It's easy to say I had a good season with the outcome I had, but I really believe it was fun and succcessful regardless of where I finished. Thanks for the kind words John, we'll start it back up in 6 months or so.
Dear Sterling,
Here is my version. I have finally broken my silence as a "lurker" on the Brumby's web page. Jim Auwen not only is an awesome rider but he is not a half-bad writer so competition aside, let me see if my pen can match his.
I have attached a podium photo of Jim and I shaking hands.
It does me good to know that I was in Jim's thoughts these last 5 months at least as often as he was in mine. Having a worthy opponent that keeps you on your toes is a great part of racing. If you ever have such luck as Jim and I did to go back and forth like we did then good for you... it spices things up.
The stats before our final Flagstaff race:
Race 1 Mcdowell: Jim 1st place John 3rd place
Race 2 White Tanks: John 1st place Jim: 2nd place
Race 3 Estrella: John 1st place John: 2nd place
Race 4 Sonoita: Jim 1st place John: Did NOT attend
Race 5 Nova Nat John 2nd place Jim: 3rd place (this race worth 1 and 1/2 times)
Race 6 Prescott Jim 1st place John; Mt biking in Argentina. Did not attend
So as we headed into our final race Jim had beaten me once and I had beaten him 3 times BUT he had shown up to more races than I had and won those handily. In my second place finish over Jim's 3rd place finish at NOVA we both got beat by an outsider who was visiting from California and I got an advantage of a boost of points over Jim because that race was worth 1.5 times the normal race points. In the MBAA they drop your worst 2 races so after that exercise we were very close. Bottom line: we were entering the final Flagstaff race with his 338 points to my 336 points; virtually a dead heat.
Then I got beat.
Jim and I sat chatting at the starting line like amicable non-competitors and as if nothing was going on between us and then we noticed a mass of humanity ahead of us starting. It was like cattle starting a rolling stampede. No one heard them even say "go".
The old farts like Jim and I (50+ category) are always stuck in the back cuz they figure we will not run over people back there cuz we are too old. Problem is that they do not know how fast old man jim is. His technique is to blast to the front and then pick off riders of younger vintage like a turkey hunter picking off birds from the flock. My technique is to follow Jim and lick up his scraps then pass him when he makes the slightest error.
I never saw Jim after the first 5 minutes.
I am still trying to analyze the entire loss. He and I had the same peculiar "false start" and the same mass of humanity on the most technical terrain that Mt Eldon has to offer. We both sucked the thin air of Flagstaff whilst local talent that lives there beat us both (A roadie named Koss came in 1st, Jim 2nd and Robert Gooch, a Flagstaff native came in 3rd right behind Jim). We had a lot of similarites to suffer through.
The differences. He has a 29 inch bike and I a 26 inch bike. I am still wondering if it is time to move up the the big wheels. He is at least 6 ft 2 and I am 5 ft 10. He has bigger legs but I am lighter. I have only been racing 2 years and last year I was a mere beginner with minimal racing experience whereas Jim is seasoned and clever like a ... well like a wild mustang, (a Brumby?). I learned on the final race for example that when you follow too close on a technical course that if the guys in front have to stop then you do too. If you stop too long then a train of people come riding past you like a Macy's parade because they did NOT follow too close and could ride by what you had to stop for. That cost me dearly in this race.
At least 20 minutes into the race my rear tire began to rub the frame and the big nobs on my Nevegal tire sounded like a chain saw. I was afraid I would be pulled over by a ranger for cutting wood. This needless to say was a drag and drain on my speed and I slipped from 3rd to 4th to my final spot as a podium prop at 5th place. I think it is a broken axle... still waiting for the post-mortem from the shop. Jim had similar bike problems on at least 2 of the races that I beat him at.
My cumulative points allowed me enough cushion to stay in second place for the point series but Jim got the well-deserved 1st place in the Sport Category for the 50+ guys.
Jim is right. To pursue a point series is a huge investment and sacrifice. It is hard to make all of the races first off. Fixing, improving and keeping your bike running after the beating that Arizona off road courses have is a drain on finances. My wife, Jennifer, who took 1st place in the Sport category for women 19 to 39 races with me each race and we have 7 kids between us and 2 full time jobs so we often fought over who got to work out each day. (Obviously she won most of those arguments
)
But you know, at the end of the season, come win or come lose, if you can say that you raced with integrity, if you did your best and followed your bliss (your sport of choice) and if you have learned a thing or two and met new people in the process then you have become a better person. It was worth it. I was proud to share the podium with Jim and look forward to the next race we are in so we can finally have a tie-breaker.
