Keith Bontrager at Singlespeed Worlds: Many prologues, one stage

August 22, 2005 - I had a day in Santa Cruz after coming in from Calgary and then I was off on the plane to State College, PA for some decompression and a bit more riding at SSWC05 [Singlespeed World Championships 2005].

Singlespeed worlds is a different sort of event. It's an endurance race with a unique character and format. In addition to the various associated social activities (many of which increase one handed fluid lifting strength, and later on in the evening, balance...) there is plenty of riding to do.

Check Hurl's report from the UK event held a few years back for background. As I see it, the weekend will be divided into stages, with many prologues and then the race at the end.

The first prologue for me was getting there. The weather in Chicago was going wrong and every air route in the nation going in that direction backed up. I was supposed to get into Pittsburgh at 11 PM. A two hour delay made that unlikely, and I was resigned to a hotel room in the Windy City. But when I finally got to Chicago they'd held the flight, and all of the other connecting flights in order to get as many people to where they were going as possible. Apparently UAL didn't want to buy 10,000 hotel rooms. Can't blame them for that.

See the entire diary entry here.