Chainbreakin’ Mom’s Day…

Trevor Pratt racing short track

Last weekend was Mother’s Day, or the Cascade Chainbreaker for the mountain bikers. I spent most of Saturday in bend enjoying the weather and the town, fish tacos, and it was off to bed. We got to the race in the morning and the place was jumping. Nice and sunny with a chance of rain. I shrugged that off left with shorts and sleeves again.

The gun went off and it was the usual Chainbreaker dust storm start. I decided to take it easy and escape the dust so I dropped back and watched the rest of the group choke as they sprinted for position. We had 38 miles, so I wasn’t too worried about the start. As we made our way through the start loop my back tire went flat, just in time! I pulled over to the side and watched everybody and their brother’s dog fly by as I got my tube and co2 out.

Of course this is the first time I’ve ever actually used the co2 before, and I can’t get it to fill my tire correctly before it goes empty and I’m stuck there with a half inflated rear tire. I figured I was done, but would at least I could walk to the finish area and see if I might find a pump. I found a pump after and decided to give the race another chance, maybe about thirty minutes late! What else could go wrong? Well, that’s when I noticed that it was snowing…

With a bad attitude and a late start I spent the next two hours practicing my trail etiquette as I passed the beginners and cat 3 racers. As I started my third and final lap, I knew there wouldn’t be any more of them to pass, so I focused on making up some lost time. Unfortunately, I was too far behind and didn’t see anybody until the final few minutes when I buried myself to catch my buddy Luke who had bonked and was pushing himself to finish. I crossed the line a second ahead of him, at 3:36 and second to last place.

The race was a bust, but the weekend was awesome and I still plan on coming back next year. Maybe next time without the lousy tubes in my tires. Thanks to www.notubes.com I have some new Crest rims so I can go tubeless! This coming weekend is the Spring Thaw, and I’ve been waiting a whole year to be able to race my home trails again and I am hoping my bike stays together the whole way!

Get off the brakes,
Trev.