DNF?

So, I am finally feeling almost all well. We headed to the cyclocross race today, again at South Sea Tac, which I am very glad to say, is the last time we race there this season. We got there with plenty of time, so I got signed in, and got a bib number for Emy to do the kids race.

After watching for a bit, I did a pre-ride of the course with Landon and Ryan. Jeff had warned me that the course was really "all mountain bike" this time, which really made me unhappy. There had been plenty of consternation on the SeattleCyclocross.com forums about using SeaTac yet again, and people who echoed my thinking that every race there is a mountain bike course, with a run up and some barriers. Cyclocross, according to the UCI really isn't about singletrack, and neither am I. But, as I said before, you gotta ride what the course dishes out to you. During the pre-ride, I couldn't hold on to Ryan and Landon even when I tried, which didn't bode well for the race - they are both strong dirt riders.

I got to cheer on Emy in the kids race this time, which is always fun. She raced it a bit like Dad this time, coming in near the back (OK, at the back), but unlike my racing, she wasn't riding hard. She loved it, and Bree and I got it on video, so I guess we're perfect parents.

I rode the trainer by the car for 20 minutes, and then after downing some last water, I rode to the start line. I got a decent position, one row back from the top 16 or so, who get called up based on their series placing. I have several team mates in that group - go Cucina! We sprinted from the gun, and I was immediately struck from the right by one guy, then from the left by another guy, both of whom almost went down. Thanks to riding the track, I am like a wall. But, all this jostling put me darn near the back, which sucked, since I was actually HOPING to get near the front this time. The first lap was uneventful, at least 80% singletrack, and I got stuck behind two crashes, knocking me even further back in the field. Why is it always the guy right in front of me that crashes? The guy behind me always gets to ride around me, while I have to extricate myself from the due laying on the ground, flopping around like a fish.

On the second lap, I was making up a ton of ground in the paved sections, the "thighmaster" run up, and the wide infield section. I even passed some guys in the deep sand section early in the lap. But then, I overcooked a corner, right before a steep downhill, and had to stand there while nine riders went by, before I could insert myself in the stream again. I was pedalling furiously to rejoin the group of five I had caught in the sand, flying through the start/finish area past the announcers stand when distaster struck. Some complete idiot spectator was crossing the course, looking the exact wrong direction (he was looking to same direction I was, which meant he was not looking at me!) at the moment he popped out from behind the caution tape, directly in my path. There was nothing I could do - I plowed into him at full speed, hit him, and landed hard on my left hip. Nothing hurt at the time. I swore at him quite loudly (sorry Bilko - you didn't need to hear that), picked up the bike and ran, since the barriers were just ahead. I ran over them, jumped back on the bike, and pedalled about 30 feet before I knew something was wrong. My crank was sticking partway through the pedal stroke, and there was a loud grinding noise. I moved off the trail, blood still boiling, only to discover to my complete dismay that my chainring was bent, and my chainguard, to the point that it was not ridable.

It hit me that my race was over, two laps in, and rght when I was starting to feel better! I KNEW I was going to move up through the field today, as I was riding surprisingly fast, despite not much quality training and riding for the past 10 days. Keeping my anger in check was a monumental effort.

Since I don't have a spare bike (and was quite far from the pit anyway), I slowly walked back the way I had come and off the course. Sinc all my friends were racing, or cheering, there wasn't anyone nearby to share my pain, or hear me whine. I walked over to where I saw the guy I had hit. I asked him if he was the one I just collided with, and he said he was. I asked if he was alright, and he said yes. He asked how I was doing. I said I would be fine, but that my crank was trashed. He sort-of said he was sorry (he was not particularly apologetic, which didn't help my anger much) and that he walked in front of me because he was confused which direction the traffic was going on the course (which was lame - it was obvious). Anyway, I walked on back to my stuff and changed into regular clothes.

Since I had no idea where Emy and Bree were on the course, taking video and cheering, I was trying to figure out what to do next - look for them, or pack up the car. I opted for car, sinwould be easier to look for them unburdened, and thought they might even be at the car, or would look there if they didn't see me on the course.

Luckily, I saw them right away and told Bree about the misfortune. It sounded like they weren't having much fun either, since Emy was just moping around (although she swears she was having fun). We packed up the car. Emy was excited, though, as she'd gotten an awesome grab bag full of Vanderkitten swag from Tela, who is on Vanderkitten, and also teaches the kids track classes at Marymoor. Emy looks so cute! Thanks, Tela!!!

When we got home, I assesed the bike, and discovered things were worse. One of the spider arms on the crank was also bent, slightly. I managed to use a crescent wrench to bend everything back into some sort of alignment, since the last thing I was to do is buy another crankset, with six cross races remaining in the season for me. Hopefully it will last me the rest of the season!

On the plus side, my back is doing better. It still doesn't like me sitting in an office chair for long, and Bree had to make the trip to IKEA to get us a new, much firmer mattress last week, but I think I will mend eventually.