Dirt Merchant: Happy Birthday to me!

I was a little undecided as to what to name this post. A few good titles came to mind, i.e. "Gettin' my kicks!" since my race number today was "66", "2nd degree MURDER!!!" which you will see the relevance of as you read on, but sounded a little too menacing, and the one I chose since yesterday was my birthday and I gave myself the best present ever.

I turned 29 yesterday, my last year as a "twenty-something" before I hit that milestone that suggests to some that they are no longer young. I'm not really worried about that. It was however my best birthday thus far for many reasons. The birthday wishes began the night before and continued all through the day with a few unexpected surprises. My day started with a ride with my boss on the cross bikes before heading in to work. It was as perfect of a November day as a birthday boy could have asked for. The woods were literally golden with the early morning sun shining at a low angle through the last of the leaves still on the trees boasting their most vibrant shades of yellow. Once at work, while receiving a birthday phone call, suddenly the lights switched off and a chorus of voices rang out to the tune of "Happy Birthday" and a candle-lit ice cream cake hovered through the darkness in my direction. I was as blown away by the kindness of my coworkers as the candle was after the making of my birthday wish. Later that night, I headed over to my Mom's house for pizza and, yes, more cake! Looking back, it seems that a diet of cake, pizza, beer, and cake is just what the doctor ordered for the day before a race.

I'm not really 31.

Everyone was in the birthday spirit!

Today was the First Annual Horseshoe Scramble cyclocross race hosted by High Gear Cyclery in nearby Warren, NJ. A special surprise was the attendance of my sponsor DeathRow Velo's creator, John Landino, whom until today was more of a pen pal than a team manager. I arrived early enough to chat it up with him and get a good warmup and a pre-ride of the course, which I was very familiar with since I helped create it and turned plenty of laps in the weeks leading up to today's race. I pre-registered for it over a month in advance, but still found myself lining up worse than mid-pack during the call-ups. For once, my mind was clear at the start and from the whistle, I just went to work picking people off. The course was very fast and didn't offer any areas where riders could take a rest from the intense pace. By the time the pack entered the first technical section, I had worked my way into the top ten.

Now, fully aware that I was near the front, I knew I had to keep the pedal down to make my passes stick. The cheers from my friends were all I needed to slay people as I overtook them over the barriers, around corners, and even on fast straight sections. I was hauling ass and my body showed no signs of letting up. As I passed the start/finish area (not sure of what lap it was) I heard the song "Panama" by Van Halen (for those of you who don't know, it's the song played in the movie "Superbad" when the cop is doing donuts in the police car) playing over the PA and it fueled yet another attack on the riders ahead of me. When the race ended, John was quick to point out that he thought I came in 1st. I didn't believe him, since I was sure there were riders ahead of me and figured myself to be no better than top 5. I went to see the officials and asked who came in first and they gave only a number (not mine) and not a name. I asked where #66 placed and they said 2nd. WHAT?!? I was so shocked, all I was able to say was, "I'm 66!!" with a huge beaming grin. I couldn't believe it! I felt I was killing it out there, but 2nd? I murdered them in the FACE!

It was really the best present I could give myself, a podium finish. Also, what better way is there to make a good first impression to your sponsor than to get on the podium? I also found out later that the leader and I did an extra lap because we were so effing fast, we were among the lapped riders as we came through the start/finish area. Unsure if the race was over, but given the impression by the cheering crowd, I raised the front wheel in true Nick fashion as I crossed the finish line. I know I say this all the time, but I really mean it when I say that THIS was the best day of my life!