Mountain Biking Madness

A few weeks ago our son suggested it might be fun to try a mountain bike race. He had grown up watching his dad race in various 8 and 24-hr events. Our son was keen and developed good bike handling skills as a kid, but lost interest as a teenager. When we moved to London, my husband returned to road riding and pretty much stopped racing.

When our son expressed an interest, my husband was excited. He assembled a team and registered Moe's Smoking Tires 2.0 as a 4-person open team (age 120-160) for the Fox Epic 8 Hour Relay at Mansfield. Teammates included my husband (Lee), our son (Paul), our friend (Warren) and his son (Stuart). My husband and son spent the last couple weeks brushing up on their trail riding skills. They were both looking forward to race day.

To shorten our Saturday morning drive, we decided to sleep at our son's place in Guelph Friday night. We were up and on the road before 8 a.m.

Warren and Stuart drove separately from Aurora. Nobody thought to arrange where to meet. As luck would have it, we parked and they pulled in right beside us - an amazing feat in a park full of vehicles, tents and bikes. The team posed for photos before getting ready to ride.

Our son reluctantly put on proper cycling shorts and shoes borrowed from his dad. 

Warren checks Stuart's bike. Stuart and Paul flip a number plate to see who goes first. Stuart won. The riding order - Stuart, Paul, Warren, Lee.

People line up early for the 10 a.m. start - excitement builds.

Stuart waits patiently amidst the starting line crowd. 

I walked the course managing to capture Stuart on the trail.

I also admired the pretty flowers and fiddlehead ferns in the woods.

Our son is thrilled to be riding. He goofs around showing off his muscles before settling down to enjoy the ride.

Warren is rider #3 in rotation. He has a fancy new bike. Stuart wants it.

Lee is rider #4 in rotation.

Lee goofs off for the camera before settling down for some serious riding.

Lee let our son ride his bike for his third and final lap. Paul loved it. Unfortunately, he rode so fast into the "Exit Wound" (steep, twisty downhill at the end) that he caught his front wheel on the first turn and flipped over the handle bars. He got right back up and carried on, but then his back wheel went wide on the next turn pulling him off the trail and down a cliff. He was bruised all over, yet assured me he was fine. I'm so glad I missed seeing his spectacular crashes. 

Stuart also got to ride his Dad's bike as long as he agreed to ride two final laps for the team. Of course he agreed riding a total of five laps. He changed into his bright blue cycling shorts and jersey for the occasion.

We enjoyed catching up with friends we hadn't seen in ages - Ron and Kevin (2-person team).

Dave who toured with us in Cuba 2 years ago.

People we know from London were staying in Cabin #13. I caught up with them later and took their photo. Their team ended up in second place for the 4 Person − Mixed − min. 1 Female − combined age 140 and over category. Way to go "That 70's Team".

Final Results for Moe's Smoking Tires 2.0 (#187): 13 laps in 8:10:06
Stuart - 5 laps (39:30, 34:30, 34:48, 35:32, 39:37 last 2 laps non-stop)
Paul - 3 laps (37:19, 37:44, 36:33 crashed 2x on 3rd lap)
Warren - 2 laps (40:03,43:08 calf cramp/knot on 2nd lap)
Lee - 3 laps (36:53, 36:40, 38:30 shared bike so seat adjustment required in transition)
Placed 14 out of 21 teams in the 4 Person − Open − combined age 120−159 category. 

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We had a fabulous day at the Fox Epic 8 Hour Relay at Mansfield. It was an awesome father/son activity. I loved taking photos surrounded by Mountain Biking Madness. 

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