Paranormal Activities

BRAINS

This Saturday is the 2010 CRC Paranormal mountain bike race in Earlysville, VA. It's always a great 6 hour endurance race with beer, costumes, beer, camping, beer, and best of all - it starts at 4pm and is dark after 3 laps. I've done this race for the past three years, twice with Charlottesville Community Bikes in the shop category, and once solo. I'm not really that great of a mountain biker, so I've never made it more than three laps personally. Also, it doesn't help that I don't have a great light set for riding single track in the dark.

If you wear a costume to the race you are awarded a 2 minute head start. Last year was the first year that I went solo and decided to go all out on my costume. Swine flu:

Turn your head and cough.

I even wore a curly tail.

Charles wielding a sharp weapon as usual. Will as a Donnie Darko skeleton.

In 2009 I raced on my 26" rigid Scott Paisley mtb (to be salivated over on a later post). But this year I'll be converting my rigid mountain bike commuter into something viable. It has a 3 speed Sachs Torpedo internal hub in the back, two rings on the front, and a front generator hub to power a headlight. To convert my commuter I'm swapping out my slick tires and spring saddle to knobby tires and a racing saddle, adding another water bottle cage, and removing the rear rack, light, and fenders. This bike, too, is a rigid 26":

So tonight I'll be re-suiting my commuter for the race and rebuilding a rear mtb wheel for Chris. He has had the worst luck with spokes breaking, so I've convinced him to go with double-butted Wheelsmith spokes. They should be fun to build with.

If anybody in the Charlottesville is looking for a teammate that can drink better than he can bike, drop me a line and we can ride some beers together at the Paranormal.