If were friends on Facebook or Twitter you probably already know about my crash at Gaslight. On the last lap I was in good position and a guy from a certain team on the west side, that wears a like blue kit, and has 3 letters in their name, got nervous about riding over a pothole and took many of us out. My Garmins last recorded speed was 27 so I hit the ground pretty hard on the high side and was then ran into from behind. I was left with a nasty hematoma on my back and my hip was jacked up. I'm still dealing with the hematoma and according to the doctor I will for a while. The hip was a bigger issue and it was still sore going into Ithaca. I wasn't able to get off my bike and hop barriers. I took it easy though and by race day I was still sore but it was manageable.
Ithaca could have been epic. Training wise I was feeling strong. It was just a matter of how my hip would hold up. The course was great as usual and it even rained a little bit. With the new way they are doing the grouping I'm not having great luck with starts. In the cat3 race I didn't go off well but I was moving up in decent position. On the 2nd from last lap my rear brake jammed with sand from the sand pit. It basically stopped my wheel from. I quickly jumped off and try to fix it but by the time I got moving again I was getting lapped by the leader. I could only get the bike to roll a little bit so I pulled off the course because I still had most of a lap to go. In hindsight I should have just ran the rest of the course but I had mentally lost. Then I had signed up for masters so I was thinking maybe I'd still get a full race in. In practice after cleaning my bike off I rolled a tubular. I we back and forth about borrowing someone else's wheel and ended up taking someone's wheel. The pressure was too high so I dropped the pressure. I ended up lowering it too much and didnt have a great experience. Crashed a couple times and bent my handlebars. Decided it was probably safer for everyone to just call it quits. Not the day I had intended on.
At Waterford this past week I only signed up for the 3's for both days. Saturday I got my typical bad start but I was moving up pretty good. About 2 laps in I rolled my rear tire. I was pretty pissed but said screw it. I'm not quitting for this. I popped the tire back on and kept going. I ended up rolling the tire again but kept going. I finished the race 8th. Just happy to finish really. Sunday came but this time I ran file tread clinchers. I got my usually start but started picking guys off and felt pretty good. I worked my way up behind a Specialized rider. He made comments about my squeaky brakes. He was actually in the next category back but he was between me and 3rd place in my category. I wanted to pass him because I knew I was faster. Eventually he crashed right in front of me but that let the guy behind me pass both of us. I passed the Specialized rider and went after the other guy. He was in another category too but I needed to pass him to get to 3rd. I eventually got around him and got up to the 3rd place rider but I just couldn't reel him in the last 10 meters or so. I tried on the pavement but it didn't happen. I ended up 4th and that was enough to finally get a medal in Cyclocross. I've desperately tried for a while now and I'm glad to finally achieve it. I feel good about this season as long as I keep the mechanicals away. I've been working my team mates and they've been providing me some excellent guidance that has worked for them.
Next up Lower Huron, cat wait!!!!!
