Boneyard Brawl race descends on Eagle
Dominique Taylor | dtaylor@vaildaily.com |
Unofficial results
Men’s pro: Josiah Middaugh
Women’s pro: Gretchen Reeves
Men’s expert: Damien Frasier
Women’s expert: Daniela Almeida
Men’s vet expert: Adam Plummer
Women’s vet expert: Dawn Vogler
Women’s vet sport: Sue Bardsley
Men’s singlespeed: Courtney Gregory
Men’s master expert: Richard Knapp
Men’s master sport: Rob Crawford
Men’s sport: Quintin Cook
Women’s sport: Ashleigh Brehbiel
Men’s vet sport: Mike Eastbrooks
Men’s beginner: Nolan Herzog
Women’s beginner: Michelle Wolffe
Women’s singlespeed: Tara Picklo
Clydesdale: Brian Reichel
Legends: Ron Gruber
Junior: Nathan Cook
Women’s never ever: Marcia McDougald
EAGLE — To clarify, the Boneyard Brawl does not go through an actual boneyard, and there’s no brawling, relatively speaking,
“Sometimes, it feels like you’re brawling when someone is trying to pass you,” Sue Bardsley joked. “Especially as a beginner.”
“I have to pass through the sport group and they were brawling a little bit on the downhill,” legends winner Ron Gruber said. “They were yelling at each other.”
In the Vail Beaver Creek Mountain Biking Series, presented by the Athletic Club at The Westin, which continued Wednesday in Eagle, the children always play nicely with each other. The slightly older and bigger children also play nicely, and when they don’t, they patch it up over a cold one..
And, yes, there are some bones up on the course.
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“That’s what probably gave my friend Alec (Hamilton) a flat tire,” Eagle-Vail’s Mike Flieg said. “He got a bone right into his tire.”
That’s not your average tire repair, people.
According to a totally-unscientific survey of the riders, the uphill portion of the loop was nice, but challenging. The singletrack down was adventurous.
The question was the number of laps, depending on one’s category.
“It was tough. It was a great ride,” women’s expert rider Tracey Head said. “I enjoy the course very much. It’s just challenging. I’ve never done three laps on it before. This year, experts start with the pros. It’s a little longer. It’s a good way to push yourself.”
Especially if you’re riding a hard tail like Flieg.
“On the first descent, I’m pretty good,” he said. “I can jump over things. But then when I’m tired, the second time, I kind of bulldozed my way through.”
Ouch.
Of course, after last week’s Davos Dash, suffering is relative.
“Davos is a painful sprint and it’s really about how your lungs feel,” Gruber said. “This one, you have a little more time to go your own pace and feel like there’s enough mileage that you don’t have to go out too hard.”
The series continues in 13 days with the Camp Hale Hup.
Sports Editor Chris Freud can be reached at 970-748-2934 or via cfreud@vaildaily.com.