I Just Can’t Catch A Break!

Cyclocross season has been a lot of fun this year, but I just can’t catch a break. The Smithville course had a lot of turns, a lot a straight-aways and it really tested your fitness. Chris designed an epic course! I lined up with the Master’s Cat4 35+ and got a great start, solidly sitting in 3rd around the first bend off of the pavement starting straight. I was feeling good and had a lot of motivation, and then it all ended on about the 3rd sharp corner. I heard and felt a thud and my rear wheel would not move. I had rolled my tubular tire off the rim. I shouldered the bike and started to run the 1 mile back to the wheel pit to get my spare bike. Bill Anderson hollered at me to roll the tire back on the rim and ride to the wheel pit. I had not even thought about that with all that adrenalin pumping through me. So I stopped and managed to roll the tire back on the rim. In the meantime, the entire field had passed me and opened an enormous gap. Bill reminded me to take it easy through the corners and hammer it on the straight-aways. So, that’s what I did. I could never really develop a rhythm on the first lap and it seemed really slow, but I managed to reel in a few people before getting to the wheel pit to switch bikes. Then it was game on. I can’t remember a time that I have ever ridden so hard. I just kept pushing as hard as I could, eventually blowing up and having to ease up a bit. I ended up bringing back 10 people and finishing 14th out of 24 starters. My results really don’t reflect how hard I rode today, but believe me; I made up a ton of ground to get to 14th. I would have to say that this was one of my best performances to date.

I have been having a lot of bad luck this year; broken skewer, dropped chains, bad starting positions and now a rolled tubular tire. Chris called to give me a hard time and asked if I wanted him to look my bikes over. It’s frustrating, but I am really close to having everything dialed in. The broken skewer was do to a poor Taiwanian design, the K-Edge chain catcher will take care of the dropped chains, I am trying to make sure I get to the starting line early enough to line up in a decent position and the rolled tubular tire was the result of using an old can of glue. Hopefully after I re-glue the tires with fresh glue, I will be set. Stay tuned……….