positive, positive

right? gotta end on one?

NBX was fun. riding BOTH the sand pits AND the bark almost every time (well eye-Bob got a nice view of me effin up the exit of the north sand section) I'll just duck walk it i think i said.

My wife said it looked like i was just riding around. And yeah. I kinda was. The start wasn't great for me. The guy i was lined up behind couldn't get in his pedals and i managed to be the last one off the line... Sprinted up past one or two... only to have a Stevens dude hockey check me off my line... Then, at some point the second time through the south sand pit i actually didn't ride it clean and bounced the chain off the damn bike setting it down... and well... Jack's pinch flat was some what awe man, and then seeing Steven change bikes a handful of times again after running around with his chain gone for 1/2 a lap. granted it all started off wrong well before the start. The music wasn't having the same killer eye of the tiger affect. When i got there, and realized... we were going to have to ride down the hill... the wheels of motivation started falling off. Pre-ride, things were looking better. More sand. But it was more ridable. Different bark chips. LOTS of turns. Uh oh. I was still feeling a bit timid about the turns after the previous day. Best part of warming up was talking with one of the guys from the amesburry race crew, and Eye bob, and Wayne C. It was very positive, fun, and being low key helped to erase the lines from yesterday in my head going around. The third time around, riding out of the north sand pit, i was in the 39-17 or 16 or something there in the middle. Just fahkin cranking the sumbitch around. Total torque monster. WAY over geared, but no way am i gonna try shifting with that load... and i feel a pop... and then there's a hitch in the chain... pedal over and hmm, seems to be on there... go to catch up to wayne and wow, i'm freewheeling. Busted a link. GD CHEAP ASS POC SRAM chains. ARGH. The only shimano chain i've broken was the one back at Eco cross and that chain was like 10 years old, 4 seasons of cross and so worn to the cassette that i had to replace both. This sumbitch only had a dozen races in it. Oh well. Merlin the SRAM guy is doing neutral. But. After waiting and waiting for the kids in the 9am race to get their issues fixed. Merlin finally got around to saying "I ain't got support for 9speed technology, we are going to have to shorten the chain." Just then Mark Gunslaves says hey i got a 9-speed power link you can use. Thanks to Mark G! Saved the day. But. I lost 1.5 warm up laps, and instead of getting my number at 9 i was getting it at 9:20. Okay. Okay, no big deal. Then, what the hell, gary and the 3/4 Masters are off first? THEY SWITCHED THE ORDER????? NO WAY!!!! Another not so good omen. Got in the car, number pinned on. Clothing (same as the day before), and i go to put the embrocation on. And i start with the left leg? WTF am i doing? Oh well, it doesn't matter right? Get out. stand up, 1/2 of one of the pins pulls out of the number with a snap. Great. GDit. Grab Pit wheels, start riding back towards the white trek corridor. Checking to see if G-Ride and Boivin are still warming up on the trainers... and i ride right into the fahking horse shoe pit. Ass over tea kettle... only the fact that i was able to use the wheels in my right hand to keep from going completely down did i maintain some shred of verticalness. And of course, G-Ride was there to see it all.

I managed part of a lap before the folks with the mike started calling ALL MASTERS TO STAGING. Great. Head on down. And well. that was that. G-ride was freaking GONE. CTodd was no where to be seen at the start (WTF at the time)...

And well. Even just riding around. I didn't get lapped. Doug seemed to feel about the same. So, not that it was comforting to have Aspinwall back there riding around with me, it was reassuring that yeah, everyone can have a bad day.

Looking back 2 of the last 3 races i did were awesome. And that's what is going to carry me through.

I transitioned to the 35+ A race comfortably. I ain't as fast as my team mate yet. But i know, i know that i haven't even come close to a plateau on my cross potential.

That is very encouraging. Yes i need more specific intervals. Hell a regimented training program would be pretty good. Anything remotely resembling training would be good. Getting more confidence in the corners. Defining my limits a bit more. Being less scared. I will add as an aside that the other tall freaks endorsement of tubulars isn't helping much. Reading someone's comments about clinchers folding and chattering at low PSI is what i experienced at G-ster in the B race. Not fun, and not good cornering. I hate to say it, but tubulars may just be the magic bullet. Time to call up the old shops and see if they have any old crappy ambrosio or other tubular rims laying around... maybe not. Getting the wheels is the easy part of the battle.

I raced, i added more to the experience data base. Encyclopedia Brown GeWilli has more info to draw on for next time. And my hip only hurts a little and my neck is okay as long as i don't touch it.

things are positive, esp positive are the folks out there who i got to know or got to know better at the cross races this year... that itself is positive enough to carry the burden of a bad race well off my shoulders.

peace
g