Ohio, Day 25

Painfully ridiculous single track race today. I'm not sure I'll be moving off this couch anytime soon. I think I'm officially over the idea of bike racing. There's a few more races in this series is like to do -- mostly to keep exploring trails other than the Worm or Grand Ridge. But I just don't like about 90% of the women in the cycling community. Or maybe it's that they all have their teams and their cliques and I feel like an unwelcome outsider and just not interested in putting in the effort to get "in" with any of them. I feel like I played that game with the rowing team, and I'm kinda over it.

Anyway, overcast and cool, but the rain held off. The trail was just built so it was a little soft in spots. One of the faster girls went down as soon as we turned off the fire road and I don't think she finished. I started mid to back of the pack, per usual. A lot of these women who have road racing experience just dominate me on the fire roads and straightaways, so I'm getting used to needing to pick them off one by one on the trail.

I was moving all right the first half, and then when the trail actually turned to twisty, climby, serious single track, I was able to pick up relative speed. Or I should have been able too, but spent the whole first lap buzzing the wheel of the woman in front of me who refused to let me pass. When I had given her the heads up that I was behind her and ready to go around she says "you can go around to the left" which was actually a statement false in the world of physics based on the amount of thick brush lining both sides of the trail. So that was enormously frustrating.

We hit the fire road again and I immediately went around her -- if nothing else, I was tired of her saying hi to every spectator; this is clearly a sign of not working hard enough. I got around a couple of other women before the soft section of single track again. I was pushing hard and on the edge of some full blown asthma, but it was race day. I crested the hIll and sped down, trying to maintain my small lead I gained in the open space.

And then I bit it.

I don't know what happened, but I went down pretty hard all along my right side. And I don't know how far back the next two girls were or if they saw my aerobatics, but they both stopped to help me up and make sure I was ok. I thought I was, so I got back on the bike and started riding again. A some point around that time, Trail Hog got by me, and that about ended my race. I was hurting all over and she was opening space between us. But somehow I got myself calmed down and convinced that I'd catch her pretty quick once we hit the technical single track again. Then all I had to do was sneak around her on the fire road before the finish line.

Sure enough, I made up the space of about fifty meters in about 30 seconds. Then Trail Hog asks if I'm the lead group lapping her. Considering we were the last group to start and on lap 2 of 2 I don't know who she thought was actually going to lap her. I probably should have just said yes and maybe she would have let me by, but apparently I still need to work on my ruthlessness. So I stayed on her wheel until the first steep switchback, and when she got off her bike and ran I did too. And I took two steps off the trail to cut inside of her line. And then she says, "woah, not cool -- you have to at least pretend to stay on the trail." But really, by the time she had finished talking I was already on my bike again and bombing down the backside. I quickly caught up to one of the women that stopped to help me after the crash and she yelled some words of encouragement as she let me by. The woman in front of her also pulled over when she heard me coming, although I'm not sure I clocked who it was. I had some work to do before I caught the other woman that stopped to help; I think I got her we as we hit the fire road. Then it was head down and push like hell until the timing chip beeped.

Second in my age group and eighth in the women's field. Not bad considering the crash nearly destroyed my juju and sent me to DFL. I was pretty happy with the way I rode the last bit of single track and DEFINITELY happy about getting around Trail Hog and kicking her ass.

I dumped hydrogen peroxide on my arm when I finally made it home and it bubbled up with great satisfaction. Then I ate a whole box of Mac and Cheese with a couple of chopped up sausages thrown in. I ibuprofenized my crash injuries, but sitting is still pretty painful and sleeping might be dodgy. Will post some photos if these cuts and bruises turn out to be impressive.

The race was a good distraction from the emotional train I'm still riding. I talked to Adam a few times and I think was able to get him to chuckle here and there. He's hurting and it's difficult to watch those you love suffer.