What is thy bidding, my master?
The fact that I dropped my chain at the beginning of my race
on Sunday really pissed me off, since I was feeling pretty good about my
chances out there. I had to keep going
though, and keep going is what I did. After getting the chain right I
hopped back on the bike and pedaled my ass off, and slowly started reeling in
the people in my class. I was riding
like I’ve never ridden before.
One by one, I was picking them off. I would get behind one of them, ride for a
bit, then mash up a climb to get by. I
would ride as fast as I could to put in a gap, then set my sights on the next
one. It was really difficult to use my
energy to do this, but I really had no choice.
It was somehow working though, and I actually didn’t feel bad. I had one minor mishap, squishing my hand
between a tree and my handlebars because I wasn’t paying attention. That didn’t set me back too much though.
I never got passed again by anyone I overtook, except for
one guy that blew by me. I never saw him
again, and wondered how he got away so quick.
I still rode my ass off though.
Lap one was a long one, and I eventually got through it
fairly quick. When lap two came around,
I was gunning to get back in podium contention.
We would avoid much of the tough stuff on that lap, but I kept thinking
that I missed the turnoff and would end up riding it anyway. I felt like I was lost. When I finally saw the volunteer standing there
between two signs, I knew I was almost finished.
I gunned it on the flat section, eventually getting on a
long, but not very steep fire road climb.
I hit the last section of singletrack, and once again my kid was waiting
in the bushes to capture the action.
I was smiling this time, at least.
I was home free, but I never did catch the leaders. Later on, I found out that I ended up in 7th,
which I didn’t feel was too bad after having a mechanical issue. I had one of my best races, even though I
didn’t get on the podium. I’m not
usually the winning type, but I do always ride as hard as I can. Not bad for someone who doesn’t train or take
this shit too seriously I suppose.
As for the dropping chain crap, I have a fix for that. Since I plan to keep racing the geared (1X9)
bike the rest of this series, riding the single speed is not an option right
now. Instead, I plan to get rid of that
shitty Third Eye Chain Watcher and find something else. Yeah, I know Dicky told me that it was a piece of shit, and I
guess I just now realized it.
I’m now moving on to something better:
The N-Gear Jump Stop chain guide is on the way. Actually, two of them are on the way. Lunchbox needs one too.
I did have a good race though, and I actually enjoyed
it. What I didn’t enjoy was having a
mechanical issue. That just sucks. I will do all I can to make sure this doesn’t
happen again.
The single speed is so much easier.
