stories from the Retro Grands
10 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in anxiety, bmx, fitness, humour, training
i’ve been a bit slack writing this up because, frankly, i’ve been a little distracted since, for one reason and another 
6 hours on a train with a backpack, suitcase and bike box and two and a half in a ‘Yundi after being picked up by a fellow rider brought me to the property where we were staying the weekend. the owner of the house and organiser of the meet had, sadly, had an accident at work a few days before and was hospitalised with a smashed hip, though he still kindly threw his house open to Gazzz and myself from NSW, the Reverend from Victoria, and two of the SA boys.
Gazzz and i arrived to deathly quiet,only to have it shattered by the unearthly noises randomly emitting from the couch. yep, sure enough, the Reverend was flaked out after his drive, and the SA boys were no-where to be seen. being unable to wake the Reverend and fearing his wrath should we actually achieve his awakening, Gazzz and i started unpacking the ‘Yundi and sorting bikes.
my bedroom had already been snaffled so i thought meh, sort it later, and started re-assembling Nicole, the Apollo i’d built for the day. Gazz was on the phone to the house owner, Daz, because two of the horses had somehow got out of their paddock and words were being exchanged between them and one of the other gg’s over the fence. the Reverend had by this time finally emerged from his coma, so the three of us coaxed the incredibly tall walking walls of horseflesh back to their proper paddock and locked away the little one who thinks he’s a dog.
back to the bike, i’d got to the point of tightening the bar clamps when the SA boys rocked up and the next hour or so was introductions, checking out bikes and swapping riding stories. then Mr Es went off to feed the horses, the Reverend and Gazzz went off to do inscrutable man things, and i was left with the other SA rider, BennyMac, still talking bikes and cars.
a half-dozen laps of the paddock later i thought i had my legs stretched and Nicole sorted enough and the bars in the right position. Mr Es and Gazzz went off to forage for food, and i sorted my room with the snaffler, BennyMac. once food arrived i started on salad, the boys naturally drifted out to the man cave/fire pit aka barbecue, and a few beers were had by all. the talk turned to more bikes, bike parts, riding, and food, dinner was consumed, and by 11pm i’d had enough and was heading for bed – we had racing the next day.
now earlier on, this young BennyMac had managed to get an arm around me while i was showing him photos on my phone. the boys had bailed out to the fire pit again right then, and i found myself being thoroughly kissed….very nice. cheeky and full of assumption on his part, but very nice indeed. so while i bailed off to bed alone, i woke up a few hours later to Gazzz and BennyMac still talking shite, and of course BennyMac hadn’t made provision for where he was going to sleep….so the next morning, tho nothing was said, there was much wondering going on as to exactly what sleeping arrangements had ensued…
an awesome, cool, foggy morning gave way to a nicely cloudy day that was perfect for racing. the organisational skills of the club members meant that the day ran smoothly, the track was a bit on the scary side but well-finished, the food was awesome, canteen staff cheerful as, and the show-n-shine made wandering around spying on bikes heaps of fun. many chats were had with various OZBMX members, it was great to put faces to the names
only hiccup of the day was Violet doing her crash dummy routine in the final. the club had called a long hydration break between the motos and the finals as the day was getting warmer. i’d been wandering about, hydrating, eating a little, chatting to various randoms, and hanging out with BennyMac. it was fantastic to have company on the gate and to be support crew for each other – i’ve always been my own worst enemy at staging, getting upset and panicky on the gate. i’d taken the pressure off myself, knowing here i was on a brand new track, on a bike i’d never ridden on a track, a size i don’t normally ride even. i was happy to just cruise around and stay upright. we had a mixed gate, two pre-teens, two former champs, and the rest of us…i was cruising along in 6th and 7th till the final, then i lost the plot. i’d stiffened up while talking Subies with a random, so i grabbed BennyMac and went for a roll around on the bikes to get the legs moving. once we were up at the gate tho, nerves set in. i’d scored the last gate, gate eight, and it was wet. stuffing about trying to get a secure grip meant that as the gate dropped, my front wheel twisted, and i came out of the gate at least three bike lengths behind.
cue Violet breaking her own rules and going as flat out as i could, determined not to be left behind. by the last berm i’d caught up with the last rider, pulled a swoop underneath her, and almost made it – almost. apparently she had a “moment” when she saw me coming and t-boned into me. i ended up with her bike on top of me, and tho we both scrambled to get back on and finish, she reacted quicker than i did and i came in last, still grinning like a fool all the way, nothing much hurt but my pride.
we finally got home that night about 9.30, trying to get Gazzz to stop talking for five minutes was an almost impossible task!
that night was packing up stuff for Daz against his extended stay in hospital, and talking more, a few drinks, and talking. bikes, cars, tracks, bikes…finally to bed, not much sleep 
and stressing about getting home…
back to reality, and exhausted and flat for the week. too many late nights talking on Facebook to BennyMac, too many late night phone calls. back on the Manik, clocking up the k’s and the confidence, this week i even tackled two hills that had been daunting me. rode in thru the self-opening doors of the shopping centre before i realised i was still on the bike, even 
that was a laugh!
so…i’m booked to fly to Adelaide for a long weekend of racing these daunting tracks of BennyMac’s, and to catch up with the Radelaide oldschool meet. now all i have to do, is to convince the man to come back with me and race Sawtell
