Back in 2010
@Dusty the Whale as the Cat 2 Singlespeed legend. He was the man of all men who raced on single speeds. I’m pretty sure he won the H2H series as well, but my memory is a little fuzzy at my old age. 2010 was my first year of racing Cat 2 SS. I was hoping I could one day be as strong as Dustin. Our paths finally crossed Sept 19th, 2010. The race recap is here:
https://jamespearl.wordpress.com/2010/09/19/cat-2-jungle-recap/ In short, I dropped my chain a bunch and really screwed the pooch. I let a good opportunity slip away.
2011 comes around and I’m focused to close the gap closer and closer to Dustin. Dustin is focused as can be too and we are both talking a bunch of smack all winter. Our crew is constantly badgering each other and dropping the hammer on our rides whenever we can. The first race of the year, Dustin races Cat 1 SS in Fair Hill, while me and
@capedoc race Cat 2. I hope to beat Capers and that is my main goal, and I succeed. I finish 11th of 36 in a stacked MASS field. Things are going well.
SSAP comes and this really is the Super Bowl of singlespeed racing. TL;DR, I come in 4th with a bunch of heavy hitters in front of me;
@GratefulRider,
@jShort, and another guy I don’t know but was suppose to race open. Wow, I’m feeling good.
Wawayanda comes and goes, I placed 4th and beat Dustin, again.
https://jamespearl.wordpress.com/2011/05/02/cat-2-ss-wawayanda/
Tymor, I experience my first podium and beat Dustin again.
https://jamespearl.wordpress.com/2011/05/15/cat-2-ss-tymor/
At this point, I think the pressure is taking its toll. Is the new kid on the block getting lucky, or is the old dog finally running out of tricks? I feel like things are always going my way, but maybe I’m wrong.
Rumors are released after Tymor that Dustin may be retiring:
https://www.mtbnj.com/forum/threads/dustin-smith-rumors-retiring-from-mountain-bike-racing.22150/
An old news article clipping:
DRV is tired of seeing their star fade down into the world rankings. Is the time coming where it’s over? This comes on the eve of a big endurance race, the Stewart Super Six Pack, a 6 hour endurance race at mtbNJ’s home court, Stewart State Forest. The fans are turning on Dustin, and suddenly I’m the darling boy of single speed racing at the Cat 2 level.
The Stewart Six Pack Recap is here:
Dont worry about the numbers for now, just keep collecting data and in the end we will make you a giant chart!
www.mtbnj.com
My bike up until this point was always setup as a dinglespeed; I ran two cogs in the back to make it easier to swap to different gears. I was still very much a noob at this time, and didn’t have all the tools needed to constantly swap gears based on the environment I was riding in.
On the last lap of the race, Flecknoe of Halters Cycles folklore helps me swap from a 34x19 to 34x20 by loosening up my chain and tightening it. It helps me finish the last lap of the race.
Now some can argue that this is against the rules, maybe it is. I don’t have the mtbNJ race rulebook handy though. Ever since that May 2011 day, this has been eating away at Dustin. Some say it is the dagger that caused Dustin to retire. Some say this simple gear switch ended this mans whole career. Dustin hung up his race fitness and got into riding fat bikes,
drinking coffee and scones, while I kept on the gas and still race at a competitive level today. Sometimes things like this come up and we can only wonder, what if? What if Dustin didn’t break his pedal, what if I didn’t swap gears? Could he be racing at the pro level still? We will never know.
I didn't proofread so hopefully this all makes sense. I hope you enjoyed this short recap of mtbNJ history. As always, hear to answer any questions!
