Coming Back for More

The 2014 edition of the Single Speed World Championships is less than a month away now. And just last week Dirty and I managed to herd all the cats together and finalize our plans for Alaska. However these things are never easy, or cheap. Plane tickets, hotels, bike fees, booze, time off work, condoms, costumes, more booze, inflatable animals, etc. But with each passing year the bar seems to be continually raised. It’s an opportunity for each new host community to showcase their best riding, and attempt to throw the best party. A gathering of the tribe like no other. I’ve met some of the strongest riders, wildest partiers, and created instant friendships that I otherwise would have missed. Doesn’t matter if it’s Worlds, SSUSA, SSAZ, or any other single speed event around the globe, here’s just a few examples of why we keep coming back for more.

Always a proper start line

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SSWC 2011 – Ballyhoura, Ireland

…..that occasionally involves a scavenger hunt.

Start
This certainly pissed some newbies off

There’s fireworks

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB-6I9w4duo&oref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DAB-6I9w4duo&has_verified=1[/youtube]

 

Ample parking at the bars

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SSUSA – Winona, MN

You get to play the banjo for old school legends

Dirty plays a tune for Jacquie at Worlds in Ireland
Dirty plays a tune for Jacquie at Worlds in Ireland

 

Hospitable accommodations

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And always a Derby or two

[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/98238141[/vimeo]

 

Serious competition to host the next year’s event

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Pixie Bike Race – SSWC 2013 – Conge, Italy

Because there’s stocked aid stations, and we get to drink 40’s and chug maple syrup in Vermont

aids
Proper nutrition

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MTb1Aa2gUY[/youtube]

 

The winners are awarded beer and tattoos

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Heather Holmes wins for the USA in Ireland in 2011

Proper attire is required

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Dirty will show up and race in his tighty whities

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SSWC – Napa 2008

Lots of great ideas in general

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My favorite story from a SS race has to be from Worlds in Ireland in 2011. After the bus dropped us back in Kilfinane from the pre-party and hosting comp in Limerick, a small group gathered in the street after realizing all the pubs were dark. Someone proclaimed “we’re not done just because the bar closed!”. And right as we turned for camp to pillage whiskey, a local kid stumbles out of the kebab shop and yells “ya lads looking to party?!”. He leads us back to his flat and opens a fridge stocked entirely with fucking Budweiser. Good enough, any port in a storm. As we proceed to empty his stash, this Irish dude pops a goddamn porno into his TV just to get the party going. No joke. By now I’ve made friends with the only other American in the group. She would later earn the name Kerry Coldhands by asking us; “I’ve always wondered, do men prefer cold hands or warm hands?” The answer of course is that colds hands are better than no hands at all. That night slowly faded to morning and I awoke half in my tent with a bottle Jameson I didn’t have before. Point is I’ve stayed in touch with Ms. Coldhands over the years and she’s become good family to Dirty and I. So much so that I’m officiating her wedding this October. It’s an honor I don’t take lightly. And so now when people ask how I met the couple I’m marrying, I get to say I met them watching porn and drinking Budweiser at a mountain bike race in Ireland. And that’s fucking awesome.

So off we go to test the mettle of the last frontier. I’m betting Anchorage will put up one hell of a fight. Based solely on the fact that this place is ground zero for the rowdy.Carousel

If you’ll be joining in on this impending clown show next month, keep your eyes peeled. We’ve got some tricks up our sleeve as always. See you in Alaska kids!

8 Replies to “Coming Back for More”

  1. Can’t wait to be meeting back up with ya for more drunk shenanigans next month!
    Alaska is my home-turf!

  2. Okay, what everyone wants to know is, is Cavey going?

    After all, it was his ancestors who settled the United States of America after making the approach from Siberia and through Alaska on foot.

    And as for Dirty lowering a sledge onto a perfectly good tall boy of PBR, without even setting his beverage down first… Well, I been tellin’ him for years to start smokin’ weed, it’ll mellow him out. He don’t listen.

    Rubber side down, brothers and sisters. I got 100 miles of gravel this weekend, my legs are pleased.

  3. Pingback: Coming Back for More | PEDAL CANTON

  4. I sure you will all do it justice. Drink one for me, right before the race.

    Buck SSWC 05′

  5. I sure wish I was going up there with y’all.

    At SSWC08(?) in Durango I hung out with a bunch of folks from Dallas who were insane. The night before the event was a big one, and when I darkened their door on race morning, one guy was sitting in an easy chair with a saline drip IV (one of their crew is a fireman/EMT) to break the hangover. 2 hours later he was at the start in a Flash costume drinking beers.

    The bar is set pretty high…

  6. You are a rock star Stevil!! Hot wife, coolest website on the internet and writing the best page in dirt rag. Year of the Stevil!

  7. Oh yeah this isn’t all hail the black market. Hee Hee! Just kidding. Love this site for many years.