Well, I just had that on Sunday in Zoar, Ohio. It was a good road course with 2 climbs. Not quite the climbs one would find in my home area of western PA, but they made you work and the second one finished with a nice kicker at the end that usually had people struggling. I wasn't one of those people. Everything seemed to be going my way. The other teams were watching me. I was picking moments to give the pack some punches and watch the reactions. I was staying in the front few riders on the climbs. I was eating and drinking as I planned. Each time the hills seemed to get easier. The pack was racing up to the turn towards the big climb for the fourth of five laps. We had 1 rider up the road at about 30-40 seconds. The rain had finally let up and I was thinking, its just about time to finish this one off. One good blast up the hill and then dumping it in the big gears and I'd bridge the gap to the lone rider ahead. . . .
One of the interesting things about Ohio is on the back roads, as in many areas of the country, they tar and chip the roads. Anyone who has ever had to deal with this nasty practice knows exactly what I'm talking about. In Pa, we use a small gravel stone which is a bit sketchy for control on the bike but all-in all, not that bad. Ohio uses this crappy slag. There's lots of broken sharp rock shards in this stuff and it might be good for filling in the holes in the roads, but if you're a skinny tire fanatic, it's best to avoid it or make sure you've got some heavier tires on. I've now been a victim of the crap twice this year. I went from thinking, 'Damn, I'm going for the win here and it doesn't look like there's much to stop me.' to coming a step away from renouncing religon and all other beliefs I have in the time it took for the air to leave the tire.
And to rub it in, no wheel van in site. So there I was stranded on the side of the road with one of the course marshall's who arranged for me to get back to my car. Damn.
Also, anyone who races should say thanks to the course marshalls and police who help us have our races. On days like this last weekend where most of the race was held in a nasty downpour, I wouldn't say no to making sure they had a hot coffee too. Without this help, many of our races would not be around. And no matter how pissy the locals might get about being delayed 6 seconds in getting their smokes at the local convenience store, try not to flip them off. You never know when you are flipping off the town mayor or his wife. It could make it a bit tougher to get the race course for next years race.
A Jr Devil made his appearance in Zoar, Ohio. Will he make it to the tour? Stay tuned.... New reality show? Hmmm, call ABC in the morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment