The only negative about the Rider's Meeting at the Pizza Ranch was the lack of hangout time due to the early morning start. We walked in just behind
Marko and
Jesse (who MW now refers to as the Darkness Twins) and found a table after ordering some food.
Jeff and
Mark called out rider's names and we'd step forward and grab our number plates and drop bag for the race. Afterword, I chatted briefly with
Paul,
Matt, Paddy and Dallas, and would have loved to chat more, but in the back of my mind I kept thinking about having to get up to be ready to race at 4am.
We bolted after the meeting and went straight to the grocery, Feista Foods. "I have a Feista in my pants," was said as we pulled in the lot.
Inside, I grabbed some sinus meds and poptarts, Sam grabbed some water jugs. As we walked through, I heard a "Snob" from aisle three and CreepyFriendly and the Darkness were doing a little pre-race grocery trip as well. (I think I saw a jar of grape jelly.) Unfortunately, it was a quick hello and on with the countdown.
We returned to our host house and started working out the details on our bikes. It was here I made two choices I would love to have back. One, I went with a CamelBak instead of just bottles for the first section of the race. Two, I decided to wear rain paints over my shorts and knee warmers. Sam also saved one of my wheels from a potentially horrible fate. Thanks again, Dawg.
I set an alarm for 2:30am and we cashed in for the night.
Back to the basement. The
Niner is still jacked.