A Little Shindig Called the Singlespeed World Championships
Originally posted on September 19, 2009 at 10:42 amThe Singlespeed World Championships are one helluva good time – an underground, sanctioning-body-free race that attracts badass dudes and chicks to come and ride and party together. One can have a beer with the likes of Marla Streb or Adam Craig at night, and then get dusted out on the course by both of them the next day. Of course, one may not recognize the many pros racing here, as they may well be wearing bikinis, capes or feather boas, or all of the above.
It just so happens that this year’s SSWC takes place in Durango, Colorado, the weekend before Interbike. So we figured, what better way to mix business with pleasure than to stop in at the festivities on our way?
Maurice, Justin and I left the office at about 9am Wednesday with a van and a trailer full of Interbike booth ingredients, swag, some singlespeed bikes, gear, and maybe a feather boa. Thirty hours later, we arrived safe and sound (if a little sleep-deprived) in Durango. We aim to make good use of our time by riding and hanging out as much as possible. Our esteemed web manager Jeff will be joining us, along with some of the crew from my adventure at SSWC08.
A group calling themselves Passion Productions (or the D9 crew…information is spotty) have been hard at work for nigh on a year now, preparing the course, planning various parties and group rides, organizing live music and bike polo matches, and generally making sure they will host the best gathering they can for the singlespeed tribe. There will even be live radio coverage on KDUR, the radio station of local mountain bike powerhouse Fort Lewis College.
The course promises to be brutal, with lots of technical sections and 4K of climbing, topping out at nearly 9000 feet. Some dude named Herb, in a comment on the SSWC09 site, said, “All of the east-coasters have no idea of the terror that awaits on the other side of this monolithic beast.†That sounds like a challenge to me. Were you at State College for SSWC05, Herb? Were ya, punk?
Moochpa guarded our travels, with the help of Boudreaux.