Friday, June 20, 2008

Crashed? Cashed?

I've been procrastinating for some time on updates, mostly because my season has been crash and burn. Blog readership has no doubt plummeted! No worries, some scandalous smut here will boost ratings.
Lake to Lake injuries


No mind, in the past month i raced a BBC road race where i missed a decisive break and ended up in 5th (out sprinted for third,) the NICKERS? #1 race at Sprague brook was another sub par day, partially because of high pressure for fear of the flat, but Corey and I rode into 2nd (Corey) and third (me) within seconds of each other, and were beat by Doug Rusho. The last attempt i had on a race was Lake to Lake. Lake to Lake went well, ok last year but a wrong turn cost me 3rd place to 5th. Looking to best my 5th place from the year before i lined up on Sunday with 60 psi (for going fast) and semi-slicks (the course was supposed to be dry?!) I had called the day before to make sure it was dry, and the fellow in Canada assured me of it. Well, the gentleman was misinformed, because there were gator pits out there!
No, that is not my elbow.


The race started well, and int he first 20 minutes i was feeling fine in the top 5. A slick line down a hill shortly after put me down hard into mother earth, and trashed my left side. No worries, i had to catch them! Getting back on and starting to hammer i found myself with a flat within 20 seconds of the crash. Screaming in agony from the physical and mental pain, i changed the flat in a not so stellar 5+ minutes. The damage, however, had been done. My headset was now loose, and i must have dropped my tool somewhere back there!? Fellow wnymbite John loaned me his tool to tighten her up. Chasing is so hard when you are behind some not so great riders in 500th place. Falling, running, and jumping became the new black, and pain came along for the ride.
Broken. You have served me well.

The rest of the race included approximately 20 more crashes, and a sprint with a fat man for 66th place, although the results have him ahead of me (this is simply not true.)

The post race festivities never began for me, as Steve T and i were to ride back to the start (30+ miles) and retrieve his car. Torn from the possibility of my post race meal that i had paid $60 for, i picked my broken carcass up from the sandy bottom of the lake and got back on the bike. The following 2.5 hours were so grueling. vicious headwind the whole way nearly made our speed less than 10 mph, as i hid behind Steve for any kind of shelter. The only prize for completing (and getting second in) the first Lake to Lake to Lake was the sweet relief of Dairy Queen in port Colbourne. Ah, a twisty cone and Coke never tasted so good.

Despite these setbacks, today brought elation as i realized i am on the list and qualified for nationals!

So, today feeling about 75% better, i decided i had better do the BBC road race this weekend now that i have returned to the Red Door, but now Ingram Micro bike team! It should be fun, and hopefully give me some confidence going into the rally!