I had gone all in at that point when JHK toed the line 80 spots ahead of my lottery winning. By “all in,” I mean I had chosen, entirely, cycling as my destiny. My intention was to become a champion and that was possible in small ways. I knew my opportunity at collegiate nationals was as valid as everyone else’s. This gave me confidence to equalize it in thought. Everyone had the same opportunity and were starting, ahem, from the same line – eventhought I was 80 positions to thhe rear of JHK. I didn’t know what I had for talent, and I think I barely scratched the surface, but I was in it with all gamble. Back to JHK: His rise more or less began there in Reno. He was a known entity upon arrival and he was going to be, or already was a success on the national scene.
Jason Boles was the team manager for NAU Cycling. I love him for the work that he put out to make a bad-news-bears type of team from Northern Arizona University a possible success. He and others. My teamates were many. I believe there were 4 or 6 of us that flew to Reno, crew included. and another 6 and crew drove the 12 hour stretch as well. I flew. I was selected to fly because I had the second greatest potential out of the crew that year. The first potenial success was my teamate Pete Prebus. Everyone was motivated. And everyone was talented. We had the budget from NAU, NCAA and I’m sure other inputs to allow this all to happen.
I believe the original venue was in the higher elevations of the eastern Sierras to the west, outside of Reno. That venue was cancelled due to weather. The event was in the fall. The administrative crew out of the NCAA, the schools, and the teams themselves hat to adapt. The new race venue was called and it was going to be held in a local park which I believe was to the east of town. I think this was a sub-24 hour decision and change of plans for everyone involved and to my recollection there were scores of collegiate teams attending.
I’m not sure how the lottery was organized, but pete and I got selected or placed in the 80th position off the start. That was a deep issue and required an emergency approach, or it was going to become a conga line. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski line up in the pole, again by lottery selection. It seemed strangely advantageous for him. I digress. Hundreds of competitors were between us and first. The field start was a typical xc affair: a dozen wide off the start, and many waves behind.
The reality of the sub-24-hour reformating of the event implemented a compromise in the course. This was to my advantage. The course was now in a park setting (cyclocross). The hills were short. Unfortunately, minimal technicality. The course funneled into singletrack enshrouded by a sage ocean 100 meters off the start. 150+/- people had to cope with that. For many it became a parade. The start funneled. Everyone followed the spearhead and nobody was mooving(sic). I busted right. I was so furious and I had enough power that I blazed a complete fresh line through the 2 foot tall sage giving complete disrgard for any accuracy, and huck-a-bucking through it. I was fully outside the primary line everyone was shoving into. There was no line. Only sage. My chain did not drop. My tires did not flat. Tubeless was years away.
The event was about 1.5 hours if I recall. Multiple laps. Maybe 5? This was my perfect format nevermind the start. It was a cross race, no barriers, on mtb, so full moto in many ways on a hardtail (26!). Infact this event would inspire my pursuit of cross and I would become AZ State Champ in CX in the following years. Regardless, I simply blazed the entire course fueled by rage, and a deep knowledge of Moto. This wasn’t new. The rage. But for now it was hidden in good healthy competition.
Moto was my first passion and I had studied and trained in motocross for four years in southern California after wonderful childhood exposure to desert motorcycle riding in the 80’s. That formal pursuit of moto began in 1990 and ran until about 1994. I became a licensed expert moto rider and I maybe won, and at least got second in a race or two. But I was no pro. I had the support of distant overworked parents. I was a typical latchkey gen X’er most of the time. In the midst of my moto pursuits, I found mountain bikes as cross training and more suffering, and that planted the seed of my destiny.
What happens in moto is that you take, without question, any line you need in a race. Given any potential mishap might happen between you and another rider, you are still nearly obliged to take whatever line is required to pass your competitor. You see, this is fundamental competition. In fundamental competition the other person doesn’t matter.Or it is required they be eliminated at any/all cost. Moto does a pretty good job of getting to that, outside of MMA and illegal violence. And so in moto fashion, I made my own line forsaking both competitors and foliage of any kind. Where no person saw a line I made one. This might be arguable. But even my predecessor, Greg Herbold cut the course at the 1990 World Championships. Look it up. Everyone else seemed to only know to follow the existing trail whereas I made my own. Other’s followed me. In that interval to advance forward, I reasoned the probability of a flat was low. There were no thorns anyway, and so I smashed and I was never penalized. The start was critical.
Upon the later laps the XC sag grew, my head hung, we were in a park. JHK was in sight, just up the road. The interval was as hard as a cross race, and the format was laps-in-a-park and so it got old and became a drag out race of full gas for the entire effort. I believe the finish was unremarkable. We all slogged in one by one. I had established myself in second place after my startimng tactic of just violating the sage and making my own path, and passing scores of competitors all the way into the remaining meters. My ability to power through the small hills and stay on a high tempo carried me through. I was making up time. End of story, and JHK arrived in first. I wonder what his event was like. He had the pole, so it was probably a good tempo experience for him but I’ll never know. Still, in the end he was 3 minutes up on me and it seemed a stalemate. I could see him at various points throughout the course, but there was no time left. He was the head honch of the weekend given his palmares and he delivered. My cycling team out of NAU was a rag-tag bunch of fun geeks. Prebus arrived in 4th having the top four become: JHK, David Herbold, Alex Candalario, Pete Prebus. A pretty good stack bitd.
I must lastly mention the food fight. Imagine the weekend for a venue hosting 200 cyclists/crew? That requires a lot of volunteer effort. I have no idea but I’m sure those volunteers came from the hosting Reno college, whatever it was, and the associated colleges. I’m sure timing and scoring was a labor of love. I’m sure NCAA staff were there to lend a hand. None of this was recognized. After the event itself, the congregation of cyclists and support staff arrived at the awards banquet absolutely cashed and ready to be done. Awards were delayed. by hours. Idle hands began to wander. Heckles arose and bad jokes were told from the lectern that fueled the incident. Clearly and for the record Mike Dent through the first artifact. A salt shaker. I was terrified at this. Upon hours of results delay undoubtedly due to the venue change the impatience of the congregation lead to a complete mutiny in the banquet hall. Upon Mikes pitch of the first salt shaker, all tables were tipped, and a war was waged that lasted about 30 seconds. I ducked for cover. It was unbelievable. Food had been passed out. Ammo. I do not remember much else.
Jermey Horgen-Kobelski went on to win multiple national titled in mtb. I would continue on my path of confusion and variable success and collapse. Alex Candalario apparently has a shop in Hawaii after a good career in cycling, and Pete Prebus was quite the entrapenuer last I had known. He was formidable and jovial on the race circuit for a few years at least. I wonder who placed 5th.
*AI-free writing. Typos and grammatical errors preserved.
