Jeroen wins first place in the endurance single speed expert event
at the Am Cup #2 at Big Bear
By Jeroen Bosboom
The second round of the Amateur Cup at Big Bear showed mountain bike racing in Southern
California still has a healthy pulse. The loss of downhill competition is regrettable given the
popularity and enjoyment it brings so many riders and spectators. The good news is that Super-D
has taken up some of the slack. When you consider that today's free ride bikes used for Super-D
are as good as or better than the dedicated downhill rigs of only a few years ago you can see
there's still good racing in this class. It's also really encouraging to see you so many young
racers attending the races and sustaining the sport. Make sure to let them know how much you
admire their effort and skill.
I've never ridden my single speed at Big Bear but decided to give
a go in the endurance event. It consisted of two twenty mile loops. Why ride a single speed
when you can have gears and go faster? Well I guess it's the satisfaction of reminding yourself
that you didn't need a crutch (gears) to complete the ride. Passing and finishing ahead of the
geared competition makes it even sweeter and the fact that there's less to go wrong and the bike
is lighter are all pluses. I had to remind myself of these pluses a few times when a couple of
geared riders slipped out of sight and into the distance! Oh well, the sky was blue, the weather
was just right and with snow on the surrounding mountains what more could you ask for? I guess
you could ask the racer in front of you to pull over but that's not likely to happen so you suck
it up and concentrate. Are you drinking enough? Eating enough? Are you carrying to many water
bottles you won't drink? These are all things you need to manage while trying to keep it on two
wheels.
I was fortunate to avoid any mishaps and make it to the finish in three and a half hours
and change. As I crossed the finish line the announcer said here's Ron Sawicki for the Warriors
Society! Cool! I hope I can stay under the radar a little longer. Thanks Ron! It was good enough
for first place in Expert single speed class. See you at the next round!
-Jeroen
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