Another two National Championships in the bag, plus a bonus visit with Miles and Judy

The last time I updated the blog was right before the July 4 holiday, after returning from Utah. A few days later, while normal folks celebrated our National Holiday with BBQ and ice-cold watermelon I was battling the airline gremlins in my quest to get to Philadelphia and our National Mountain Bike Endurance Championships. If memory serves me right, it was victimized by yet another flight delay because of mechanical defects that made me arrive late in PHL, one of so many IROPs this year that I have lost complete track of them.

TX NICA standout Samantha Campbell barreling through the
scenic feed zone at Bear Creek

After something like seven years (2015 to 2022) of hosting national championships that featured both endurance (crosscountry, four-cross) as well as gravity events (downhill, dual slalom, enduro), USA Cycling decided to go back to dividing its mountain bike nats into two separate events, at two different locations. As the Chief Referee of five and Vice Chief of one of these joined events I knew better than any other commissaire in the US about the complexities and challenges of such a huge undertaking. Just for the record, here are the years and events of my involvement (plus this year's marathon nats in September):

2015    Mammoth, CA                Chief Referee

2016    Mammoth, CA                Chief Referee 

2017    Snowshoe, WV               Chief Referee

2019    Winter Park, CO             Chief Referee

2021    Winter Park, CO             Vice Chief

2022    Winter Park, CO             Chief Referee

2023    Bear Creek, PA               Vice Chief (endurance)

2023    Mountain Creek, NC       Assistant Referee (gravity)

2023    Auburn, AL                     Chief Referee (marathon)    

To my knowledge, this track record is unequalled by any other commissaire on the mountain bike side, and I am rather proud of the fact that USAC has been placing such trust in me over the years. While the combined championships featured as many as seven consecutive days of competition with finals on each day, often in up to three disciplines simultaneously, both of the 2023 events featured only four days of competition each, with no overlaps in finals (if one ignores the last stage of the enduro that ate into the afternoon gravity finals). So, the complexity for the newly separated championships was definitely lower. (Comparatively, marathon—a mountain bike discipline—is as simple as it comes, with just one race at the same time, and that's it. Similarly, the now-defunct 24-hour Mountain Bike Championships that I chiefed back in 2011 were as complex as an amoeba and just required a lot of stamina on the part of the athletes as well as the officials. Left out of the above list are my five CR-stints at Collegiate Nationals, an intense three-day tour de force featuring four disciplines.)

All that being said, the two autonomous 2023 nationals were not a cakewalk to successfully manage and run for the two CRs, Julie and Uğur. The day-by-day schedules were jam-packed with practice, qualification and seeding runs, and eventual finals, with not much wiggle room left for the inevitable weather events. I have worked with both officials numerous times before and have been able to observe their growth into capable commissaires who are some of the best that USA Cycling has in its cadre. Having worked so many nationals as the guy where the buck stops it is not always easy to keep my mouth shut and take a back-seat and let others make the decisions, but I think I did rather well in that regard, and at times was I was embarrassingly glad not to have to face angry racers when the shit hit the fan.

Uğur and Julie in action

Overall, both races came off extremely well, but the tight schedules reared their ugly heads when the weather turned sour. That's not a CR's fault as the time-tables for the races are developed by USAC staff, who have to work under numerous constraints. So, no finger pointing (well, maybe just a little...). Torrential rains (accompanied by active lightning that closed the venues for hours on end and required shortened races and other amends) at both races meant that anybody involved in making decisions as to how to proceed was damned if they did, and damned if they didn't.

As always, it was gratifying to run into old racing acquaintances and friends whom I have known over this past decade-and-a-half at the top of officiating USAC events. These athletes see me and immediately think that I am in charge and can help, but often I have to tell them that their request is beyond my payscale this time around and have to refer them to someone higher up. Let me tell you, sometimes it is much, much easier to be an Indian rather than a Chief!

