Let's say I'm not a "natural" time trialer. Yes, it is similar to a MTB race because its 100% effort for a long time - but MTB races are fun. TT's are not. There's no trails, no mass start and no thrill of head to head rivalry... I won't go on beyond that.
Today the TT actually didn't go too bad. Thanks to Jared and his insistence that I go beyond the "Mercx" standard, I equiped with clip-ons and an aero helmet. I actually thought I may not get passed by all three of the riders behind me, until it happened simultaneously. Let's just leave at that, but I finished solidly better than last year.
Crit time. I wasn't sure if this one was going to be simply procedural, but I wound up feeling chipper and ready to start near the front. I wound up making a move-up acceleration that happened to latch perfectly onto to a 2-man Red Truck attack. It wasn't a slow one, and I was quite pleased to be there as we approached corner #1 at warp-speed 7. I was set nicely in third wheel and had allowed a few feet of maneuvering space, unfortunately the two others were handling the corner more fitting for a few warp notches slower...
I saw the first, then second rider go down immediately in my line. The first thought was instant realization that I would be going down, followed by instinctual command to protect the head at all costs. I rolled elbow to hip. The bike hatcheted into the course fence, where the Saddle became lodged between fence wires for the better part of a lap.
I proceeded (pissed) to the pit, where I was informed that I would have to rejoin and get lapped if I wished to stop. I didn't really like this option so rejoined and found that through a combination of adrenaline and anger, I was able to work my way back to the front, in between not really sitting to hard on the now shattered seat. I found myself at the front with 3 to go, and held on for 6th in the finale.
I am sore, and walking hurts quite a bit. No real road rash, but some deep impact bruising. Looking forward to fighting another day tomorrow.
Jared told me about the crash - glad to hear you're ok. Crazy that you essentially rode the whole crit on a broken saddle...
ReplyDeleteNice, happy you are ok too and glad you took your time to capture some shots for the blog...that's a good seat jam :)
ReplyDeleteKate - the bike was stuck in the fence for an entire lap. I appreciated the irony of the situation and insisted that someone take a picture!
ReplyDeleteChris - it was a little dicey. Fortunately I could perch on the nose of the saddle, and my burst-powergel (from the crash) was oozing everywhere for a nice adhesion effect.