Gorefest 2009

It was a meeting over beers at the Old Port Pub months earlier between the group that was about to be announced as "Cogeyed" and Sportwheels that got the Cogeyed Gorefest cranks turning.  We were asked if we'd like to host the race in 2009.  Already scheduled for the weekend of August 8th / 9th, it didn't exactly fit my calendar perfectly as I was competing in over 100 hours of adventure races in the three weekends before hand!  But Mike "Konarider" Phillips was up to the task of performing the lion's share of the logistic work and by late July it actually looked as if we were going to pull it off without much of a hitch!

July came and went and in the final days before Gorefest our bands cancelled, I had a work week from Hell at the day job and our pre-registration hadn't quite made it to where we'd like it to be.  For a guy who doesn't normally get stressed, I was definitely a little flustered.  If we had any rain (for what would be the fourth year in a row!) we'd be in a lot of trouble.  Thankfully the sun was bright all day Saturday and people started to roll in.  A few minor course adjustments and markings and we were all set to enjoy the evening!

Again, I may have been the loud mouthed jackass with the microphone, but we HAD a microphone, lights, bathrooms, power, radios, land permission and so much more because of Mike.  If Mrs. Phillips is reading this, Mike made a lot of people happy that weekend... you should be proud.  And of course, Chris "CK" Kozanczyn... formerly known as "Replicator" was on hand to perform any dirty task he was presented with.  Chris... marshal the course in this remote, bug infested, fully sun exposed 100 degree spot for 24 hours!  Chris... lift all this heavy stuff and put it over there!  Chris...  fight the cows until they get off the course!  Hosting an event with anyone other than these two guys would compound difficulty exponentially.

Saturday's festivities started slowly without anyone showing up for the fast lap competition.  We weren't surprised, Saturday isn't about who is fastest... it's about having fun with friends, making new friends, and enjoying a great party.  Though Rheal's Cannondale lineup from Fitworks was very well received!  Quite a few people had a chance at some great bikes, and I suspect that C-Dale may have gained a few new fans!

What did we start the event with? A bike toss of course!  A quick announcement on the PA and the crowd started to form.  Clearly there were a few individuals who were waiting for this one!  Dozens of people gave it a shot, but it came down to three: Emmet Blois, Peter Burns and Rob Overmars.  Peter did his best to ward off the two seasoned farmers, but they'd been throwing hay, cows and city folk around their whole lives.  Emmet took home a nice prize for his hard work... scratch that, he made it look easy!  Good form Rob and Peter for trying so hard and having so much fun!

The events took off from there.  We did a 700 cc rim hula competition that inevitably ended up with participants swinging around there necks... VERY funny stuff!  Someone's girlfriend won once I convinced her to try... she took Arthur Delaney to school! Does anyone recall her name?  Make sure she brings a bike next year! Following that was an ad hoc wheelie competition that saw Brandon take the top prize.  His teammate Brandon also won the slow race that saw several heats and an exciting final where bike toss winner Emmet Blois just couldn't outlast the other Brandon!  (It was dark, and I can't remember which Brandon won which event!  The Brandons were Miner and Curry... I think!  Curry on the Wheelies and Miner on the slow race?)  Some naked dude showed up to the Slow race thinking it was the crit.  I won't name names but to his credit he still participated in the first heat of the slow race and didn't do too badly!

Finally we came to the night crit.  We had several heats of more or less the same guys in the men's division and it wasn't until Terry Tomlin showed up with a pimp bankroll for the winner that people started to take it seriously.  Jamie "Vo2Max" Lamb took home a Ulysses S. Grant for his winning effort.  Lola "ElleD" Doucet got herself a nice Sportwheels jersey for taking the win in the ladies' field.  After the championship round Tomlin opened the track for any fool who wanted to spin around and he threw out some sweet Oakley t-shirts for the folks piling up on turn three.

Sometime around 2:00 a.m. the generator started to sputter and people faded into their tents.  I set my alarm for 7:00 a.m. to start preparing for the morning registrations and the actual start of the race.  Sunday morning brought in all kinds of new registrants filling out at a total of just over 120 racers.  We'll take that!  We believe that the seemingly divinely associated rain has kept Gorefest from being the true event it has potential for.  With luck next year we'll double those numbers!

The race started with a blistering pace, with the top racers throwing down 24 minute laps... unconfirmed reports suggest there were even some sub 24 minute laps!  Though tragedy did strike early in the race.  Riders were being plagued by a hornet's nest somewhere in the latter section of the first loop.  I went down to inspect for about 30 minutes but all I seemed to do was get stung and make them angrier.  Shortly thereafter Mike Blois and I, armed to the pits with Raid and big sticks, went back to where he thought they were coming from.  He was right, literally inches from the course was the nest in an old stump.  We sprayed, whacked, sprayed, whacked, sprayed, whacked, got stung, cursed, sprayed and whacked until they were gone.  Blois / Lowery 1, hornets 0.  From there no one had any more trouble, and thankfully none of the younger riders were stung.  I'm currently nursing a right leg that doesn't bend so well on account of swelling from the stings!

One extraordinary mention goes out to Chris Foster who wore a pumpkin Halloween costume the entire race.  Between laps he'd strip it off and he was beat red and sweating buckets!  That kind of dedication got him a sweet Mace hoody.  Thanks for that Chris!  Ryan Lindh also wore a nice DAR cape, but it just wasn't a pumpkin costume... step it up next year!

The day wore on and smiles turned to grimaces at riders crossed the line.  The weather held beautifully, not too hot and definitely not too cold... again most importantly it was dry!  People raved about the course, and even through they were tired and sore, they were still enjoying themselves.  It was great to hear a lot of riders speak of their goals for the race as they crossed through the lap counting station.  Seeing someone work for a goal, regardless of what that goal is, is quite a treat. 

Gorefest is truly a unique event here in the Maritimes, and it can only get better from here. Tom Kavanagh put it best, everyone needs to bring a friend next year.

Results are on the way!