Cyclocross hurting

So I mentioned at the end of my last post that I would describe my latest race for you guys. I suppose that I should mention that I haven't been biking much at all...ok, not counting the race I think I rode my bike once in a month, and that wasn't really a hard ride. So my fitness level is crappy is to be polite. But I figured WTF, the race was just across the river from downtown, it was a great day and I needed a break from writing the proposal.

So I rode up to the race location, disturbingly winded from the short ride. The first group was already racing so I got my number and waited for a chance to pre-ride the course. The pre-ride gave me some hope, the course was pretty flat, not much climbing, either on or off the bike. But there were some narrow parts of the course; like a lose dirt run-up, where I actually ran into the bike in front of me in a practice lap because people were going to slow up the hill. So with a lot of twisty corners and a total of four barriers in the race it was going to be a good technical race. I figured that would suite me and I might have a chance to do well.

Well we lined up, almost 80 of us! That's about four times more than the number of people I raced against in Alberta. That was going to make the first corners a lot more sketchy, particularly this second corner which was downhill and off camber!

But I got through smartly on the outside, I was probably sitting about 20th. Ok, so this should work out relatively well. Oh wait, I have to keep pedaling? Maybe not, there's starting to be a bit of a gap to the guy in front of me. Good thing there's a set of barriers ahead, that slows the others down and I can maybe even pass a guy or two while getting back on the bike.

Ok, the run-up sucks. People are going slow through here and I can't pass anyone until I get to the top and run around them. But then there is a long flat section, it seems in this style of racing I get passed when I have to pedal...maybe I should just start doing running races? Nah, I'd look weird doing them wearing a helmet and with a bike on my shoulder.

The rest of the race was pretty much like this: get passed by people on the flat sections, pass them back on the next running/barrier section, then they would pass me for good and I would repeat the process with another small group. All the while it feels as though my stomach and blood are full of battery acid. With about two or three laps to go I start to notice that my crank arm (that hold the pedals in place) on the left is feeling lose, this has been a problem lately and I hoped it would hold for the whole race.

So deciding against possibly ruining my bike I pulled myself out of the race. And proceeded to cough up most of a lung, which I don't think I was using in the race anyway, so at least next time I will be lighter.

Oh, as for the crank, I tightened it but it came lose again on the ride home. But it did it quickly enough that as I was going up the last climb it had pulled itself far enough off the spline that I actually shaved down part of the teeth on the crank (oops!). I may have fucked the crank arm right good, though since these were the inner most parts I may be able to get away with riding it for the rest of the season if I can get some loctite on the bolt to hold it in place.

Either way it was a fun race and I'll be trying my luck again on Sunday. Hopefully this time I'll be able to finish the race...though I'm not sure my remaining lung will.