First event that NMTA has had this year. Now, that I have Dave’s GasGas again, I’m going to see if this new knee is better at kickin that bike. I’ll just tell ya now, it ain’t! It’s worse, actually. I tried, well did actually ride a great deal on Sat with Debbie and she walked me through the sections. She also got others to start the bike after I struggled with it for quite some time. I had by the time we finished looking at all the sections, given up on the idea of riding the next day. There was just no way it was going to work.
Debbie suggested I find a minder. I didn’t know what that was or that it was really something they do. This someone who can start my bike, show me the lines in the sections, help with me bike placement, and give advice on how to fix the issues I had with a section. What a great idea!
By the time evening had rolled in, my knee was just wasted, I was sooo sore and tired, I figured that there was no way I was going to ride, even if I wanted to ride. I gave up on the whole idea of finding a minder, and just hung out around the various fire pits. It was great to meet even more people that I had talked with on FB and ADV. I did manage to stay up for a few more hours, instead of collapsing in my bed.
Debbie, being the angel that she is, found me a minder for the next day. I would have felt a bit better about the day if I’d had a bit more time in the am. She woke me up just 15 min before registration closed. Told me to get a move on they were about to start the day, and she found me a minder. No sooner had she told me, Matt showed up to find out if I was about ready to go, if I had gas in the bike and if he needed to warm it up. Dang!!! I still can’t get over just how helpful and wonderfully encouraging everyone is, it’s just amazing.
Even with the help, I still managed to give a few people heart palpitations with how I rode a few of the sections. I didn’t score nearly as well as I did in the beginner group at my first event. Really, I had no business riding beginner after that first time. So I was in Novice this time, once I figure a few things out, I will likely be to the point where I should move up again. For now, this is a good spot for me. Curtis did point out after I was done that the bike wasn’t really a good choice for me and that it (the bike) was suckin some (ALL) of the fun out of this. He totally right. So I’ve already sold the GasGas and am looking for a new bike. I think I have a line on a nice one… I’ll have to see if it works out.