R.I.M.

An ecstatic exhaustion indeed. Many Emporians made the trip up to Landahl for 12 hours of Rapture in Misery. The morning started out great. After setting up the High Gear camp we decided to get a taste of what we were going to be in for. The trail was looking amazing as usual. I was elected to be the lead man on my team of 3, which means I got to do the lemans style running start. The run went surprisingly well as I was one of the first 15 or so on my bike. I held up towards the front for about 3/4 of the lap until the rear tire went low. I had a slime tube in, so I hopped off and gave it a shot of air. That didn't hold long, so I swapped tubes. Dustin went out next and had us worrying as he was not back when we expected him. Matt Day was also taking an exceptionally long time. We had learned someone had broken their ankle and feared it was one of our guys. Turns out it was Matt and Dustin had gotten help and then returned to Matt. Matt was rushed off to the hospital only to forgo surgery and return to the race to hang out. (He'll have the surgery on Monday!) 

This kinda sombered the mood for a bit. We tend to forget the inherent danger of this sport. With a few more High Gear members taking spills everyone was being extra cautious. Being a lap down our race was pretty well over. Which made it a lot easier to just go out and have a good time. After the initial lap everyone started having a lot more fun. It was a blast going out at night on this tough course. Matt Brown, Garret, and Steph cruised to victory in the coed 12 hour race. Randy and Keegan stuck it out and finished competing in the 3 person race with only the 2 of them! Way to rock it fella's! Mike, Dustin, and I still wrapped up 2nd place. Not too hard when there were only two teams. Most importantly, it was a fun day. Plenty of time hanging out with good friends and occasionally riding a bike. What more could you ask for?

I'll get the results and pics up as soon as I see 'em.