Well, as I’m typing this, Matthew Lee appears to be within only a handful of miles of the finish. I won’t succumb to the temptation to call his arrival too early, however, and declare him the winner just yet; after my riding companion Per’s accident south of Silver City on our last day last year (for those who weren’t paying attention, he fell off, knocked himself cold and had to go to hospital), fear of the curse of the commentator weighs heavily on me.
So, while Matthew knocks out the last couple of miles, a brief digression to catch up. First, apologies for indeed having undersold the story of Matthew having his bike pinched in Grants yesterday. I’d relayed it in amazement so many times – including to next door’s cat and to my baffled four year olds – that I think I just assumed I’d written down what happened. Cleary I hadn’t.
Anyway, to paraphrase the story as I understand it (as reported on the race forum), Matthew was eating a burger, watching his bike out the window, when an unsavoury character strolled up, stared Matthew in the eye and cycled off. Thankfully, the bike was recovered during a case through town and brought back to McDonalds, where it was recovered by Matt.
Also, I should apologise for being so mean about Grants. My impressions of it certainly weren’t great, but then again that might have been something to do with the fact it was preceded by 100 miles of pavement on the alternate from Cuba in 100 degree heat. Or the fact I’d spent most of that time watching Trevor and Per ride further and further away from me. Or the leg-threatening attack made by the hounds from hell in the reservation. Suffice to say I might have been a little jaundiced by the time I arrived. Read more »
