Got to the race, registered all was well. I figured I'd stop by Howard's Bike Line tent to see if I could borrow a spoke wrench and a stand. Howard was my old boss when I was working at Newark Bike Line back in the day. I had noticed last week that my wheel seemed to have lost some of its tension. I figured I'd add some more tension to the wheel and what do I discover, but a spoke that is complete out of its nipple, YIKES! I'm surprised the wheel still fit through the frame. If you've never tried to get a spoke threaded back onto its nipple without taking the tire off, let me tell you that it is a big pain in the ass. Nothing like some pre-race stress! I guess it is typical for me these days.
At the start I kind of "sat" in the front half of the pack. The course was pretty fun. There was one pretty steep technical downhill and some yo-yo decides it is a good place to pass. Needless to say we tangled up a bit, yeah, I was not giving him any room on purpose. In fact, I was kind of pushing him off the trail, (I rode with the Ty Domi of cross for many years!). After telling the guy how dumb he was I let him in line. So, after the race Mr Incognito tells me he passed someone in the same place. No, I didn't tell Mr Incognito he was dumb, have you seen the guns on him?
Spent much of the race cruising with the same few guys. At one point Fort James comes blowing by me! He was rolling, you could say he was the ROLLMASTR!
After doing most of the 2nd lap with the same group I decided I was a little faster through the technical stuff (read not uphill). So, I launched a vicious attack into the woods. OK, more like I rolled by a few of the guys I was with, but I was no ROLLMASTR.
I was really riding well for the next 3/4 of a lap. I even caught Sean, a friend of Blaz and Jay's, and he started a minute or two ahead of me. The next 1/4 of a lap I spent fighting off cramps in my quads! Man that hurt, my right leg is still a little sore from the cramps. Maybe I should start stretching? It was also this time that Sean caught and passed me on one of the climbs. Oh well. I finished 19th out of 29 finishers, I think another 10 did not finish. Pretty good for not riding all week?
1 comment:
So, I can learn to use links just like you some day, huh? Thanks for the Lyme Disease lesson--did Lyme Disease exist when I spent summers at Grandma's?. Links can lead to good info.
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