Dave Simmons

Afton and the "bike fund"

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. I'm just cutting back because I know that I'll have a bunch of winter/pugsley posts coming up soon : ) I can't wait for the snow to start flying. Speaking of which I better get registered for the Arrowhead. Registration is open so come one come all to the greatest race on Earth! Greatest that I've had the priveledge to participate in at least : )

Well I survived the 24 Hours of Afton. Only one crash, that wasn't too bad, and some numb thumbs. Try saying that 5 times really fast : ) The course this year was the best ever in my opinion. It just seemed to flow a lot better than previous editions. Still lots of climbing though. You're either climbing or flying down a rocky, rooty descent. Fun stuff. Anyway, I finished the race with 11 laps. I'm not sure exactly what place I got yet. Waiting for the results to get posted. I was in 11th place around the time of the finish, but I'm not sure if anyone went out for another lap or not. I don't think I was any lower than 15th if that's the case. Very happy with that result. Leaves a better feeling than 24-9 did that's for sure. The race went well for all Brown Bears. Trent surpassed his all time record for laps at Afton with 7, and Brian had 8 "just taking it easy" laps : ) Great job guys! A BIG thanks to our solo support crew of Tonia and Mario! Tonia is the best solo supporter around! It was nice to see Dick and Alane again too. There are some nice pictures that Alane took on the TBB blog. Thanks Alane! Here are a few more pictures from Trent and Tonia. As well as a couple I took. Enjoy.

Number 838 for the 8000 this year.

The VeloPlush saddle is the new must have Selle Italia : ) Very comfortable. Thanks again Rick! The new Anti-Monkey Butt powder sticker is a nice touch as well.

The best pit crew at Afton, "Sleepy Sally" and myself : ) I gotta get one of those winter jackets that Tonia has on.

Mario doing his best "Snoop Dogg" impression.

The number one 24 solo race tip - Sleep while eating : )

Brian was getting delerious in the middle of the night. He took off all his clothes to "cool down". Yeah right. He just wanted to show off those sweet thigh tan lines : )

Trent was enjoying the show! You never know what you'll get to see at the Team Brown Bear pit area.

They were both all smiles the next morning : )

As for the "Bike Fund" reference at the beginning of this post.... It has been replaced with something much much better : ) Look below!