Free Baja Arizona!: July 2014

Shit show isn't a compliment

The bands were great, the booze was flowing, and the mosh pit was working. I did my part to help to help the Carousel Lounge start running out of beer - just as the SSWC 2014 competitors and hangers-on were expected to do.

I was even there for the last-call, 3:00 am instructions, which were to be back at the bar at 7:00 am. Home and in bed by 4:00 am, up with the alarm at 5:00, and on the event Facebook page a few minutes later. No word on the actual start time. And this is the point at which I stepped on my own dick.

Assuming this was yet another hipster/dive bar/pub crawl/punch card/bike pile/opening-act/side show, I went back to sleep. I got up later in the morning and went back on Facebook (have I mentioned I'm not actually on Facebook, and find the checking of it to be a tedious waste of my life?). This is when I learned from other confused (and, over time, increasingly agitated) non-attendees that the race had already started. I got my stuff together, grabbed a quick bite, and drove out to Kincaid Park to find the event over, and the participants (and empty beer cans) scattered all over. I rode a bit of the still-marked course but, fuming with anger and not exactly enjoying myself, I quit and went home. Fail.

I understand that in at least one of the past SSWCs, riders were separated from their bikes for a running Le Mans-type start. Not actually unusual in mountain bike racing, especially 24-hour events. Another time, the bikes were moved around before the run, forcing the riders to find their own ride first. Clever. And yet another time, the front wheels were removed, adding yet another mad scramble to the start grid. Great idea! This time, the event organizer chose to hide the race from what I understand was more than a few people. Dick move.

I was in Alaska for work. My head almost exploded when I was able to secure a temporary assignment to Anchorage just when the SSWC was going to go off. I've been through enough crap over the past 1, 5, and even 10 years that I was really looking forward to this. And now, instead of having had a once-in-a-lifetime experience, I'm left with a profound sense of disappointment, some really bad memories, and lot of ill will.

And while this whole situation is only a First World problem, I'm bent and I'm going to salvage it somehow. I've disputed the entry fee on my credit card on the grounds that services were not rendered. An actual start time - hell, even a range of start times - is all anyone deserved, and we didn't all get it. If I get any sort of refund, I'm going to flip most of it over to Singletrack Advocates, the people that actually put some real effort into the event by ensuring the venue was such a kickass place to ride [Edit: I did get my refund but fuck it, I went ahead and kept it.]. Then, I'm hoping to get in a ride with a local who raced the race and can show me the course (the course markers will be down before I can get back out there). I already have a DNS in the bag, and there's a very good chance I was going to be DFL, but what I cannot go home with is a fucking DNF.

More later, including photos from that pre-ride bash, where I actually had a genuinely good time just before things went pear-shaped. Stay tuned.

Soon

Being from out of town and generally overwhelmed by the underwhelming lack of information, I stopped by SSWC 2014 Headquarters early this evening to check it out in advance of the 3:00 am last call and what may also be the event start-time. Looks like your average shithole biker bar to me. Nice.