From left, Uğur, Vince, Chris, and Katsu inspecting the dual slalom course

Because of the long hours that we worked (at times we were on the job for 13 hours or even more, taking into account the hour-long commute to the venue in North Carolina) there really wasn't much time for socializing after the day's work was done. Uğur and I roomed at Bear Creek (turning our one-bedroom into a two-bedroom studio by rearranging one of the beds as well as the couch in our cramped digs), and one night we got a chance to drive to a supermarket that had an attached taproom; another evening we all went to the Anatolian Kitchen, a Turkish restaurant with whose owner Uğur is friends. That was the extent of socializing in Pennsylvania.

North Carolina was a bit better in that regard as we were staying in Hendersonville, just outside of Asheville, one of the US' top beer destinations. We were housed in one of the crappiest motels I have ever stayed in (some of the USAC staffers actually moved out because of the dead roaches and worse, but as commissaires we didn't have that choice unless we wanted to spend our pay on a different hotel), so once we got off the mountain we didn't want to spend any time in our rooms and went out to eat. I was able to add another four microbreweries to my list! 

While I had worked before with all the commissaires assigned to Bear Creek, there were two new faces (for me) at Rock Creek. Vince (from the Bentonville, AR, area) and Chris (Dayton, OH) turned out to be knowledgeable and affable referees who were a pleasure to work with; rounding out our crew were proven stalwarts Katsu and Vicki (and Uğur at the helm). My good friend Justin, who actually lives in Asheville, was at both races in the capacity of a "consultant" that USAC had hired, and we had a chance to knock back a few beers in our sparse off-time.

Races are races, and races in the summer on the east coast seem to be stiflingly hot based on what I have experienced this year. Really, that's what I remember most. I enjoyed working as a starter for all the downhill events (and the first enduro stage) and was pretty much hanging out at the top of the mountain where it was a little cooler than at the finish. In Pennsylvania I spent a lot of time staging racers for the crosscountry and short-track events as well as working in the various feedzones, slowly melting in the oppressive heat. Well, not every commissaire task is glorious, but they all have to be done.

When I was assigned as a late add-on to the North Carolina race just a few weeks ago I immediately contacted my good friends Miles and Judy who live in Franklin, just about an hour-and-a-half southwest of Asheville. I had visited them for a few days last year and come away with worries for Miles' general health; so, having the opportunity for a follow-up visit was a real bonus. Not wanting to spend an extra night in the roach-infested Cascades Mountain Resort (really, that was its grandiose name) I rented a car on Sunday after the conclusion of the races and drove to my friends' lovely home at Mill Creek.

Miles, a former Ironman participant who will turn 85 next month, is on oxygen pretty much full-time, but that hardly slows him down. Balance issues (and needing to schlepp that tank) have made him graduate from two-wheeled bikes to an e-trike, and he continually researches rails-to-trails routes that he and Judy (often with their friends Dave and Jane) can explore. Nope, he's no longer the sprightly triathlete who would stay with my Judy and me when he and his Judy would participate in the now-defunct Buffalo Springs triathlon, but he's still kicking hard, and it was a joy to see the two of them. 

During the three days with them at Mill Creek I got a chance to try out the trike, and I have to say that the thing is an amazing enabler. The Bosch motor has four different settings, and when selecting boost there's enough power to pedal up the steepest climbs in their sprawling golf course community. I rode for 12 miles, covering pretty much every foot of asphalted road available, and I came away grinning. Sure, the thing is a bit scary on the downhills, but to simply get out and ride without having to fear falling or not being able to get up an incline means that even advancing age doesn't necessarily have to mean that we have to give up what we love.

We spent much time talking, watching Tour de France stages, and eating excellent meals. However, the highlight of every day came at five o'clock when Happy Hour starts for Judy and Miles, without fail. Sitting with my friends on the porch, just a few miles away from the Appalachian Trail and on the fringes of the Nantahala National Forest, and sipping a few cold IPAs or going straight into Judy's stash of fine red wines was a true gift after these busy and taxing two weeks of races. 

Miles plotting yet another bike trip with Dave, Jane, and Judy humoring him

By the time I eventually left Mill Creek the weather had started to turn sour and it poured all the way to Asheville. My flights home were once again cursed by not just one but two defective planes, and American had to put me up overnight in Dallas since I missed my last connection into Lubbock. When I finally made it back to town twelve hours later than scheduled, I was glad to finally be home and get a break from what has been almost non-stop travel for the past several months.

Jürgen