Cycle-Smart International - Northampton, MA

Today was not a very good day at the races for me. Did all the normal things you do to get ready, lined it up and started the race. It was another fast course with a few technical sections and a killer runup that looked like it had been gone over with a rototiller previous to our race. I rode onto the leaders group maybe on the 2nd or 3rd lap, and was moving up through that when my tire rolled off the rim when I hit a root in a corner. I popped it back on and the pit was only a few corners away so I decided to grab a new rear wheel while the gaps were still small and not risk it coming off again now that there was a ton of grass under the tire.

Things got bad in the pit. Apparently someone took it upon themselves to not only move my perfectly placed wheels from their perfect spot, but then laid them on the ground, 30ft from there home, under another set of wheels, which was under a mavic wheel bag. Like I was ever going to find those!? So, after realizing that my wheels were not where I left them I was wondering around the pit like a lost kid at the zoo trying to find them, someone finally asked what I needed and I told them my zipp wheels that I left right there and shortly later he came back with mine - about a minute later than had they been where I left them. I was about to rip someones head off but I didn't know who's so I went back out and rode off my frustration in 25th place. I picked off some groups later in the race and finished 16th, but it was pretty miserable riding in 16th when I had been in 5th and going alright.

I didn't mind so much the tire coming off, although that's not cool either, but I've never had my stuff moved on me in the pit. I'm still trying to figure that one out. So, that was that and I ended up making it back to Farmington, CT in time for a birthday party and cake, ice cream, and pizza - in that order. It was good and made up for the bad race.

That raps up the east coast trip of fall 2007. Shorter by a few months than normal, but I got some racing in and one decent result, along with a birthday party, so it was definitely worth the trip. Now it's time to rest up a bit and get the mountain bike out one final time for the Iceman next weekend.