TDS Enduro RAW!

I was decidedly giddy when I received an invitation to compete in this year’s edition of The Dirty Sanchez enduro. I registered immediately and would froth at the mouth every time I began to think about racing in what is universally regarded as the best enduro, and quite possibly mountain bike race in general, in America. I looked forward to a week in Northern California alongside my teammates and friends in Mason Bond and Adam Snyder, spending the time building up some proper fitness, and more importantly, enjoying some time on the heralded trails of the Sanchez property. Unfortunately, things changed. Adam suffered a gruesome injury while racing in the opening round of the EWS in Chile in March, and I went ahead and pulverized the left side of my abdomen 6 runs in to the practice day of TDS. With a hematoma that closely resembled an eggplant in both size and color, a cracked rib and a hip pointer, my racing ambitions were whisked away immediately. With the help of the doctors and nurses on hand to tend to those with poor line decisions such as myself, I was able to get a few flow and jump runs in later that day, but was in no shape to race in the conditions that would follow.

However, I had some cameras with me as we originally planned to do some insta-filming for Pivot and could walk and scramble, albeit with a clumsy compliance; so I decided to make myself useful and document the antics of the weekend. The rain would come and go throughout the 2 day affair, although more often than not it lingered, soaking racers and spectators alike. Not that it mattered much, as smiles were prevalent all weekend long. Several riders hit the deck, some harder than others, and by Sunday’s end, a number of DNF’s would occupy the bottom of the results sheet.

Don’t google it.