Kung Fu Byk Ride: Day 80: Durango Part II (aka Scorpion Ride!)

After biking thousands of kilometers, what better way to rest than to sign up for Durango's signature mountain bike race, El Alacrán (aptly named for the scorpions which are common to this region)? My year o' triathlons and century rides was enough racing for me so I decided to take it easy and do the shorter 40 km route and not worry at all about finishing with a good time. I was a little worried that racing my touring bike with no suspension was asking for some epic crashes. So I decided to treat the race like any other day of bike touring, chat with other riders, and take lots of pictures. In retrospect, I should have just done the 60 km route as I forget that the months of riding have turned my legs into little climbing machines... ah well.

The race start at the cathedral on the main plaza.

Hermanos at the start! Armando, Victor, and José, in age order apparently.

Because Victor seems to know just about everyone, I met a lot of the key players in the Durango cycling community, including the race director, and became an accidental minor celebrity in the process. I had jokingly asked the race director if I was the first Korean to enter the race in its six or seven-year history (the answer was "yes")... much to my surprise, the governor of Durango state gave me a shout out before the race start, and I got a lot of recognition from cyclists on the course. Even a couple of the volunteers recognized that I was the mysterious Korean cyclist and took pictures of me.

The guys in pink were impressed I was the one from Korea and gave me quick fist bumps before the start.

Chasing dirt.

The course was a nice mix of dirt road (60%), and smooth clean singletrack and rocky descents (40%) and it felt really good to just ride. I surprised myself by only having to walk two parts (one by choice, and one because the person in front of me ignored my yells of "pista" to let me run the course), even with no suspension. And the short steep climbs? Bike touring has definitely turned those into child's play. One great thing about participating in the race is that they clean the course for the race, so you get the best that Durango has to offer. I also appreciated having the traffic control and well-marked course as someone who generally gets lost easily and has never mountain biked in the area.

My first race with a cow hazard.

The first half of the course is one long easy climb... I say easy because after cycling the Copper Canyons fully loaded, I wasn't even winded at all on this climb. That said, the other racers were incredibly supportive, each giving me kind words of encouragement as we spun up the hill. I made a few people laugh by honking my dino horn in response.

Gorgeous morning views.

My not-so-artsy shot of folks coming up from behind.

I contemplated switching to the 60 km for a couple minutes as I chatted with the guys manning this post... naaaah, keepin' it easy going.

The loaner tires from the kind mechanics at the downtown Durango Specialized store were pretty awesome... no flats! They also did an overhaul on my hubs for almost nothing.

The dirt road finally turns into some nice singletrack.

The nopales are pretty, but the thorns are the bane of all the local mountain bikers.

Starting the rocky descent. I was surprised at how well my Troll handled this part. Everyone else was surprised I had no suspension... and that I was stopping to take pictures.