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August 5, 2007
Crash! and $20 Bucks
Today was the Campus Crit, the last Crit of the season and I was excited to race today. I did not get a chance to preview the course, but it looked very technical and those types of courses suite me. Especially when there is no major hill. With all the rain yesterday I was nervous that the roads would be quite wet, and they were. The course is made up of pretty rough roads and lots of man-hole covers that are great for taking a wheel right from underneath you. Neil, Andy, Brian, Jon, and Mike D. were all there. We had great representation. My goal again was to mix it up front, help my teammates and hope to have enough left in the tank to mix it up for the finishing sprint.
The first few laps were pretty tame. Everyone was simply just trying to get a feel for the roads and the corners. About 4 or 5 laps in as we came around the back side Jon was on front working pretty hard. I moved up to give him some relief and the next thing I knew I was a couple of bike lengths off the front. I wanted to test out how tight I could take the turn coming into the round-a-bout and going around the 180 degree turn just before the finish. Well, it ended up being a foolish idea. As I was coming out of the 180 degree turn and I started to pedal, I caught my pedal on the pavement and hit the deck. Luckily I slide out of the way of the oncoming field. I picked myself up, checked the bike and realized my rear tubular had slight rolled off the rim. I pushed it back in place, jogged up to neutral support and had the bike checked out. All good, and was given a free lap and was pushed out into the field as they came around again. I was a bit squirrely for the first few turns, but quickly settled back into the groove. I just wanted to stay in the front. I was sitting about 4 - 7 riders behind Andy for most of the race, trying to pick good lines and stay upfront.
As we came into the last lap there was a Cat 6 rider Drew who started to take the inside line and I thought he was going to go for it. When he did not, I rolled up to Andy and said, "Do you want a ride?" With the intent of pulling him clear and giving him a lead out until the 180 degree turn. I thought he said "go!", so I went. I put in a hard effort and as I came into the round-a-bout corner I looked back and there was no Andy. The field was 50 yards back or so. At this point I panicked. I did not know if I should sit up, push through, or what. I was not sure I had the gas to get me to the line, but I decided I needed to go for it. As I was coming out of the 180 degree turn, I could feel the pack getting closer. Then I hear that horrible sound of someone going down... I thought, there it is, I am clear, put in a dig and get to the line. As I passed the 150 meters to go I saw a Grumpy's rider come around me hard, I eased a bit thinking that I was holding on for second, and then Andy caught me just before the line and I got third. My best placing for the year. I figured getting 3rd from hitting the deck earlier in the race was damn fine by me. Once I crossed the line, I assessed my bodily damage and the adrenaline rushed out of my system and the pain rushed in! The bike is o.k., she has a few more scratches and needs some new bar tape. The rear wheel needs full truing, but other than that she is good to go. So the Loons finished up with 2nd (Andy), 3rd (Me), and 5th (Neil)... Congrats guys!
Getting passed just before the finish... You can see Andy coming up as well.
Coming around the back corner with Neil. You can see the road rash on my right leg! That hurt...
Road rash up close. I forgot how much this stuff stings.
Need a new pair of shorts!
For third place, I got $20.00 in my pocket. My highest pay day ever and my best placing for the year so far!
Posted by kermisch at August 5, 2007 8:36 PM