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The Chris Davidson diary
Chris Davidson is a former mechanic for Bontrager Racing Service, now in the service of Shimano Multi-Service.
Chris' diary entries will show you what life is like inside the pits and an insight into the mind of a mechanic.
NORBA National Series #4 - Mount Snow Resort, Vermont, June 17-20, 2004
Rain wreaks havoc
Day 2 - June 18
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Rain. It rained most of yesterday afternoon - and all night last night - and it was raining this morning when we got to the tent. The area in the tent where I usually have my workstand was under two inches of water. We got the Mount Snow maintenance guys to drop off some pallets this morning so I would not have to work standing in a lake. The race courses were even worse. By midday the rain had stopped and the process of drying out started. Bikes were filthy all day.
The traffic in the tent today was fairly consistent. Most of the bikes that came in for service had to be redirected to the bike wash. The Shimano guys from Japan describe testing machines used in the factory to test longevity of bike components. My boss Matt always says that they can't build machines that simulate what we see in the field. Today was one of those days that it would be hard to characterize the toll on components. However, even the best parts suffer big losses on days like today.
We worked today from 8am to 4pm. It seemed more like 16 hours. We ate tonight in the condo rather than going out. All of us were too tired. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to improve; I can't imagine it getting any worse.
Yesterday, I picked Geoff Kabush for the men's XC events this weekend. I also saw Roland Green pre-riding today. Here is my vote on the women's side for this weekend: Kiara Bisaro. She is back from Europe where she had some very solid results and she is starting to talk with some self-confidence.
I will be in the tent tomorrow at 8:00am.
Until then, thanks for reading,
CD