Second race on the day for me. The report for this one should start in the parking lot first though. I’m sure many of us have seen a rider in the parking lot and had that “oh crap” feeling. Usually it’s for one of two reasons. Reason one, said rider is super strong or reason two, said rider is dangerous. For the 35+ 4 race on Sunday it was reason two. For anonymity I will refer to this racer as “rider X”. Rider X is known for his kamikaze cornering technique. Not a good reputation to have. He happened to be parked right next to me. Me being me I offered up a friendly hi how ya doing. All he offered up was a mean case of stink eye. Okay, so that’s how it’s going to be. Whatever dude, time to race.
67 guys lined up for the 35+ race. Again, I slotted in toward the back. Whistle blows and were off. We started off at a quick pace and never let off. I moved up to the middle of the bunch and chilled. Legs were feeling a bit heavy but otherwise I felt alright. We were hustling along at 26-28 mph consistently. We really didn’t speed up much for the prime laps. Never had a real lull in speed either. Felt much quicker than the first race. A couple sketchy guys made it interesting. One guy would over correct out of every corner making for some close calls. Another dude would let a gap open every time he entered a turn then he would sprint out of the saddle to get back on the wheel. Not a good way to make friends. The masters field was much sketchier than the open field this year. So fast forward to 5 to go or so. I hadn’t seen much of “rider x” to this point. That would change soon. Going into turn 4 (right 90) I’m on the inside. POW!! I get rammed on the left side, hip elbow shoulder. Full on contact. Guess who?? It’s “rider X”. He hit me hard enough to get his bars locked in mine ( I was in the drops). Now I’m hosed as we are each fighting for control. As a last resort I flick my elbow and jerk my bars hard to the right and manage to break free. I hear “rider X ” go down unfortunately but I’m happy to stay upright. Two turns later exiting the sweeper another guy hits the deck right in front of me. Somehow I again avoid hitting the deck. Now the pucker factor is at 11 and I’m more nervous than a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. It’s also crunch time and I’m at the wrong end of the field. Pen Velo and SJBC have massed at the front and are keeping the pace high. I put in a big effort and move into the top 20 or so. Try to recover for a minute but I then hear the announcer call last lap. Time to boogie. Held my position till turn 5 then hit the gas between 5 and six. I was doing OK till a Wells Fargo rider cut to his right and slammed the door on me. That’s racing. Finished up in the front half of the bunch. Not what I was hoping for but I still had all my skin.
Mike
Garry
Roaring M?
Garry
As in MotherFfer