It’s over.
The 2012 Southern Classic Series has come to a close, and
I’m somewhat relieved. I had fun
“racing” all season, but I’ve also kinda had a shitty year. It was nice to see things through until the
bitter end.
The day started out earlier than I had planned, because
Little Miss Sunshine wanted to race. Her
wave went off an hour and a half earlier than mine, so I had to get up extra
early. I didn’t have a chance to make up
for my lost sleep, but the little lady and Lunchbox did on the way up to Wilkesboro.
Since I didn’t have to get ready right away for my race, I
got to watch the little lady get out there.
She was nervous for some reason, even though she likes riding the trails
at Dark Mountain
She took off slowly, but eventually worked her way in the
middle of the action. When we saw her
coming by, she was flying.
Photo credit:
Lunchbox
She ended up in fourth place for the day, and I was happy
that she put in a good effort. About the
time she got back though, it was time for me to start getting ready for my own
race.
I had a little issue though.
Shit. I had no choice
but to race though, so I lowered my seatpost a little bit to keep my frame from
breaking all the way. Because of this
small adjustment (and certain failure), I knew my race would probably suck.
I was spot on with my assessment.
We took off, and I didn’t do my usual “sprint to the lead”
technique. Instead, I played it really
safe, falling into the middle of the pack somewhere. With my misadjusted seatpost though, I was
having trouble getting any power out of my legs. Also, I was afraid to sit down too much for
fear of breaking my frame all the way through.
Because of this, I was already hurting at the one mile mark. A downhill section was coming up though, and
since I usually stand up then anyway, I knew I wouldn’t have any issues.
My kid was waiting on the side of the trail for me:
After that, another climb.
I let a few guys go by, and concentrated on just trying to finish. Every little creak coming from my frame
scared me, because I figured that the next sound I would hear would be the
sound of failure, and probably pain and suffering from a crash. I somehow held on the entire lap, and when I
saw the last section of downhill I knew I would survive at least one.
Once again my kid was waiting for me.
And I had someone else out there taking photos as I exited
the woods.
Photo credit: Eastwood
I made it through one lap, and I cruised through the start/finish
line for one more. My legs were hurting
because of my seatpost height, but I didn’t really give a shit at that
point. I promised myself I wouldn’t
quit, even if my bike broke into pieces.
The second lap felt a lot better, but I still wasn't getting all I put into
each pedal stroke. At least I didn’t
feel like I was out there all day.
The time was passing quickly (sort of), and before I knew it
I was coming down the last section…as fast as I could.
When it was all over, I didn’t even come close to the
podium. I ended up in 9th,
but I got some points towards the overall standings. When they announced the series standings, I
got called up to stand on the number two podium step.
When they announced the standings for the North Carolina
State Championships, they asked contestant number three to step down (because
he didn’t have an annual USA Cycling license.) Todd and I stayed right where we were though, and Jack joined us up there.
In addition to an extended podium stay, I won some shit.
In the end, I guess I did okay. I have more thoughts on my “season”, but I’ll
get into that another day.
I have beer to drink.
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