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After a six-year hiatus from competitive
circuit riding and only two weeks of solid training, I had
to think long and hard before loading the car on Sunday morning.
With over an inch of rain the night before, I figured there
would be a bit of mud to contend with on the course, but nothing
could prepare me for laid ahead. But, after buying my new
CrankRacing jersey it seemed only logical to get it dirty.
At 1030am, a half hour before the race, the
clouds remained thick and heavy and the wind was much cooler
than the promised 55 degree high for the day. By 11, we were
lined-up on the starting area and with talk of a deep river
crossing and my car only 100 meters away, escape still seemed
possible...
Moments later we were off and in my first
major mistake of the day, I let the main pack get-out in front,
but I figured I could make-up time on the course. However,
the narrow & frequent switchbacks, short steep climbs,
deep mud pits and a long line of riders did not offer much
passing opportunities initially. At major switchbacks I would
spot Rob or Nathan (hard to tell who is who) and at the end
of the first lap almost caught the pack, only to lose precious
time behind a group of aggressive, yet technically unskilled
riders who would fall and block the course, forcing all others
behind to dismount and attempt a running passes through knee-deep
mudpits. After 11 or 12 miles of frustration and inability
to pass, most of these riders began to fade.
 This
was were I made my second major mistake of the day - not pushing
the second lap once getting in front of these riders. By waiting
for the third lap, I had fallen almost 10 minutes behind the
leader and was in no position to make a move (nor in a mental
state to do so).
By the third lap, my technique began to slip
and 2 head over heel falls forced me to ease back a bit and
remain content with simply finishing my first race of the
season in one piece. Victory was far in front and injury too
close at hand (or that's my excuse). With only 2 or 3 miles
to go I spotted Nathan, who was struggling mightily through
a giant brick wall (mind you, he did a 60 mile road race the
day before!). I am sure he will get his revenge on those stone
masons next race. Overall, 13th place in my division, 2:44
and some seconds to ride 21.43 muddy miles - an average speed
of less than 8mph! Very slow going for everyone out there,
especially considering the division winner came-in at 2:30.
Congrats to Rob for the win and congrats to everyone who finished
this race in one piece! On to the Wahoo!
Thanks for everyone who cheered (and jeered)
for the new guy. I really look forward to the rest of this
season with the CrankRacing crew.
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