Cranky Monkey- 6 Hours of RosaryvilleRosaryville, MD
June 19, 2016
This was our first experience with any SCORE/Cranky Monkey races. Joël and I had always heard good things about this race series, so on a last minute whim seeing we had an open weekend we decided to head down to Maryland for this race.
No camping was allowed in the state park where the race was happening, so after making dinner on the camp stove at a local park we decided our accommodations for the night would be to park in a local grocery store parking lot. Not a bad choice; quiet and dark enough to sleep well but we had an interesting neighbor; a one-armed man in a wheel chair. After chatting with him for a bit while out walking Cliff Joël learned that this man lived in a tent behind the trees next to the parking lot. Mental note to self- don't pee behind the trees next to the parking lot (which was where I had planned to use as my pee spot for the middle of the night pee.)Race morning we headed over to Rosaryville State Park to get our gear set-up for the race. Being that this was a lap race there was a neutral feed-zone area for racers to keep gear and where team racers would switch out riders. Joël and I were each racing as solo riders, we used this area to put up a table to set out bottles and food for the race. We figured each lap would take about an hour, so we could go by the table every 60 minutes and grab what we needed.
The course was about 11 miles of twisty, turny, smooth single track. When we arrived at the race, a fellow racer said to us "I am surprised to see the two of you here, this course is not the usual type for the two of you, there are no rocks". And he was right, but it's good to do something different every now and then. The "outer loop" as it's known to locals was very fast and flowy. The "inner loop" was a bit more technical, there were numerous log-overs, some bridges, and tight turns. Overall the course was a bit boring, but it was a well maintained course that was well marked and had some interesting moments. 
The best part of the race was the aid station volunteers. They were happy, friendly, and super helpful. One was giving splits to Joël and I about how far behind the other racers were; what a help this is during a race. Thank you for that!After 6+ hours on the bike, I ended the day first overall female and Joël second open male. Post race festivities included unlimited pizza and beer. Being that both of us were on the podium, we also walked away with beer.
-Jess and Joël
