Home & hosed (literally), beer in hand, time to post of tonights activities.
Crossed paths with Flying Dutch on the way to the Sth Melb Dirt Crit . Singlespeed meets Fixie. 🙂
The race plan didn't unfold tonight. Neither did I plan to ride in the rain, or get my bike dirty, wrong on both counts.
Only a small turn out for the race. Maybe they knew something. A few light spits of rain had us all huddled around the registration van. 'It'll clear up' I told myself. Everyone took off quickly at race start, keen to get warm.
My race plan was to get in the bunch & hold a wheel. The wind had picked up & the open part of the course would be ugly.
I was in a good position after the first mounds & corner.
At the hairpin under the tree it all went wrong. My left foot pulled out of the pedal. Bugger! Flap left foot around coasting & try to clip back in! Then I loose my right foot. FARK! Lucky I can stand over the top tube with plenty of clearance. No body damage but I skidded to a complete stop off the track. The whole field rides past & I hook on. Dead Fuggin Last now. [censored]! The weather hasn't cleared at all.
I'm behind Vinca, the only woman in the race & quite fast. One ahead is Mark on his cross bike. The rest of the field has gone. It's lightly raining now. Vinca gets past Mark, I get past a bit later. Vinca is about 100 metres ahead. A few laps pass & I'm not gaining but neither is anyone getting close to lapping me. I put in & get closer to Vinca. A bit more & maybe I can draft her. No, she pulls out! I settle in for several lonely laps. Rain gets blown in my face each time I turn into the wind. I get passed by the leading riders in what turned out to be the last 5 laps. My hands, arms & back are telling me to get some new forks. The stock rigid forks might be light & nimble but don't absorb much of the bumpy track. I get the call of 2 laps to go, Yea! I let one more place go but don't really care. Tim was very polite when passing.
I did 15 laps, only one down. Too wet cold & windy to stand around. Presentation to be held at the nearest pub. Now a choice, to the pub or straight home? Very soggy & sprayed with mud I head home. Wet roads, heavy traffic, splitting lanes & jumping for gaps. A whole other story but I just want to get home & clean up. I head straight for the hose & spray down the bike. Hmm... lotsa rim gunk coming off. I also hose down my legs & shoes, better just wet than wet & dirty.
I'll be back next week.
- Bikesoiler "soil sampling"