. Unfortunately he dropped his chain on the next two sections so we had to use my times on those. I was a bit off this weekend due to a recent virus that had me feverish and vomiting just the night before. Fortunately the sections were short so the efforts didn't last long. Sections 4 was pretty mild but the last section had some big jumps and lots of mud. Right after the race there was BBQ and Sierra Nevada to be had, too bad my stomach wasn't in the mood for beer. We ended up 5th place out of just shy of 50 teams. We felt pretty happy about this and they handed out VERY generous swag bags to the top ten teams, loaded with goodies like sets of Kenda tires and loads of other stuff. This race will absolutely be on the list next year, but I really wish I would have been able to pre-ride. There were plenty of 'Oh shit" moments out on the course. I must say that a 5 inch travel all mountain machine would probably be the perfect weapon. We all had hardtails and made our time on the climbs mostly.