More on the Mudslinger

By the way, that Mike Ripley puts on one heck of a race. Excellent support, a well-marked course, and a very respectable pile of schwag. For those of you who don’t realize just how much work it takes to get people to give you free stuff to give away at your race, it was impressive. Big thanks to Ken from Specialized, Thule racks, Cannondale, Redline, Ibex clothes, Arrow Racing, Peak Sports in Corvallis, and many other people who gave their time, their product, and their money so we could go out and race mountain bikes. Mike said it was a labor of love, and he means it. It’s not like you can make a good living doing that sort of thing. But you do get some really good karma.

If you did the Mudslinger, please thank Mike and anyone else involved. Thank the course marshals along the route, thank the cops who control the intersections at road races, thank the people who work the food/aid stations. Thank everyone who helps out. If all the promoters and their staff hear is complaints, we may not have any more races to do.

-Smack