Now that it is the off-season, if any of you Brumby's want to hook up for some off-road riding (including you Jim) then give us a call.
John Camoriano
Dear Sterling,
Here is my version. I have finally broken my silence as a "lurker" on the Brumby's web page. Jim Auwen not only is an awesome rider but he is not a half-bad writer so competition aside, let me see if my pen can match his.
I have attached a podium photo of Jim and I shaking hands.It does me good to know that I was in Jim's thoughts these last 5 months at least as often as he was in mine. Having a worthy opponent that keeps you on your toes is a great part of racing. If you ever have such luck as Jim and I did to go back and forth like we did then good for you... it spices things up.
The stats before our final Flagstaff race:
Race 1 Mcdowell: Jim 1st place John 3rd place
Race 2 White Tanks: John 1st place Jim: 2nd place
Race 3 Estrella: John 1st place John: 2nd place
Race 4 Sonoita: Jim 1st place John: Did NOT attend
Race 5 Nova Nat John 2nd place Jim: 3rd place (this race worth 1 and 1/2 times)
Race 6 Prescott Jim 1st place John; Mt biking in Argentina. Did not attend
So as we headed into our final race Jim had beaten me once and I had beaten him 3 times BUT he had shown up to more races than I had and won those handily. In my second place finish over Jim's 3rd place finish at NOVA we both got beat by an outsider who was visiting from California and I got an advantage of a boost of points over Jim because that race was worth 1.5 times the normal race points. In the MBAA they drop your worst 2 races so after that exercise we were very close. Bottom line: we were entering the final Flagstaff race with his 338 points to my 336 points; virtually a dead heat.
Then I got beat.
Jim and I sat chatting at the starting line like amicable non-competitors and as if nothing was going on between us and then we noticed a mass of humanity ahead of us starting. It was like cattle starting a rolling stampede. No one heard them even say "go".
The old farts like Jim and I (50+ category) are always stuck in the back cuz they figure we will not run over people back there cuz we are too old. Problem is that they do not know how fast old man jim is. His technique is to blast to the front and then pick off riders of younger vintage like a turkey hunter picking off birds from the flock. My technique is to follow Jim and lick up his scraps then pass him when he makes the slightest error.
I never saw Jim after the first 5 minutes.
I am still trying to analyze the entire loss. He and I had the same peculiar "false start" and the same mass of humanity on the most technical terrain that Mt Eldon has to offer. We both sucked the thin air of Flagstaff whilst local talent that lives there beat us both (A roadie named Koss came in 1st, Jim 2nd and Robert Gooch, a Flagstaff native came in 3rd right behind Jim). We had a lot of similarites to suffer through.
The differences. He has a 29 inch bike and I a 26 inch bike. I am still wondering if it is time to move up the the big wheels. He is at least 6 ft 2 and I am 5 ft 10. He has bigger legs but I am lighter. I have only been racing 2 years and last year I was a mere beginner with minimal racing experience whereas Jim is seasoned and clever like a ... well like a wild mustang, (a Brumby?). I learned on the final race for example that when you follow too close on a technical course that if the guys in front have to stop then you do too. If you stop too long then a train of people come riding past you like a Macy's parade because they did NOT follow too close and could ride by what you had to stop for. That cost me dearly in this race.
At least 20 minutes into the race my rear tire began to rub the frame and the big nobs on my Nevegal tire sounded like a chain saw. I was afraid I would be pulled over by a ranger for cutting wood. This needless to say was a drag and drain on my speed and I slipped from 3rd to 4th to my final spot as a podium prop at 5th place. I think it is a broken axle... still waiting for the post-mortem from the shop. Jim had similar bike problems on at least 2 of the races that I beat him at.
My cumulative points allowed me enough cushion to stay in second place for the point series but Jim got the well-deserved 1st place in the Sport Category for the 50+ guys.
Jim is right. To pursue a point series is a huge investment and sacrifice. It is hard to make all of the races first off. Fixing, improving and keeping your bike running after the beating that Arizona off road courses have is a drain on finances. My wife, Jennifer, who took 1st place in the Sport category for women 19 to 39 races with me each race and we have 7 kids between us and 2 full time jobs so we often fought over who got to work out each day. (Obviously she won most of those arguments
)But you know, at the end of the season, come win or come lose, if you can say that you raced with integrity, if you did your best and followed your bliss (your sport of choice) and if you have learned a thing or two and met new people in the process then you have become a better person. It was worth it. I was proud to share the podium with Jim and look forward to the next race we are in so we can finally have a tie-breaker.
Now that it is the off-season, if any of you Brumby's want to hook up for some off-road riding (including you Jim) then give us a call.
John Camoriano
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