I’ve been in a non-blogging mood lately. I think the mood has been generally caused by the slowdown in the races, thanksgiving weekend, and the slowly waning season.
Not all has been quiet on the Western Front however. The DS and I did head down for the Oregon State Championships in Salem a few weeks ago. My odds of winning were inversely related to how many of the strong usual guys showed up. Long story short, about four stronger guys than me showed up. It was a fantastic race and a fantastic course though. The weather was clear and brisk, the ground was wet from recent rain, and there was plenty of slick snotty off camber grassy tricky goodness to be had. Over the first few laps I worked my way up to 1st, then I promptly worked my way down to 7th, then I clawed my way back to 5th. Good times!
the season is almost over. dig deep!
The DS had an even better AND more tragic day than me though. Keep in mind this is her first year doing any kind of bike racing and she has almost no previous bike experience. She worked her way into FIRST place for most of the race. Then she wiped out, gummed up her drivetrain, and had to stop. #2 passed her into 1st place. She thought she had an entire lap to reel her in, and was promptly doing so when all of a sudden out of nowhere the checkered flag dropped on her and dashed her (my) dreams of a Hollywood ending on the top of the podium. Still, the girl got 2nd place! She rocked it. I can’t wait to watch her grow season after season. She is truly an animal.
those are my girls, on the left!
Beyond that, we had a weekend without racing, and I’m already pretty burned out from having raced almost sixty races this year (SIXTY!!!!). In addition to my OBRA races I did two in Idaho and two in Colorado. Sixty is such a ridiculous number that I feel like calling BS on myself, but its actually true. I can’t believe the DS puts up with me!
Back to being burned out. I’m pre-registered for USGP and I have fantasies about racing CX Nats in Bend still, so I’ve been trying to stay in shape as best as I can. I’ve been only slightly successful. Racing is still fun but my training motivation is zero. Its been cold and rainy here, so I’ve spent the bulk of my “training” watching Netflix on the rollers. I have managed exactly two outside rides in the last two weeks, and those are definitely more fun. All I have to do is make it to this weekend and I can do USGP, maybe both days, then coast into nationals next week. After that I’ll promptly throw all my biking equipment into a wood chipper, throw myself onto the couch, and gain fifty pounds in the month of December before starting everything all over from scratch at some point in January. Aint life grand.
bring it!