2006 Shenandoah Mountain 100

Several members of the Athens Bicycle Mountain Bike Team, as well as many special guests, traveled to Stokesville, Va., on Labor Day weekend to participate in the Shenandoah Mountain 100 mountain bike race. Following is a recap from my POV. --Meredith, Sept. 10

Pete and I headed into town on Friday to stake out a big spot for the Gun Show before heading into Harrisonburg, Va., to spend the night with pals Thomas and Julie Jenkins (Thomas is co-owner of the fantastic Shenandoah Bicycle Co. in Harrisonburg). We were grateful for their hospitality, because as we enjoyed Thai takeout and some vino at their house, Hurrican Ernesto hammered the town. Streets were flowing like rolling rivers, the Taste of Thai parking lot looked like a lagoon, and Thomas and Julie's sump pump hummmed away. I thought of my buddy Kerry Combs, who I knew was traveling to the campground with some Independent Fabrication team-mates and some of the Seven team's riders. I figured they were getting wet and hoped they were OK.

On Saturday morning, after a delicious breakfast at The Little Grill (a sister restaurant to our beloved Casa Nueva), Pete and I headed out to Stokesville to see if several hundred feet of Trek Super Sale flagging and the Gun Show sign had weathered the storm. On the way out we literally watched the skies turn from gray and scary to blue and beautiful. By the time we arrived it was perfect out. I set up camp while Pete and Thomas rode up Hankey Mountain and down Dowell's Draft, marking the course and clearing blowdown as they went. They returned and reported that the trails were near perfect.

The rest of the Gun Show rolled in throughout the day: Marco, Tina, Kelly, Greg, Malcolm, Jim, Mac, Aaron and Arianna. Jeremy arrived later. We all went out for rides to loosen up our legs. After that it was lots of dinner and some camp site fun, as well as preparation of bikes, drop bags, etc.

Sunday morning at 5 a.m. we all were up, eating breakfast and trying to jockey for a good position in the port-a-pottie lines. The TP was already gone! Thank goodness for Charmin Fresh Mates. We toed the line at 6:15 and the race was off at 6:30. Here is an overview of what went down:

> Pete and Jim missed the start -- they did too long of a warm-up
> Jim ripped his rear derailleur off and had to drop out at Aid Station #3
> Greg Moore and I passed each other about 450 times throughout the day
> Lots of people I usually never see because they are faster than me were either having off days (perhaps due to hangovers) or were riding fixed gears and taking a more relaxed pace, so I had the pleasure of riding with Greg Moore, Buck Keich and Mike Boyes for several sections of the race. Mike was stopping and taking lots of pictures and movies. Check out his movie here: www.bikebfat.com (scroll down and look for the link "Coasting Blues")
> Pete felt like crap and pulled out at mile 88, opting to ride back on the flat pavement vs. climb two more huge hills (mountains) -- DNF #2 for the Gun Show
> Marco and Aaron yukked it up all day, making fun of each other for 100 miles of off-road riding before crosing the finish line together, holding hands
> Rumor on the trail was that lots of guys were either DNFing at Aid Station #5 or sitting around there for an unusually long amount of time because of the "hot girls from Athens" who were volunteering there -- Christina, Arianna and Kelly were the cause of this
> There were more single-speeds than ever, and they were beating the crap out of the men and women who rode them
> Quite a few fixies were out on the course as well, but not Mike Carpenter's because it broke down 30 seconds into the race
> Although some trails rode a little soft and perhaps a little slower than usual, it was hard to believe that Ernesto was anything but a little baby kitten -- conditions were great overall
> See the race results for yourself right here

The next day featured the usual disgusting post-race feast at Mrs. Rowe's Restaurant, complete with a pon haus sampler. Below are some photos from the weekend. Click on the thumbnails for larger images. The End.

The sky Saturday morning.	Starting to clear up.	Blue skies break through.

Me with my IF.	Kerry Combs with her IF.	Skip Brown's scary grips.

Push-up contest.	Arianna: The Hammer-Gel rep?	Perfect weather on Saturday.

Mac's breakfast.	Pre-race prep.	Last minute flat fix.

Lining up.	Mandi & me.	Get funky, Christina.

Kelly hula hoops.	Go Kelly!	Mike broke down right away.

Kelly at a scenic vista.	Kelly and Arianna.	Killer view.

Pete fuels up.	Pete looks blurry.	Greg arrives at Aid Station #5.

Mer at #5.	Marco at #5.	Aaron at #5.

Tina and her jugs.	Arianna at work.	They're done!

The next morning.	A Gun Show family portrait.	After breakfast.

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