In my first season of cross racing two seasons ago, I circled Canton on the calendar before I even signed up for my first race. Reason is, Canton is located 6 miles from my old apartment in Randolph. Just being able to go back to the area I called home for seven years was special. The race was uneventful, and I can't recall where I finished, but with about 400 yards to go, my left foot came unattached to my bike. Thinking that I just unclipped, I looked down to clip back in. Astonished I noticed that the entire left crank arm of my bike was attached to my shoe, but not my bike. This event always comes up when someone mentions Canton, including several times today as we warmed up.
In an earlier race, Mike Rowell spent most of it trying to climb back into a good position after a horrible start. With his advice in my ear, I sprinted for my life on the whistle. Over the crest of the hill I was second wheel when we entered the field. This is a long course with several sections of open field, some tight turns, and even a section on a 400 meter running track. Through laps 3 and 4, I found myself forming up with a small group of riders that worked together. With each passing lap I felt strong and stronger. Racing at a comfortable pace in a group is just so much more comfortable then being between groups riding red-lined. As the fifth lap wound down my group was down to three and I lost my concentration for a split second, wondering where to attack the group on the final lap. This split second was long enough to twist my handlebars and catepault myself over my handlebars. The rider behind me slammed into my bike bringing him to a stop. Gone is Colin Murphy, one of the riders in our trio. Gathering my bike, I notice that everything seems in order, except my chain has fallen off. Stopping to put it back on, rider two in the trio rides off. As I remount my bike, I bang my shoe into my crank-arm and hear the tearing of somthing from my shoe. My nerves are shot as cornering is slow and awkward now, and another rider passes me. My sole focus now for the final lap is to limit my losses. Every dozen or so pedal strokes and my foot keeps popping off the pedal. After the race I notice that my right buckle is broke. Worth noting is that this is a brand new pair of shoes with 43 minutes of racing in them. ML drove to the race while I connected my cleats to the shoes new. Back to the Loft on Monday. Oh, and the race, I finished up 10th.
In an earlier race, Mike Rowell spent most of it trying to climb back into a good position after a horrible start. With his advice in my ear, I sprinted for my life on the whistle. Over the crest of the hill I was second wheel when we entered the field. This is a long course with several sections of open field, some tight turns, and even a section on a 400 meter running track. Through laps 3 and 4, I found myself forming up with a small group of riders that worked together. With each passing lap I felt strong and stronger. Racing at a comfortable pace in a group is just so much more comfortable then being between groups riding red-lined. As the fifth lap wound down my group was down to three and I lost my concentration for a split second, wondering where to attack the group on the final lap. This split second was long enough to twist my handlebars and catepault myself over my handlebars. The rider behind me slammed into my bike bringing him to a stop. Gone is Colin Murphy, one of the riders in our trio. Gathering my bike, I notice that everything seems in order, except my chain has fallen off. Stopping to put it back on, rider two in the trio rides off. As I remount my bike, I bang my shoe into my crank-arm and hear the tearing of somthing from my shoe. My nerves are shot as cornering is slow and awkward now, and another rider passes me. My sole focus now for the final lap is to limit my losses. Every dozen or so pedal strokes and my foot keeps popping off the pedal. After the race I notice that my right buckle is broke. Worth noting is that this is a brand new pair of shoes with 43 minutes of racing in them. ML drove to the race while I connected my cleats to the shoes new. Back to the Loft on Monday. Oh, and the race, I finished up 10th.
1 comment:
You are a blog postin' maniac with 6 posts in one day. That must be a record. Good job at Canton. I like that course. Fast but with some technical turns and run ups. See ya soon.
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