Baptizing bikes in Jersey.

(photos: Ryan) I have alot to say, so let's make this organized.
1. "This is going to suck."
2. My 2 1/2 races.
3. Testosterone always sucks.
4. DanAction!, Natalie, Ryan, and Jen are awesome.

This is going to suck.
I really need to stop saying this at races. Just after suffering through the 40 degree pouring rain mudfest of Toronto, I find myself at a course with 2"-6" of thick, sloppy mud covering the whole course. In fact, because the pit was slightly less muddy, it was faster to ride through the pit and take a bike than it was to run through the muck on the course next to the pit. Every half lap, we would be dealing with bikes. Yeah, it was warmer, thankfully, but whereas Toronto had a nice pressure washer in the pit (though it ran out of water) this race had two hoses that we had to cross the course to get to. These hoses, much like Toronto, were hooked up to a tank and to prevent running out of water, only the HoseMasters were allowed to operate them. We rolled up bikes and stood there and watched while they did it their way... and decided what was clean enough. Lines were long. And the trip to the washer was about 40 yards... my 40 yard dash, every half lap.

My 2 1/2 races.
I was game-on starting with Sarah Kerlin's 1:45pm Women's UCI Elite field. It worked out really, really well since the women's field was half the size and gave me a taste of what I'd be dealing with for the men's race. With a sloped pit and heavy muddy bikes coming in, the downhill end was favored for riders but gave an extra 100' to run to the bike wash. So I set up camp at the bottom of the hill and resigned myself to the run.
The line was never more than 6 bikes long during the women's field, and the run was OK though I had to shoulder the bike coming back to avoid re-mudding it before handing it up. Sarah was farther back in the field than I expected, though, and another wrench said she had a bad start. At the first 1/2 lap handup she said she'd be dropping out, and we did two more exchanges (and two more 40-yard dashes) before I didn't see her again. It sort of freaked me out when she didn't come through, and I stood there, paranoid that I'd missed her, for two laps before I gave up.
Then came Ben's race. Some of the pro teams had brought trash cans full of water, which they were filling with buckets, to run the power washers they had brought along with the requisite generators. We could tell that the line at the hoses was going to be a problem, so DanAction! hustled up a bucket and some rags as an alternative and we all hoped for the best. The guys came through, the exchanges were made, I ran across the course and to the line... and waited, about 12 bikes in front of me. By the time I was back to the exchange lane, Ben was just coming in again. Crap, this isn't going to work.
The next lap, I tried to use the bucket. But the mud was thick, and I needed more water than it was giving, and I just couldn't get the muck out of the cassette. All too soon, Ben was back, and I wasn't ready. Dan turned around and called for the bike, I passed it to him and he did a slightly delayed handup, the only one I missed all weekend.
Word was flying around about an easy way into the lake next to the course, which was about 100' farther to run to but no wait. Next lap, I followed DanAction! down to the lake and threw Ben's bike in. Spin the wheels, splash the cassette, pick the grass out, and shazam! Good to go.
For the rest of the handups, I went to the lake, shin-deep, baptizing the bike. The other friendly wrenches going down to the lake giggled along with me. So this is what it comes to!
I spent most of the time next to Richard Sachs' himself, his wife with their dog in the pit in a backpack, and their teammates. Such nice folks.
Day 2, Sarah's race, Jen was helping out and the HoseMasters had a new system that made the line move faster but guaranteed we were all covered in mud. Instead of two stations with one hose spraying each, they had three guys at one station- a hose spraying both sides and a guy to hold the bike and spin wheels. The spinning wheels threw the mud right back on all of us... but it got us out of there fast.
Jen and I ignored the jerks and had a great time. We took turns making the run to the washer and things went really, really smoothly.

Testosterone always sucks.
Add to all this the sense that we were competing not just for space in the pit but also for space in line for the washers, and some guys got a little aggro. We tripped over eachother a little, and a few guys dealt with it in a most uncooth fashion, throwing elbows and ordering people around. As in, ok: "Riders coming in!" or "Look out!" Not ok, but heard often: "Get outta the way!"
This happened again and again. And on day 2 it was worse during the women's race, since a guy who had been a jerk on day 1 had four buddies drinking beer in the pit (talk about getting in the way) and then one of them got on a megaphone and shouted "Clear the pit!" Then they started daring eachother to say completely sexist and inappropriate things to the riders. Way to support women's racing.
Tripping over eachother became a real problem, such that during Sarah's day 2 race I was watching who she was riding with and taking note of where in the pit the other riders' bikes were. No sense causing handup traffic with three of us in one spot, so I was all over the place.
Oh, and let's talk about the line for that washer... two top-10 men's riders' mechanics decided they would skip the line. Without saying a thing. Look: if you're that good, if you're that pro, bring your own damn pressure washer! We're all in the same boat, some of us have been waiting a while and our riders are on their way in. Ugh.
90% of the folks in the pit this weekend were awesome as usual, helping eachother, trading stories, having fun. I just don't get why some folks get so tweeked up about things. Look, we're all wet and muddy and being a jerk isn't helping anyone. Leave the testosterone to the racers. Let's hope this isn't how Portland and KC goes. It's the camaraderie in the pit that makes the task tolerable and even fun at times, and it sucks how those dudes poison it.

DanAction!, Natalie, Ryan, and Jen are awesome.
When we built Ben's bikes on Saturday morning, as I feared, that Tiagra triple wasn't working. It was rubbing on the chainrings. Dan ran to his basement, came back with a DuraAce double, threw it on, and in 10 minutes we were outta there, bikes working great. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Dan had only met Ben and I at a race last fall for a few minutes, but he and Natalie, who'd never met us, still opened their house to us. So amazing. It was really fantastic to hear Ben and Dan talk about the bigger context of racing and life, and I enjoyed talking nurse stuff and bikes with Natalie.
Meanwhile, our good friends from DC Ryry and Jen brought us whisky on Saturday, joined us for dinner Saturday, breakfast Sunday, and Jen helped in the pit on Sunday. I miss them so much, it was so great catching up, and I really do hope they move to Chicago!
The results this weekend weren't good, but the friends we caught up with made the trip totally worth it.

...
I'm looking forward to a weekend at home, hoping things can slow down a little. I can't believe how things are just flying by. Where has the fall gone?