Southern Hospitality

I arrived at the Dirt, Sweat, and Gears venue yesterday afternoon, and Clay and Co. were already busy, busy, busy erecting tents . I found a spot, after a little deliberation, and set up camp. Hopefully I picked an area that will not flash flood when the thunderstorms arrive tonight. I rode a couple laps and determined that Stumpy will be my primary. She handled the loose rocky descents much better than Crash. And if it turns to mud, I am sure she will excel there as well. This course is very rocky and technical and most of it should hold up well in bad weather. The only part that will turn into a muddy mire will be the fields around the start/finish area.

Afterwards Clay invited a few racers up to his house for dinner. Including me! Amy, his wife, and their parents were there and treated us like royalty. Clay has a beautiful house with a beautiful view ... and his house backs right up to the course! Lucky dog! If I happen to have a bad race tomorrow, I just might head up to his porch and hit the hammock. I got to hang out with the likes of Rebecca Rusch, Rebecca Tomawicki-wicki, Josh Tostado, Fuzzy, and Dejay.

Today is all about rest and watching the SSUSA race, which ought to be a hoot. My crew is arriving this evening and as a couple are rookies, I will get to educate them in the art of "crewing."