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Tuesday, February 12

Winter Shart Track Series: Race 3 + 1 = 4

In case you've lost track, let's get you up to speed. 

Barring misfortunes or miracles, the top three spots in the series in the 50+ class were set last week.  Even when I found out that this fourth race would be double points, the best I could hope for is to beat Deese in the final two races for a series tie. 

*sigh*

The weather is chilly.  The course is packed and dry.  My cold is (mostly) in my rear view mirror?  Mebbe.

Once again, I can't match the speed at the start, and I enter the woods in the fifth spot.  Mobley and his lap one blocker, Deese, cross bike guy from last week Dan, and me.  I get a clean run up the A-line climb, outta the woods, pass the blocker and the cross guy... until he opens up his skinny tired bike on the pavement and blows by me. 

Second lap goes down the same way.  Move into third for a moment only to get dropped back to fourth again.

photo cred: Dread
Third lap, heading towards the A-line climb... and Dan and his cross bike tumble just in front of me.  I see it coming in time, dismount, run up on his right side... get pinched in the trees and bramble... he's slow to get back in the saddle.  I lift my bike over his backside, drop it down on his left, and get back on faster than he can.  I put my head down, and now I have a gap and third place.

photo cred: Dread
Third place or last, doesn't matter.  Gotta slow down enough to get a Charlotte Bike Mayor $5 hand up.

I hold my spot for a couple laps, gain more ground on the cross bike... but then Cardozo bridges up to me.  He skipped last week, so points-wise, he's not a threat.  Dunno what to do.  Race hard, risk my biscuit in the gravel'esque turns, try to stay on the podium for the day?

I let him come around and try to hold his wheel.

Coming through the woods on the second to last lap, I'm still in striking distance.  Daniel (in the SS class) is between us.  I let him know I wanna come around soon... get too close to his wheel coming through the normally innocuous rock garden... and bobble.  Doh.  Just like that, I lose both their wheels, and my impatient effort to close the gap all too quickly puts me at the red line where I'd normally be recovering.

Cardozo isn't having any of my nonsense, and when he hits the gravel, he opens the distance up between us to a very discouraging place.

A quick look over my shoulder looking for bikes with gears or the cross bike.  Nothing.

Fourth it is.

And that's that.

So mebbe next week I'll be totally outta the woods with this sickness and go for one more podium in the final event or mebbe I ride my fun squish bike and shit and giggle my way to a mid-pack finish that will still see me on the overall series podium or mebbe I get sicker... ?

I've truly been enjoying the series and all the distractions it has to offer.  I'll be a little sad when it's over, but getting my Sundays back will be much buenos.  That and comparing last week's sick lap times to this week's not-as-sick times, early onset apathy mode was engaged from lap three all the way to the finish.

Finish with "Eye of the Tiger" or "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For?"

3 comments:

TJ Morton said...

Perhaps somewhere in the middle with a "Lunatic Fringe" finish? Channel your inner Louden Swain, Dicky! :-)

Anonymous said...

tiger

Anonymous said...

Good to read race reports where you are actually "competing/racing"! One of the main reasons that I started following your blog years ago. That aspect has been missing for a few years now.