Winter Shart Tarck: Fin

Wake up Sunday, yoink the dishwasher outta the kitchen, toss it on the back porch... clean up the mouse doodoo left behind (ewww).  Legs still sore, finger still Popsicle sticked, weather outside looking dismal.  Not the way I wanted the last shart tarck race to go, but I get ready anyhow.  Remove the wood bits from my finger so I can fit my hand in a glove, put on all the clothes, ride over to the park.

Find the refreshments, allow myself one before the race... because... burrito.  Nothing really matters.  I only need to finish somewhere in the middle of the pack to hold onto my third place overall in the series.  No reason to make myself hurt or get more hurtier.

Line up at the front of the line with four guys that have bested me at one point or another (or almost the entire series), declare my intention to have no intentions... and go.

I'm into the woods in sixth place.  Fine with me.  I could sit here all day long.

Out of the woods, turn it up a bit on the gravel, and I move into second... and then slide back into fifth.  Mobley, Deese, Cardozo, and Dan all within reach.  I wish they would just leave me alone.  Let me suffer in peace with no hopes of doing anything spectacular.  I move up into fourth place and almost loose my shit in a sweeping gravel-strewn left turn.  If I fall to the wrong side and open my finger up again, I will not be amused.  Dial it back a notch.

photo cred: Mills

Somehow (I'm not really sure exactly) I get around Cardozo.  I'm sitting in third with Mobley and Deese still just ahead of me at a distance I should be able to close, but also convinced that they'd open up all sorts of cans of whoop ass on me if I do.  Look over my shoulder, check the gap back... it's enough that I can throttle down a little but not too much.

I give it a little on the second to last lap, keep my gap where it needs to be, witness Mobley orchestrate his death blow to Deese... I'm stoked that I didn't get caught up in it.

Finish third on the day, and fittingly third overall.

I'm gonna miss having shart tarck Sundays.  It was a blast this year.  My results were all over the place (4th, 2nd, 5th, 4th, and 3rd), but with poor tire/gear selection in the first race and then being sick in the middle of it, I'm all right with that.   Hopefully, I can build on whatever fitness I laid down over the past five weeks and not let it go to waste.

Time to heal up, install a new dishwasher, and prepare for the Fappening next weekend.