2011 Boggs 8hr ..... After getting sick in Feb I was unable to make the trip to the Old Pueblo for my traditional start to the season. I stayed close to home and rode tons....when the event came I was a bit over cooked and went out really slow on the weather induced short course. I managed to get into a rhythm after getting lapped by both Danno from Sc and Yuri, who was on fire and riding with the anger of his wife being diagnosed with breast cancer. As many of you have realized, riding for a cause stokes the fire and inspires -all the while holding back emotions. I got schooled by those two as my bike started falling apart lap by lap. I ended up hollowing out some fsa carbon cranks...the pedal connection to the crank became wobbly once the aluminum sleeve bonded to the carbon arm came un bonded...given my experience dealing with bonding carbon to aluminum I should have known....nonetheless ...it done broke. Not to take anything away from Danno and Yuri they were much better prepared... Danno on his new Highball and jacked with honey and Yuri fresh off a new sponsorship deal with Specialized....both people I feel partially responsible for converting to 29er. Turns out Danno's confidence was low and he had entered into the open class which left Yuri and I for the "Pro class"..but Yuri had been also registered in the open class ....apparently registered by a co worker who mimic'd his previous years reg....which had no open class...yea he beat me that year as well. 2nd place...Whatever...it is actually a theme in my self mockery...the Claudio Chiapucci of ultraendurance racing. So anyhow despite them posting my result as a win they renegged it because Yuri picked up on the mistake....and had it switched...what gets me is that he would have won the open class as well so the only accomplishment  of him changing classes after the finish was to screw me out of a victory...kinda weird to me......  it really did not matter we both received a 26inch tire for our efforts and frankly after my efforts I was lucky to be near the podium. I was sluggish from the get go and finally warmed up like 3hrs in and started pulling back time on Danno and may have caught him during a longer race...who knows but he seemed shot after the 8. The pedal started loosening in the crank after 4hrs and had this whistling sound that had me dismounting on a climb or two to check it out ....it was pretty muddy and I thought it was a bent rotor or a loose bb ...but hyped up on the course I could not figure it out so I turned up the DeerTick a bit and tried to forget about it but as things wound up for me I realized I needed a bike switch...I was typically without pit support and this race was no different...in fact the bike swap would require a show swap to be compatible with the current pedal set up on the steel ride. So I went over it in my head to get it worked before I got to the pits but I changed the plan at the pit ,muy stupido,   a moment of indecisiveness...a neighbor jumped in to help but there was not much he could do other then hold the bike while I quickly thought I could fix the ti rig pedal thang....that moment of indecisiveness actually cost me another lap and as I rolled the hill to the start line the course had been closed ...it was good times hashing it out with Danno, Malia,Nick and Haley....we all left with rubber from the podium ...I hit the first in and out burger I could find on my rumblestrip drive home....rushing back to Tina and Ely is certainly one of my favorite things to do ...in this case I had called her to tell her about the victory but not yet called to tell her they renegged and gave it up to Yuri.  All week I remained pretty depressed from the situation and felt the drive to email Carlos the promoter to find out how and why it all went down the way it did...he was very gracious and apologized for the screw up and not at least taking the time to tell me in person...Dude been winning and loosing races for 20yrs...you should have a bit of respect...enough to at least TELL me before you go changing the results you posted so I'm not AS shocked when you read off the podium....whatever thanks for the 26inch tire.....thankin the Spokesman for the trade out.YEAH Potter 'preciate it.

Fractured

So the wranglings between IF and the Old Regime has left me with a garage full of Tyler Evans welded beauties and an indecisive start to 2011. Gary Smith has now taken the rains of his financial lifeboat and steered toward a more affordable New Hampshire. That being said the blood, soul and majority of friends have fractured into mostly unrecognizable pieces. Tyler and a few comrades have gallantly surged forward to form Firefly Bicycles without having to leave Boston. I'm left in the lurch until Firefly can design and produce a frame and ship it this way......May perhaps but I'm realistic and having spent the greater half of my life glued to the Bike Industry I know that means September for the Vegas show.......so I have planted some seeds with hope of continuing to race and travel. The interest is flattering but nothing happens quickly enough for me. I've been left riding some of the finest bikes made but with no support or acknowledgment. I have been paying particular attention to the ride quality of the T.Evans welded IF's and it is a comfort palace for me. I find myself wondering what these different Companies might offer that would ride as nicely....I'm pretty particular to fit and handling characteristics most specifically with my 29ers...I have been on one since 1999 when I ride Eric's pink If through the campsites at Dalton, Ma 24hrs of adrenalin...it took 2 minutes for me to realize these were my future. I was recovering from my 4th knee surgery on my left knee and had painstakingly duct taped my ass to the seat of my road bike just 3 months prior. My PT had released me from treatment with 20 degrees of flex-ion and I needed 120 to ride....after jogging in a pool and ripping some scar tissue I noticed I had some potential to get it back....I literally needed the tape job to break through the scar tissue and once I did that I would need more surgery to try to have it removed. I rode with an uncomfortable hitch for a bit but can now pedal well into the next day quite comfortably.....this leaves me happy ....my long debate has led me to ride for an old buddy Wright cycle Co. out of Flagstaff Az. Bryce has always been my biggest supporter and now that he is producing his own frames ..it seems a natural fit. I'll ride ti goodies from Tyler but a frame made by Bryce so 2012 should be the beginning of the unknown in many ways....I hope to start with my usual 24hrs in the Old Pueblo just outside of Tucson Az.