ROCKSTAR!!!!!

I'm starting to wonder why I am the one who has put up the last two race reports? I don't really race mountain bikes, truth be known....I don't really "race" anything. I participate in various event, I socialize, I take in the sights, I get some exercise, I have a great time, and I learn new skills.  I'm not sure if these are the things that you readers really want to hear about . Oh well, no one is tying you up and forcing you to read this, so I guess I will just go ahead and babble since I am home alone right now, and Matt keeps telling me that part of my responsibility of being an AWI team member is to write about the races I play in.

So back to the original point of this post: rundown of AWI representation in the 8hr Rockstar Adventure Race. So for my second kick at the can, I joined forces with my brother (who is an experienced adventure racer), and tackled the Rockstar. We were racing under the guise of team Double Distilled. Is it fate, or just coincedence that my brother raced under that name with some other team mates in the past? You see, the taste for fine single malt scotch is something that both my brother and I are afflicted with. Keep and eye out next year, we may be flashing some Tartan.

Once again Sean Roper and his crew put on a sensational race. I can't say enough great things about the Storm series of races, if you haven't tried one yet, I highly recommend you do. The race runs like clockwork, the staff and volunteers are extremely friendly and helpful (including my most awesome fiancee Matt, who is responsible for getting lots of broken bikes running again, including one which kept throwing it's peddle off. Fixing this peddle resulted in a third place finish for the bike's owner (bet the 4th place team wouldn't be to happy reading about this!) To bad we didn't stay for the after party because there were a few people who wanted to buy him beer. LOL, it would have been pretty funny if he hadn't told me about the mechanical mishaps and the people who wanted to buy him a beer......when the first woman came up to him asking him what he was drinking, so she could get him another!

The weather for race day couldn't have been better, and Bark Lake is an ideal location for this type of race (both for racers and spectators). I could go through the race bit by bit, but really there isn't to much to say. My brother Kevin is amazing to race with. We had a great bike, no problems with the Nav (thanks to Kev's superior skills and experience), and fun bushwacking (which only left a few marks). The paddle left a bit to be desired, we haven't figured out if we kept pulling to the left because one of us is stronger on one side, we should have traded spots in the boat, the wind was working against us, or we just had a wonky boat. Next year I may bring my own boat and we'll see what happens. So for our first attempt at racing together, we finished last (as per AWI rules), but as per Storm's results we finished 4th....not to bad if you ask this newb. We'll be back next year for sure.  Just look for AWI, it will disguised as Tartan.

I believe that Andrew will be responsible for the next race report (see, you're not the only one with the password buddy!) That's it for me, until the Xterra duathlon at Hardwood next month.

Happy trails, Shannon