Following race #1, I was a man on a mission. Nobody was going to slow me down except for myself. In reality, I had no control of any of this, but it was my mindset and I was gonna stick to it. Following a quick pre-ride (liked the course – had a nice, long, easy grinder of a climb that suited my ability), I started in 24th, had a good start, picked off a few folks, into the velodrome the first time, and then the clusterfuck happened. Someone forgot to move some cones for our race and people ended up all over the place – turning around, skipping entire sections, and some not missing a beat. Ultimately, the race was nullified.
Being one of the last to turn around, I was one of the first back on course. That put me in roughly 10th place, which I’d hold solidly for another couple of laps until I happened. Going through a muddy and steep off-camber section, I went down and dropped my chain. Unable to remount on the hill, I lost all momentum, which had been useful in shooting riders back up the long and slow climb following it. I dropped a good 15 spots here. The rest of the race went pretty uneventfully and I pulled in relatively unscathed (Heather was in attendance and pleased with this fact) in 21st place.
I’m happy. The name of the game is to make no mistakes. I’m clearly in 10th or so shape, I just need to stay out of trouble. Considering this was my second weekend on the CX bike this season, that’ll come. I’m away for next weekend’s race and then there’s a weekend off in preparation for the Halloween doubleheader in Bend so no racing for a few weeks. I’ve got a few bumps, cuts and bruises to take care of and the few weeks to train up a bit more are welcome; still not feeling like I’m back to road season shape, but getting there.
Comments
You’re one tough cookie, Mike! Proud of you.
Leslie