I could barely crack the Allen wrench to take my pedals off. Handlebars, axles, derailleur; they all hurt to loosen and disassemble. Reaching down to zip up my bike bag was the last of the painful process. I couldn't stop thinking how ridiculous it seemed to be traveling across the world to compete when my shoulder hurt nearly too much to pack my bike...
Rising to the occasion has always been something I have striven for. Watching someone like Ryan Dungey keep getting faster when everyone thought he had peaked and others had surpassed him. Stewart seemed too fast, then he caught up. Villopoto seems too fast for anyone, but Dungey keeps elevating every week and continuing to up his pace.
The examples laid out in other sports are my biggest motivation. Much like Pastrana or the many before me who have competed against doctors' orders, I had to dig deep.
It was scheduled to rain all week. Of course it was; it was Germany. As much as I hate to admit it, there was a little something in the back of my mind that was happy about it. I couldn't shut it up. If it rained I didn't have to ride. In this situation, when all you can think about is the pain, wanting to ride becomes having to ride. The toughest of times are when your mind is wandering and not actually doing. Focusing on nothing at all is better than the negative and we must always put ourselves in a position to do the best we can, to rise to the occasion despite the adversity because after it is all said and done you will never be satisfied unless you gave it your all. I was standing in my garage; not on top of the roll in ready to entertain a sold out crowd and 130 countries live on TV. I have to put my mind at bay and put myself where I needed to be - where I wanted to be deep down. Because everything is always better when you are sitting on your bike about to drop.
“
Come on Zader” I yell for my dog to come out of the hot, sweat inducing garage and back inside with me. I am quickly reminded of how righteous the trip I am about to take is. My living room is filled with boxes of freshly printed “Zink” Troy Lee Jerseys, boxes of Osiris shoes, fresh Oakley goggles and shades. I am going to the freaking X Games!
I had been riding my heart out for months. I hate “training” and foam pits, but I was forcing myself to take regular trips to Woodward Tahoe to learn everything I could. I was riding everything possible, every day. Sometimes from 9 am till 9pm. With new tricks and dialing in old ones, I was feeling better on my bike than I have in my whole life and confident to win. A month prior, I had surgery and suffered a leg problem just before Bergline. Even though I wasn't at 100%, I was able to make finals and secure my spot for X Games. My leg cleared up a few weeks after Bergline and I had my eye on the prize. It was riding every day, with the course preview to map out what I needed to work on.
I took one last trip to Aptos to ride with the McCauls at their pool jump in which they now have a boner log into. I learned fronties off it, dialled em' in and my mission was accomplished. The next day, the McCauls, Dusty Wygle and I went to ride a sand step up. I did everything I wanted to do and was ready to go home. The rest of the boys were still riding so I went back for another jump or two. I went for a holy grab, not an easy trick, but one I haven't messed up on in a while. In mid air my bars turned, but it wasn't all that alarming as I flew directly above my bike as I started falling toward the sand. It was just sand. Had it been dirt I probably would have tried to land it at all costs... I got tangled up in my bike and was propelled into the ground head and shoulder first. I have never hurt my collarbone or shoulder in my life, but I instantly stood up and started walking in a panic circle. Freaking out. Attributed to adrenaline, it didn't hurt, but I knew something was wrong instantly.
I felt a pop, tear and something in my body failing; the most sickening feeling in the world. It wasn't bad planning, prep, or doing something I wasn't supposed to. It was just bad luck. It happens and if it hadn't been 7 days before X Games finals, I wouldn't have stressed. The McCauls and Dusty are pretty much doctors when it comes to shoulders, as I am with knees. I had a pretty good diagnosis right away that it was a torn AC joint. After seeing my doctor and physical therapist, they confirmed a level 2 AC separation where the ligament is torn but not completely in half. Not a serious injury, but apparently more painful than tearing it completely...
After 6 days I tried to manual and couldn't even lift my front end up. The next day I went to the airport not actually believing I would even be able to ride. With a broken wing and a forecast of rain clouded canceled contests, my lady and I packed up and got on the plane.
Despite the forecast for heavy rain, my girlfriend and I were welcomed to Munich with a light sprinkle. As we got closer to the course we heard the forecast was looking better and better. It would be a shame for Slopestyle's first shot at the X Games to get rained out whether I was in it or not.
