Barnstorming: Part 1

Lined up in the front row during call-ups. How can I mess this up?

Like this.

Today was day one of the Sussex County Cyclocross event and to date is my favorite course in the NJCup series. It had everything (except mud, but wait 'til next week), two climbs, a sand pit, off-camber technical curves, a run-up, twisty high-speed descents, paved and unpaved roads, and my favorite... a zig-zagging path that took us through several barns. Awesome!

I got a great start and was 4th in a breakaway group including points leader Bill Romollino, 4th ranked Greg Pizarek, Jason Fenton himself of Halter's Cycles, and myself. I was feeling great and happy to be doing battle with Jason who is a worthy adversary, but certain events such as crashes or flat tires have kept us from dueling it out to the end each time we faced off. I buzzed his tire a few times and we traded back and forth in the first half of lap 1, until I removed myself from the chase.

Upon successfully storming the first barn, we made the tight left on a dirt road to enter the second. The turn had a huge patch of loose gravel, making it super sketchy. I had the inside line and overcooked it, lost traction and low-sided it at full speed. As I was falling, my head narrowly missed the red painted bench that protruded from the side of the entrance to the barn. Luckily, I hit it with my hand to protect my melon. There is red paint on my glove and left control lever. I proceeded to slide, crit-style, on my side until grinding to a stop. I felt tears building and my heart breaking as my view perpendicular to the vertical saw a chance of a series title and the lead group disappear.

I picked myself right up, ran into the barn and attempted a remount, but my rear wheel wouldn't spin! Damn it! A quick systems check to find the issue; Derailleur straight? Check. Chain on the chainrings? Check. Brakes? BRAKES!?! The culprit: my left caliper had been shoved beneath the braking surface of my rear wheel as a result from laying the bike down. I quickly popped it back out, made sure it worked, and was on my way.

Mentally, my race could have ended right there, but I wasn't about to let it. My hand ached, my control lever was askew, and I had no idea my leg was hurt yet, but quitting never crossed my mind. I continued to race at full speed and the gap the leaders had on me never grew, but it didn't diminish either. I just didn't have the ability to ride at 2x my capacity to bring them back and I settled in to the position I was in when I recovered from my crash. I still managed a respectable finish and am really happy that I was able to enjoy such a great course.

Afterwards, I was talking with my friends about our race and how I wiped out when one of them pointed out the blood coming through my shorts. I hadn't felt anything, but I pulled them down to reveal a nice raspberry on my thigh. As my adrenaline wore off, the pain began to set in. Bill Romollino was so kind as to supply me with some first aid supplies to take care of my leg. On the course, he was the only guy I really wanted to beat the crap out of today, but off the course he is one of the nicest people I've met through racing. His dog, Camper, is awesome, too.

I stayed until the last race and enjoyed cheering for all my friends and I'm happy that they all did well in their respective races. Now, I'm going to take care of my leg, keep up with my training, and continue to prepare for next Saturday, which will be a return to Sussex and another chance to do better and not eat it on the gravel. I was a little bummed about what happened when it happened, but I'm over it now and will use the experience as my ammunition to kill them next time. In the FACE!