KindHuman Sports Cycling: Kindhuman CX Camp

Dear Adam,

I'm having a great time here at Kindhuman CX Camp. All of the other campers are really nice and they come from all over. Some people are from Washington D.C., some people are from Maryland, some people are from Virginia, and some people are from Pennsylvania. And my friend Uwe came all the way from New York City. My friend Blake rode his bicycle with all of his camping bags all the way to camp from Washington D.C. My friends John and Travis from Just Riding Along Bicycle Shop came to visit camp too. It's fun having my brother Matt here because nobody can tell us apart and we can play tricks on them. The first night was not very crowded. It was just a few of us and my friend Patrick had a lot of fun.

We get to ride bikes all day. It rained a lot on the first day and everyone was covered in mud. My friend Nate rode the course like it was a Slip and Slide. My friend Ellis hit a tree but he wasn't going fast so he was ok. It was hard for everyone to ride in the mud and people were falling and running with their bikes.

There are lots of really cool animals to play with too. There are dogs that play fetch and chase us on our bikes and my friend Sean said he saw a snake. He said it was wearing sunglasses but I think he was lying. At the camp next door they have a lot of animals and we can see them through the fence. They have donkeys, mini-horses, big horses, goats, and emus. The donkeys yell loud and we can hear them at our camp. There are some mean hornets. Me and my friend Ryan Dudek and my friend Ryan Carter saw one hornet eat another hornet in half. The front half of the hornet tried to fly away so my friend Ryan Dudek killed it so it wouldn't hurt anymore. There was a bee hive near the course and one of the Staff guys Mr. Mike poured gasoline on it to get rid of the bees. Later, my bike was near a bee hive and the bees tried to make my bike part of it's hive. They are fast workers. I think they like carbon. When I was playing with the dogs one day a stray cat was really mean to me. It bit me right in the arm and it made my hand fall asleep. I had to take a trip to the emergency room to get a ton of shots so I don't get rabies and die. I was mad because I couldn't ride my bike in the hospital.

When I got back to camp from the hospital, my friend Sean was buying a bike from my friend Greg. Sean isn't very good at buying things so when Greg said the price of the bike was $500, Sean rode it for 100 feet and then offered $600. Then my friend Nate bought a bike from my friend Sean!!! It had pink handlebars so it was worth more money than the one Sean bought. It was awesome! Just like a bike swap and it was probably better than Interbike. It was great to get back from the hospital to see it all happen. But even after that I was still mad that I didn't get to ride my bike in the hospital, so I rode by myself for a while and I felt much better. The course is twisty and hard. There are big logs that they used to make barriers and it's hilly too. When I finished riding I was sad because my friend Patrick had left because he was "crossed out."

The food is good. We get burgers and chicken and sausage and bacon and vegetables and burgers cooked in bacon and vegetables cooked in bacon. My friend Blake and my new friend Eric do not eat things from animals so they were not impressed. They just ate fruits and vegetables without bacon.

Night time here is fun because we sit around a fire and look at the stars. Some campers made fun of my friend Greg but they were joking and everyone laughed. My friend Ryan Dudek came on the first night and he brought a girl named Jen with him. I think it's his girlfriend. They showed up in a car from the Tour de France! I think it was one of Lance Armstrong's cars because it was yellow and it had so many bikes and wheels on it that I couldn't even count them. Ryan wanted to ride bikes at night so we put lights on our helmets and rode through the woods in the mud and the dark. It was foggy and scary at night and I hit a tree. But I wasn't going fast so I was ok. We stay up late around the fire and nobody cares. Matt is not good at staying up late so he fell asleep in a chair and everyone laughed. He woke up to say 2 funny things and then he fell asleep again.

The second day was not raining but it was hot. A guy with a HUGE truck showed up and I think he was the King of the Mountain because his kit had polka dots. He was looking for my friend Greg and when we said Greg wasn't there, he got in his big truck and left. We were nice and said he could ride bikes with us but I guess he did not want to.

We rode bikes all day and some more campers showed up. My friend Jim from Baltimore came and made us laugh because he is funny. My friend Brad came and he took Matt's bike and rode it around for a long time. My friend Sean hit a tree but he was not going very fast so he was ok. He was bleeding but he is always bleeding. Then a new girl came. Her name is Katy and when she showed up we all had our shirts off because it was so hot. She didn't leave right away so we were happy. She borrowed the bike with pink handlebars that my friend Nate bought from my friend Sean. She had never ridden a cyclocross bike before but she was fast and I think she liked it. After riding bikes all morning we had lunch and then we worked on some skills. We worked on getting off of our bikes, carrying them, jumping over a water bottle, and getting back on our bike. We all got faster at doing it.

Then my new friend Ryan Carter showed up. He was at a cyclocross clinic with a professional cyclocross guy named Jeremy Powers. It must have been a great clinic because Ryan's bibs had a big hole in the front. Ryan showed us everything he learned from Jeremy Powers. Even the Pro tips. We all rode bikes some more and we took some pictures. My friend Tim Day took pictures of us jumping over the logs. I took pictures of people riding through the woods and it was fun. The course was more dry so everyone was going sooooo fast. I saw my brother hit a tree but he wasn't going very fast so he was ok. I almost got a picture of it too. My friend Ellis never stopped riding his bike and he never put a shirt on either. He was crazy. My friend Ryan Dudek did a lot of wheelies and skids. in the afternoon, my friend Tim Chiang showed up and he rode bikes with us too.

After we finished riding for the day, my friend Greg showed up again. He had to go somewhere all day so he didn't get to ride bikes until we were all finished. When he was getting ready we SOAKED one of the corners with a cooler full of ice and water. Then we sprayed it with the hose to make sure it was really muddy for him. We rang cow bells, held out sodas, and put money in the mud for him when he rode through that corner. It was like a real race. He spilled soda on himself and he couldn't get the money. It was fun to do while we waited for dinner time.

That night we stayed up late again. This time my brother Matt did not fall asleep in a chair. My brother Matt, my friend Ryan Dudek, my friend Tim Chiang, and my friend Greg rode around the course that night. They rode for a long time and there was still money in the muddy corner that we made for Greg. Ryan picked it all up and he had $4. When they finished riding everyone got kind of tired. It rained again that night but it was not too wet in the morning except for the one corner that we made muddy for my friend Greg.

In the morning on Monday my new friend Will showed up. He is one of Greg's friends and he brought his own cyclocross bike to ride. We worked on riding bikes around corners and everyone got faster at it. After riding for a while we took a field trip to Just Riding Along Bicycle Shop in Laytonsville, MD. They have soooo much cool stuff there and Travis is really nice. My friend Jen bought a frame to use in the velodrome because she races there too. Other people bought little things and we talked about bikes. Travis gave out some stickers too. It was awesome.

The Staff here is awesome too. Mr. Mike and Mrs. Anna are very nice and they ride a bicycle built for two.

Overall the weekend has been great and everyone is faster now. I can't wait to race when I get over my rabies.

I Miss You,

Chad