The 49½ Year-Old (MTB Race) Virgin

By: Jeff “Sketchy Guy” Rezeli
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Starting this week, Fridays will feature bonus content from guest writers on the site. This week, we kick off with the first essay in a four-part series by Jeff Rezeli, where he recounts his early experiences racing mountain bikes. Enjoy, and stay tuned for next week's installment!
“So, if I sign up for a race, will you do it with me?” Apparently, that is how these things start.
Rob, an old friend of mine had posed the question. Now Rob is older than me, in his 50’s, and relatively new to mountain biking. His son had become a cycling nut on the college team during his 4 years away at school, so Rob got interested and bought himself a hardtail 29er and started riding the local trails.