Columns: Flat Ahead

"No f-kin' way!!!"--Danish Michael Rasmussen as his rear tire went flat 7k from the finish, losing what looked to be an assured silver medal in the Elite cross-country race at Worlds

"Flat ahead, flat ahead!"--Thomas Frischknecht fans on the side of the course, letting their Swiss hero know what was going on

"You bring me the medal and I bring you erotic pleasure."--A large sign hanging from a tree next to the Worlds cross-country course

"Thirty years ago, you'd just kick the guy's ass. That's how you settled things...I've had people tell me my story sucked, but I've never had it blatantly stolen after being told it sucked."--Freelance writer Roy Wallack, referring to a certain mountain bike magazine that, according to him, said his TransAlp story wouldn't interest readers, but then used all his info to create their own in-house version

"I think it will be Tinker, followed by Rishi, then Eatough."--My uninformed speculation on the top three at 24-Hour Worlds, as voiced to photographer Roman Roth

"What about us unknowns?"--James Dover, replying to my above comment about two hours before starting his brilliant silver-medal ride at the 24-Hour Solo Worlds

"Who are you?"--Well-known race photographer Roman Roth's reply to James Dover

"I hear a clicking noise."
"Where's it coming from?"
"My bike."--Conversation overheard on a two-way radio between a solo rider's mechanic in the pits and the female rider somewhere out on the course

Dear Bike,
I received my latest issue of Bike two days after the WTC tragedy and I want to say I am not tough. I started riding in 1989, riding in the woods. I was tough. My first race was in 1990. I was tough. I trained, gave up a few favorite foods and beverages. I was tough. I entered the 24 Hours of Canaan race twice and we finished in all that mud. We were tough. I've broken bones, skin, bike parts, frames. I was tough. I've gotten engaged, bought a house, became a dad, gotten a "real job" and had to give up a lot of riding time and money. I was tough. Last Tuesday, firefighters ran into buildings to save lives of people they didn't know, only to perish. I'll miss my two firefighter friends Art Barry and Paul Keating, and maybe others. Those guys are tough. Me? I'm not tough. I just ride a bike. Rest in peace, guys.
Miguel Aguirre

Friday morning I'm riding home from an early-morning jaunt, and in an instant I see things swirling in the air. A striker from above flies underneath my glasses, hits home with a couple of well-placed stings and flies away. I don't know what it was, but it was big and mean. As a dull pain filled my head, I pedaled home and lay on the floor for an hour. As my face swells up and my eyes begin to close, I realize it is time to take action.

I call my wife.

She rushes home from work and takes me to the hospital. The nurse looks at me, says, "Yup, you're swollen," and plants me in a room. Luckily, it isn't too busy and a doctor comes in to assess the damage. Verdict? I1m hooked up to an IV for about 45 minutes. The sweet relief of drugs in my veins helped the swelling but I still had a puffy face for the weekend. The dangers of nature while riding a bike.

24-Hour Solo Worlds
I got hoodwinked into the role of support for a solo racer this past weekend (swollen face and all) at the 24-Hour Solo Worlds in Idyllwild, California. JBL/Trek's Chris Eatough is the man. He rode Tinker Juarez and Rishi Grewal right off his wheel (both riders packed it in before dark) with one helluva pace, considering the 103-degree daytime temperatures. Eatough did 22 laps on the 10-mile loop. Silver-medal honors went to 43-year-old Ellsworth rider James Dover. Dover did an amazing 22 laps as well, and came to within 10 minutes of Eatough by the finish. Gary Fisher's Mary Grigson took the women's solo gold with a tally of 18 laps, followed by Katie Lindquist (Moots). My rider? Shattered around 7:30 p.m. while sitting in an impressive 10th place. Just goes to show you, folks, 24-hour racing is as unpredictable as it comes.

