Race avenue crit in Lancaster, PA. I had taken it easy this week as it was rest week; only rode twice, but did a few "jumps" on friday to prep for the race. I should've seen this as an omen but when I got my bike ready to go this morning I found that the front tire was flat. WHY I ever bought Conti Latex tubes is a mystery to me. Went to put the spare on and it doesn't hold air. Finally found a cheap, trusty, Kenda tube and was ready to go. I figured that maybe I should bring my spare front wheel "just in case". I get there in plenty of time and find a great spot at Franklin and Marshall college to park and warm up. 1/2 way into the warmup campus security informs me I can't park there, but is cool enough to let me finish my warm up.
I get done taking a shorter warmup so I can move the car. Get to the start and races are running late. Aaack. We wait about 20 extra minutes and FINALLY line up, me securing a primo front row start position.
And we're off!
2nd friggin lap I hear "pisssssssssssss" and guess what? It's me. Flat. Rear. I'm f*cked.
Fortunately a cat 4 rider sees my plight and lets me use his wheel. Also, fortunately, they "bend" the 1 lap rule and allow me 2 since it's just slightly over 0.6 miles per lap.
I hop on and ride like a madman to catch back on. Why the f%ck I didn't bring a spare REAR tire is beyond me. That'll never happen again.
A nice sized group stays away the entire race and we finish several laps in front of many. I hung on until the last stretch and the legs called it a day. I'm pretty sure I made top 15 so I'm pretty content with where my fitness is, esp since I'll be doing a 3 week killer session before cross starts.
Oh. And who said that roadies were all pricks? Much props to WHOVER it was that loaned me the wheel.
No comments:
Post a Comment