Ride Fast for Cookies

I don’t race often, but when I do I go for gold!  As in golden baked COOKIES!  Everybody races because it’s funner to go faster and its awesome to win some home baked goods.

A trip to my home-state Virginia allowed me the opportunity to re-connect with old friends and re-visit some of my old stomping grounds.  This past weekend some good friends put on a small local race on a trail system I used to ride many years ago.  This hometown 3 stage enduro reminded me of how much fun you can have in the woods with your friends.  The motivation for doing well this weekend?  Well let’s just say I went full gas for baked goods.  That was the prize.  No fancy carbon wheels, money or even swag.  This weekend I went all out for delicious home-made cookies.

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This event wasn’t in a riding mecca that get’s a lot of attention.  It doesn’t attract swarms of people from far reaches or in a place the magazines talk about as THE place you need to visit before you die.  It was my hometown, where I grew up and where I learned to mountain bike.  Since I first moved away over 15 years ago, the riding has continued to greatly evolve and so has the awesome riding community.

The event wasn’t promoted by a professional promoter nor did it have a fancy timing system.  It was promoted by a group of passionate riders from the local IBMA chapter.  Yes, it was an enduro.  Yes it was timed (with well synchronized cell phone timers:).  The pre-event message from the organizer was one that stuck. “Ya’ll don’t go crazy out there and bust yourselves up!  You’re racing for cookies and brownies today.”  This made me smile, reminding me that its all about having fun!  The people are truly what keeps me so stoked about this sport.

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BTW, Kelly is the baby mama that wrote “Shredding for Two: My Pregnant Mountain Bike Journey” for us. If you are pregnant or know anyone that is, you should read it.

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The race was super-fun and super relaxed.  Everyone pinned it for baked goods and in the end gathered for a great spread of food, thanks to Davy and the Blackwater Bike Shop.

Where is this place?  Lynchburg, VA is where!  And the local IMBA chapter GLOC (Greater Lynchburg Off-Road Cyclists) along with Blackwater Bike Shop did a great job with the inaugural Candlers Enduro.  For those of you that missed it?  Put on your own event just like it on your local trails and charge nothing for your IMBA members and $20 for non-members to put back into your club or IMBA chapter.  Either that or you will just have to wait until next fall for the 2nd Annual Candlers Enduro (and you’d better bring your A game!)

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