2001 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships
Should the race go on or shouldn't it? That was the question of the week in Vail, Colorado, site of the 2001 Mountain Bike World Championships. After a delayed start, those involved agreed to go on with the show, a decision I think was correct. All but two riders were already in Vail (and they weren't leaving by any means), and at this point a distraction from nonstop CNN was welcomed by most. The mood was unlike any I've experienced. Rather than a competition between countries, it was a uniting experience that celebrated people of the world being together and participating as a friendly group. In the grand scheme of things, our little event was of absolutely no importance, yet it allowed everyone involved a chance to forget, just briefly, the events leading up to the weekend of racing. For many of you, mountain biking serves as a means of escape for whatever haunts you, and I thank the UCI and the Vail Valley Foundation for letting those of us in attendance at the 2001 Worlds escape the demons for a little bit each day. Friday's events were postponed so Vail could observe the national day of mourning in honor of the victims in the attacks. Riders, media, support crews and tourists gathered in the Vail stadium to mourn as a group. Most were carrying small American flags. In one touching moment, the entire Italian cross-country team had American flags mounted on their bikes. Though the mood was different, the chaos still went on. Here are 15 things I saw and learned during my week at Worlds:

1. People went to jail.

2. The UK's Rob Warner has a weird ritual: Once downhill practice starts, he doesn't wash the bike, his gear or bathe. In fact, he didn't even bathe come Sunday, a full day after the downhill race. His words: "I'm a mess, aren't I?"

3. I got to hang out with the Irish National downhill team. What a motley bunch of characters they are! I was kicking it with the best downhillers from Ireland, but they could have been any group of young downhill racers at Big Bear for an Amateur Cup race. Not a slag on their skills by any means-just an observation on their zest for the event, casual attitude and frumpy looks.

4. How in the hell did I end up in Vail the very night Nashville Pussy and the Reverend Horton Heat were playing at the 8150 Club?

5. It was a proud moment when American Alison Dunlap crossed the finish line, waving an American flag and earning her first set of World Champion rainbow stripes.

6. American Missy Giove knocked her head in downhill practice, knocked her head again in the seeding run and then completely torpedoed herself across the course in what was one of the hardest crashes I have ever seen.

7. Junior World Downhill Champion Ben Cory from Down Under was sporting a cast at dinner Sunday night, well after his gold-medal run. Seems the young Aussie managed to get his foot run over by the transport vehicle at the dual-as a spectator.

8. I was lucky enough to join the Tioga guys and Vandy from Smith for a "World Championship Dinner" with Nicolas Vouilloz and Ben Cory. Nico is soft-spoken and pretty nice. Cory is very quiet.

9. I spent way too much time with Canadian redneck Rob Hewitt over the week I was in Vail. He took a healthy digger in practice, racking his head good, but still managed a respectable placing in the low 501s in the finals. (Hey, the guy works full-time.) He was also involved in a freaky love tryst with a local massage therapist that saw her get arrested for DUI. Good thing Ben stays clean and sober. Turns out the cop was Canadian too and ended up chatting with Ben and fellow Canadian Dave Watson before wishing them a good night.

10. The Klein trailer was one of the first vehicles in the pits, but it remained locked the entire time.

11. Defending Cross-Country World Champion Miguel Martinez from France had a tough go of it in what was to be his last mountain bike race. "Little Mig" couldn't get to Vail until the day before the Elite race and had to ride a borrowed bike. He finished somewhere in the pack. Martinez has just signed a three-year deal to race on the road with Mapei, one of the top road teams in the world.

12. Maybe American Kirk Molday can learn from his fellow countryman Walker Ferguson about not giving up. Walker crashed hard on the start loop of the under-23 cross-country race and found himself shaken and out of the top 10. With a never-say-die attitude that gave him a Junior World Championship, he picked his way through the field to earn a stunning bronze medal. In the Elite race, Kirk was charging through the field looking for a good finish, only to suddenly pull out (something that isn't all that rare).

13. South African Greg Minnaar earned a bronze medal in the Elite downhill event, but a gold for big air. The likeable kid launched a huge downhill leap off the tip of a rock at the last portion of the Bud Light Bailout section (a section where everyone else went around the rock), turning it into something like a 30-foot double jump.

14. How about American Leigh Donovan ending a career with a bronze medal in the Elite women's downhill?

15. Overall, Americans had a great Worlds, so I better not hear anyone complaining about how our country isn't competitive in mountain bike racing.