Back for my second year taking on the Mammoth TUFF. This is a 40+ mile gravel race in the heart of Mammoth Lakes California. Again this year I camped waking up in 35° weather, pretending I’m smoking cigarettes with the warm air exiting my lungs while I wait for my coffee to brew. This year I was joined by my wife and daughter which was an absolute blast seeing them waving my CaliDOMESTIQUE flag for me at the finish line. It was that extra little encouragement that I needed to keep going. Our first evening, a bear visited our campsite exchanging all my friend’s meat in his cooler for paw prints. After we got warm and started moving, we jumped in the truck to explore June Lake and then over to the village for packet pickup. The morning of race day, I struggled to get up in the cold, and what was even more terrifying was trying to slide into ice cold cycling gear. We left our campsite at 7:40am for the 8:20am start time. There was a controlled pace and vehicle lead out until we turned off the main road and headed for dirt. We were immediately welcomed with a grade that only seemed to garner more elevation. Once we crested the first climb of the day, we had a chunky fast descent. Me being me, I was trying to be super quiet at camp and closed the car door on my thumb. It immediately bruised up and was throbbing. The vibrations coming from the downhill was not helping my thumb. My right hand went numb and I could feel my heart beat in my thumb. But I kept going. This is where I lost a bit of time, but made it up on the flats. Any other course, the crushed gravel roads would be mundane, but any direction you look, you’re blessed with mountain formations anywhere you look. The last part of the section last year had a deep sandy area where it took a miracle not to come to a stop and walk your bike. This year, it was replaced with some fun single track before putting you back in the final road climb back to the Village. From the campsite to the village we knew what incline was awaiting us as we tackled the climb once again for the final time of the day. Once I made that final right turn towards the finish line, I immediately saw my daughter waving my flag. I almost didn’t even notice the flag because I was drawn to the biggest smile on her face. After we redeemed our meal and drink ticket, we rode back to camp and jumped into the jacuzzi for some much needed R&R. We had another lunch and then headed back to the village for some Mammoth Brewery IPA at GOMEZ Mexican restaurant in the heart of the village. Sunday came way too soon, and it was time to pack up and head home. We stopped in Bishop for some baked goods, and then caffeine in Line Pine before making our 4 hour drive back home. Thanks to everyone who supported me for this video and I can’t wait for the next one.