Nats Day 2 AM Prologue

Erik and I donned our cold-weather gear to head to the course and spin out our legs. We stepped outside and I immediately knew I was under-dressed. I ducked back in to put on another layer. Aahhh, much better. The wind is biting but tolerable. We get to the course, and I decide to head to Neutral Support for a wheel true. While we're waiting, the Junior 17-18 race starts. The course looks like a quagmire: brown, sloppy, tons of grooves. But, it's immediately apparent that this is not the case as the junior phenoms pass the pit. Rider after rider hits the deck as their front wheels get caught in the FROZEN ruts. That mud is hard as rock. The course has frozen overnight. We hear from the mechanics that it was so bad this morning the officials took out the barriers for the early junior races for safety concerns. As we watch the juniors, we talk about spare bike strategies. The pit lane is grassy and free of any mud. We check with the pit official to verify what has to occur for someone to enter the pit. I get my wheel trued, Erik gets his Mavic hub adjusted, and then we head to the warm-up. We both get in half an hour of spinning. We switch bikes to see if they are sized close enough for either of us to ride as back ups. Surprisingly enough they are very close, though he'll have to get the feel for my Rotor Q-rings, and I, his SRAM groupo. We ride back to the hotel to eat and rest.