Last weekend I participated in the 18 Hours of Fruita with the Stomparillaz, an informal cycling club here in Carbondale. The Stompaz don’t do anything by the book, and our team raced the 18 hours on Xtracycles. I initially went as support, as I don’t own an Xtra yet, (it was ordered yesterday in fact), but I was able to grab my female team member’s e bikes UK & number and do a lap (our 6-8 open team turned into 12 riders). Thirty-four minutes wasn’t too bad – it was the average lap time – for a 5.8 mile single track lap, especially as it was my first ‘mountain bike’ race, it was raining and I was on a bike I had never ridden before, let alone I’ve never ridden an Xtra before.
Couple things I learned about racing an Xtra:
1. Standing up on a climb isn’t recommended, as all your weight is in the front of the bike, causing the back tire to slip like nothing else. Not great when the front shifter is broken…
2. Sharp turns? Ha! This thing is like a semi truck. Need to take turns wide if you don’t want your tail to go off the trail and into a pile of cactus.
3. ‘Normal’ racers either stare at you in confusion or awe, but either way, are very encouraging, and I felt like a badass.
4. If you have fenders (which my borrowed bike did as its normal day job is a townie), mud is a killer. Take those puppies off!
5. Its hard to take yourself seriously when ridding a long bike, and so adding decorations like blow-up toys and flags and drums make it much more interesting.
Thanks to Over the Edge and New Belgium for a fantastic race! I’ll be back next year with my very own Xtra in tow. Now its on to ‘Bonedale Bike Week – our take on National Bike to Work Week, and in true Stompa-Style, will be filled with fun and crazyness.
