My Evil Twin

Everyone has an evil twin - that little one that shows up the night before/morning of a big event and says "let's try this" - even if you've never done "this" before.  Most of the time, the results are fairly benign, maybe a little funny, but can be chalked up to a 'learning experience'.  And they make great war stories. "There I was..." - Nah.  More like "...and then I realized..."

Many of the examples are reminders of a cardinal rule of racing - never experiment on race day.  You train hundreds of hours to prepare for races, and then the morning of the race, your evil twin decides to try some 'superfood' one of your buddies picked up at the expo last night.  And you try to ride a 4 hour event on the stuff, even though you've never used it before, and didn't read the label to find out it has zero carbs and lots of caffeine.  And 3 hours in, "well hello, Mr. Bonk".

Some of my classics:

• My evil twin set my mountain bike wheel on the opposite side of my wife's car (where I rarely pass) and then driving 5 hours to a race.  Realizing at 9:30 at night that I have no wheel, calling home and asking my sainted wife to meet me halfway with the wheel - and not picking the right meeting place.  (I made it. I took 2nd. I had a lot of dinners to cook over that one).

• My evil twin decided to completely pull the saddle off the bike the night before the State Time Trial (I guess to clean it).  22 kilometers into the TT, I realized it was loose.  I kept it on the bike by periodically reaching under the seat and hand tightening it for the next 18km.  

• The day of an 18 hour canoe race, my buddy's evil twin decided it was too hot, and he should wear a pair of shorts with mesh lining instead of his normal gear.  Did you know that mesh turns into a cheeze grater after it gets warm and sweaty?

• My evil twin has, on several occasions, placed new tires on my wheels the night before a race.  *Usually* this is an OK thing, but on one occasion the tube got caught under the edge with very predictable results - about 10 miles in.  And with no support wagon.  And no spare.  And... And...

• Food is often a favorite of the evil twin.  Mine has, on more than one occasion, taken a free bar or gel from someone (usually a race sponsor) flacking their product.  Mostly there are no bad consequences, but once in a while, I've either come up short on energy or long on gas.  Either way, it makes for a miserable day in the saddle.  

• Holds true for ski races too.  My evil twin put my wax belt in my finish line bag so it would be easier to carry.  And it went to the finish line.  Which meant I was reliant on sponsor supplied food (see above) for 3.5 hours. 

• And unfortunately, evil twins don't just affect you.  Mine decided to use a binder I *never* use the night before the high school section ski meet.  Well, the athletes thought their skis were great - until the track softened up and their legs got tired.  And then, no more grip and no winning team.  

The point of these little episodes is to drive home the cardinal rules -

• Never experiment on event day - be it a race, a century ride, a canoe trip, or whatever.
• Always check your gear a couple of days before your event and then ride it before the actual event day.
• Have, and stick to a plan.  What you'll eat, what gear you need, where you'll stage gear, etc.  
• Last minute changes are almost never a good idea.  And if it seems like a good idea, it probably isn't.