If You're Gonna Play in Texas, You Gotta Have A Fiddle

in the band.

And if you're gonna race a singlespeed in North Carolina, you better bring your summer legs and not your pasty white, marshmallow soft, winter legs.

The 2008 Icycle was held at Fontana Village in Western North Carolina this past weekend and was stop number one on Duckman's World Tour 2008.

I had no expectations going into the weekend. I have been building a base since Dec 1 and haven't had my heart rate over 150 all winter. I lined up with the 38 others in the singlespeed class and was prepared to suffer like a dog for the next hour or so.

Veni, Vidi, Vagini ( I came, I saw, I sucked)

The start was a wide open LeMans sprint (I hate running) across a field to your bike and then back across said field to the first of many small but painful climbs of the day. It was fast and hard. I tried my best to settle in to a pace that was just at my AT and I guess I did ok with that. I had pretty heavy traffic to deal with in the first lap with some of the slower experts fading and some of the faster sports catching me (DAMMIT!) and a few of my own to race with, we had a jam at times.

After the first lap though, it thinned out a bit and lap 2 was easier to take as I was warmed up and becoming one with my first really hard effort of the year.

Dateline: Fontana Village Stalker Strikes Again

I cruised through the second lap and ended up 30th, right in the middle of the Women's Expert podium I think (I got chicked once). It's all good though. I didn't expect to much and that's about what I got.

It was fun and always a well run event.

My Vassago Jabberwocky performed flawlessly in what may be it's last race as "alpha bike". My Optimus should be here in time for the Cohutta 100 and the JW will be relegated to training, trail riding and maybe the occasional Cross race. I can't say enough about these bikes. I have flogged this one through half of last year, all through winter in some real slop and it just keeps on keeping on.

photos courtesy of Brado and Nancy