NAU Cycling Club

Thanks everyone for coming out and racing tonight, it was a hell of a lot of fun!

Congratulations to Katrina on winning the coveted Green Sprocket Cluster, maybe she’ll be able to hold onto the title come next alley cat.

After the race was also really fun, what a great way to spend the night. Riding around following dave’s sound system bike… amazing.

It was a stormy Friday night, well okay it wasn’t stormy, but it was Friday and it was night! Eight of us met at Tim’s house before heading out. After loading the truck and Jeep up with more bikes than should be physically possible, then using the remaining cubic foot for seating we were off.. almost. We had forgotten someone! Tim quickly called up Francisco and the conversation went something like this:

“Eeh puto! Quieres ir al Sedona?”
“blahblahblahblah”
“Okay, but seriously, if we come by right now are you ready to go?”
“blahblah”
“Okay, see you soon… puto.”

We made a detour in the truck to Francisco’s house and loaded up yet another bike. But wait, where the hell is he going to sit? Well we had to get Shawn and his jeep to squeeze Francisco in and then we could go.

On the way down we listened to some punk rock and a song that went “Hola hola hola hola” Jay shared his knowledge of the trails in Sedona with names I’d never knew could be used to describe dirt. We pulled into the parking lot of “The Bean” and unloaded.

I put on Tim’s full-face moto helmet; it really made me feel cooler than I should have on my ridiculous bike. Across the road we went and set off on some trail. I don’t know what it was called but it had something to do with a chicken. We were each instructed to warn the riders behind us of obstacles on the trail; “rock left!” “cactus right!” “watch your head!”. These warnings soon changed from detailed descriptions to shouts of “nar!” “big nar!” “nar drop!” and degraded further into screams from Tim as he went headlong into a rocky valley.

We stopped for a break on a large slab of rock. Everyone pulled off their packs and a few of us tried to stay warm by lighting a fire small fire. I had brought along this crazy butane torch thing that Shawn could only describe as “Whoa black Betty” Most our meager attempts to light twigs on fire failed until Kenny came with his Boy Scout skills and got the thing going. Of course by this time everyone had eaten all of my Nutter Butters and were getting back on their bikes to leave. I sure am glad we got that fire going.

The trail changed from leisurely single-track to a very sharp climb. As most of the group blazed ahead with superhuman powers, Katrina and I were left bumbling up the rock steps. Though, I think she was only going slowly because I was in front of her, and she didn’t want to make me feel bad. We finally caught up the cycling supermen and we all made out way up the top of this rock dome. Chicken Point I think? Someone can correct me.

We took another break up there and looked around. In the moonlight you could see all the rocks. Of course I was more interested in emptying my camel back into my throat and stuffing my face with “Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers”

The ride back to town was faster, mostly. First we went back down the “nar” steps and were instructed to make a left somewhere. Shawn and I were in front and took a right instead. We’re smart. Either way, it was fun.. right up until Shawn was startled by a cougar. It’s a frightening thing to see a cougar in the path, ready to jump out and eat you. It’s especially frightening when the cougar turns out to be a pile of rocks. Needless to say, we were able to spot a few of these cougars as we made our way back to the truck.

The path back was pretty easy, or it was supposed to be. Every time we climbed a hill and rode down I thought that was the last climb we were supposed to make. But, as you would expect, at the bottom of every hill was.. another hill. Eventually we did climb the last hill and were treated to a very long coast. I actually got to pass some people, but this would ultimately lead to my demise. I ended up behind Francisco, which was a horrible idea because he’s an animal. I tried to watch him for bumps and I thought I was doing well until my front wheel stopped spinning, my rear end slid out, and down I went. I believe this fall was the result of a governmental conspiracy, but I feel better knowing that the wipe out “was the best tail slide I’ve ever seen.” Thanks, Shawn.

Well the ride back up the switchbacks to Flag was pretty uneventful, but a Forest ranger did follow us and then he apparently drove off a cliff. One minute he was right behind us, the next he was gone. I hope he’s okay. We grabbed some Del Taco, dropped Francisco off, and chowed down at Tim’s house. Shawn ate in his car, we could hear the engine running from inside the house. Eventually the tacos and burritos disappeared and a few of us were forced to make the cold ride home. For some reason I felt like I was pedaling pretty hard after leaving Tim’s, it wasn’t until I got home that I found my rear brake had clamped down on the wheel.. it must have been part of that conspiracy.

After all is said and done, it was the best ride there ever was. The end.

So, welcome back to Flagstaff, everyone that left. Enjoy the snow before it turns into a nice brown cinder-like substance on the side of the road.

A few questions I’ve recieved:

Q. Is there a meeting on Wednesday the 17th?
A. I do not know. Waiting for word from El Presidente Supremo Shawn.

Q. If there is a meeting, will there be free pizza again?
A. I have a feeling we broke the bank on the last free pizza meeting, in summation… maybe… no.

Q. Are there any rides planned?
A. I haven’t heard, but maybe we could schedule a slush ride. If that doesn’t happen we can all hop on trainers.

Q. Where’s caitlin?
A. Right here

So cross is over. No more cold 7:00 am mornings. No more free coffee and bagels. No more Will Smith music over the PA. Thanks to everyone who participated, it was a great season. A BIG thanks to all our sponsors this year:

Absolute Bikes
Pay ‘n Take
Singlespeed Coffee

There are a few pictures in the cross gallery
more at DC
and a writeup at Onespeeder

So, I finally got this thing done. Enjoy.

For December’s race I promise I’ll have a tripod.

Have a great thanksgiving everyone!