My first look at the course was pretty frightening. Not for the size of the drops, but for the size of the uphills. Did Enduro make it to X Games along with Slopestyle? I had been looking at the drawings for months. Even though it matched the drawings, this is not what I pictured. Somehow. Unfortunately, the final jump was canceled due to a scaffolding failure. However, the rest of the course did have enough size to scare off some hardtails. Slope bikes are the future and at least the first X Games catered to them. Sort of. The middle of the course was the only bad part. A jump that had to be moved in to even clear, an up hill into “
wackalite dish” a pump section and a boner log with a 3 foot drop. Besides the top drop to jump and the bottom drop, the course had came up short to the first Crankworx in 04... No matter what we determine of the courses quality, it is still the course we have to ride. We do what we can, then accept it and try to enjoy.
First practice, I rubbed on some Voltaren cream, took about 2000 milligrams of ibuprofin, had my shoulder taped and headed up the hill. The drops were a little too muddy, so starting from the landing of the first jump to clear the second, I sprinted through the mud and barely made it to the top of the landing. I could barely keep myself from screaming as I pulled up and caught a shock of the excruciating pain I would endure all week.
When I am on my bike I am a different person and problems seem to disappear. It wasn't the ibuprofen, the cream, or the tape, but the more I rode, the better my shoulder felt even pulling and pushing through the muddy enduro-slope course. It is the joy of riding with your friends, doing what you love and putting your mind in a better place that keeps us going and coming back for more.
Practice day two: rained out.
On qualifying and final's day Amanda and I woke up at 6, got breakfast and took a taxi to the event, not wanting to wait for a shuttle. The weather was holding out and sunshine was predicted for the whole day. Heavy winds were on the horizon and showing their dangerous head early. After watching the first couple riders do their qualifying run I decided to mellow out my quali run a little and have a guaranteed shot at the finals. After it was over I was surprised that I had ended up 3rd. I walked back to the top to my lady greeting me with tears in her eyes. We were in X Games finals with a solid shot at the Gold!
We all met back at the course a few hours later for an afternoon of mountain bike history. Along with a couple thousand sold out fans! We thought qualifying was just dead, but the patrons all jumped at the opportunity to buy a ticket for 30 euros for finals. Practice was going well and as I was fighting through the pain, we were all fighting through the wind. When the crowd was roaring and peoples TV's started turning on, the wind clicked on and started roaring harder. The first rider had the choice to drop and respectively decided to wait it out. The windsocks kept flailing and slowly everyone on top of the roll in decided it was looking like a big delay.
The more it's delayed, the harder it is to get started again.
Rheeder decided to take a practice run and nearly got wiped off the first jump from a direct side wind. He came back up with a smile on his face, amped!
 | I dunno dude, the crowd is nuts down there! We gotta ride. - Brett Rheeder |
After some deliberation, Semenuk and I took a run and although it was sketchy, we felt it and started to convince the other 7 finalists. There were few that would speak up to ride and many to speak up against it.
| To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men. - Abraham Lincoln |
We were the ones in guaranteed medal positions if it were canceled, yet the ones most eager to ride. It just shows what changes inside you when you are on your bike. Sorge and Claw decided to join in and Andreu, the biggest advocate of a wind free contest, was a bit tentative. Claw said to him, “I don't care if only half of us make it to the bottom, we are riding.”
| I don't care if only half of us make it to the bottom, we are riding. - Darren Berrecloth |
The concise motivational speech convinced Andreu it was not only the best thing to do, but we didn't have a choice. We weren't riding for ourselves anymore, we were riding for the sport we built from the ground up and has defined us as people.
We asked to run a 6 man final, but the organizers wanted the whole group and decided on another 2 hour delay, missing our TV slot, but hopefully everyone else will ride.
2 hours later there was surprisingly still a packed screaming crowd, yet the only to ride were the original 6. On a roll-in that marked the highest point in Munich, in front of the world, stood industry figures, producers and a group of friends ready to show the world what mountain biking is even with a sub-par course with sub-par conditions. I will never forget that dynamic till the day I die. It was one of the most memorable moments of my life. It felt like we were apart of a bad ass club or something.
It was bitchin'!
We all rode a bit tentative and people started dropping like flys. After the first run, Claw and Andreu were the only ones to make it to the bottom! Whether it was wind, mud or not, I blew both runs on the first jump and ended up 6th. Rheeder and Semenuk put together ridiculous runs that become even more retarded when you realize how hard the course was to ride... Even though I blew my shot, we gave it our all and did everything we could. The two on the top of the podium saved the day for Slopestyle and should protect our shot at becoming a regular in the X Games line up.
This is the story of my blown opportunity, but sometimes it is bigger than yourself. I love this sport and have been in it since the beginning for the sheer love of progressing and putting on a show for screaming fans. It is the hardest to understand after working so hard, riding through the pain and overcoming everything that has been laid out in front of you besides the run you came to do, but if you give it your all, there isn't any reason to be bummed about that. -
Cam Zinkthesensus.comView all images by Ale Dilullo from X Games here.
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