What exactly does the SS stand for in SSWC?
Singlespeed?
Something Special?
Shit Show?
All of the above!
This year's Singlespeed World Championships were held in Port Jervis, New York- only 3 hours away from home. Not only a mere 3 hours from home, close enough that local singlespeeders from the New England and the Tri-State area might actually show up. In the past when I've gone to events like this abroad, I'd get a lot of maybes and excuses; my favorite was, "I can't go to Spain because I'm vegan". They've got vegetables in Spain Bro. Being sober, I often feel like the old guy at the party.
And show up they did! The registration was filled with friends and names I knew. Christine was even going to join me.
Stopping in Hartford precluded joining the fun ride on Friday, so we rolled into Port Jervis around
2:15 PM. We got settled at our AirBnB and headed downtown for the Friday night festivities.
First, we had to find our "mug shots". Dejay, the promoter had asked, well, demanded a mug shot from all competitors. When we got to Foundry 42, all flat surfaces were lined with wanted posters. To pick up your registration pack you must first find your mug.
Then on to the first round of the decider.
"Race Day"
We wake, eat, and roll down to town. Figuring all the number plates were the same and had no holes in them, we thought they were merely commemorative. Wrong. Good thing we were staying close. After punching holes in the numbers with a pair of kitchen shears we headed back down.
There was a neutral roll out and then Dejay had something special in store for us before we started "racing".
We were instructed to remove our front wheels and climb up the powerlines. We were told to all hold our wheels up. All of this was through what I believe to be a Fisher-Price megaphone, so a lot of information was missed, at least by me. There was a drone flying around, and I bet it will be some sick drone footy, but it has yet to be seen. At a certain point we realized the race had started and walked/slid down to our bikes. I took a leak.
I had put my bike on one side, and of course the race, as it were, was headed in the other direction. When I got to the actual trail, there was a line waiting to enter. We take for granted these trails are our normal. Shale, and rock, and leaves, and roots; that's our everyday. Our elevation comes in short bursts, not long drawn out grinds. This lead to the inevitable conga lines.
After about 5 miles, I was clear to ride my own pace. At pace, the Watershed Trails are an absolute hoot!
Riding my own thing, when I got to the beer stop, I just coasted through. Super fun descent back down. At the bottom, Dave, who had different costumes for every day, runs up, hugs me, and tells me he came in 6th. He asks me if I'm done, and I say, "I think so."
"Did you climb up this?"
"No," I reply.
"Then you're not done!"
That's fine. I feel good and have only ridden about 17 miles at this point, so I'm happy to keep going. Up the fire road, left at the guy playing a mandolin or a lute, and up an insulting hike-a-bike. Follow arrows, and I'm back at the beer stop? Okay, well, I know it's about 5 miles to the bottom from here, so off I go. I catch Christine just after the water crossing (are water crossings mandatory in singlespeed events?), and head back to the finish.
Between that confusion and the aforementioned megaphone, I definitely missed some information. A little more than 25.5 miles at this point, and 26.5 back to the Airbnb. Strava says I didn't ride with anyone. I guess my route was just that unique.
Later that night, we went to the VFW for a delicious meal, the second round of the decider, and the raffle. Round 2 consisted of chugging beers and shooting the cans with a BB gun. New Mexico, one of the Virginia teams, and Pennsylvania were in a three-way tie. All the prizes seemingly were won by people sitting at one table. I don't think it was a fix, because when new people sat at that table, they too would win.
Sunday we woke up to rain. Being wet for the drive home was unappealing, so we skipped the final round of the decider and the tattoo competition.
For me, this was the most fun Singlespeed Worlds I have ever been to. I only saw maybe a third of my friends, but maybe that's okay. Maybe part of the fun is the new conversations with people whose names I won't remember in a week or two?
