P.S. this picture makes it seem like the road rash isn't that bad, but wow it hurts
Of course it was me, but I have a bag of doughnuts next to me so not all is lost.
I mean I really don't know what to do. It seems like every time I am racing recently I'm going down, and today I went down pretty hard. I managed to crack my pink helmet, so I can't wear that one anymore which is too bad. Head is still all intact, no issues, no worries!
It was my first race today since crashing back in July over in Detroit. I honestly had some pretty high hopes; Pedal always does well at this race, I've been feeling very fit lately, and I felt like this would be a pretty good opportunity to get back on my feet (for those counting, it'd really be wheels). The entire race was really sketchy, a lot of people that didn't seem to know how to race, moving back and forth erratically across the dirt roads of Lansing (?) county.
What I can take from this race is a lot of confidence. I was doing very well, feeling very strong, in a position that was good, it just happened again; I crashed. It happens, it needs to stop happening to me so much but it happens and it doesn't hurt that bad and it is a part of racing; not worried about it.
A couple guys I was racing with from Pedal actually stopped and waited for me to get back up and we rode in together. There were a couple times when we thought about trying to bridge back up to the main group, but it wasn't happening. The wind was brutal, the race was fast, and we were hurting.
Next week begins CX season at Markin-Glen aka local race aka no driving. Pretty excited, pretty don't-know-how-it-will-go, but excited. I don't expect anything, just to get better at dealing with pain and pushing through it and maybe something fantastic will happen and I'll be able to hang. I think I'm at the point where I should probably be racing in the A race now so; less people, more time, more pain.
4/14 Eagle Creek Crit, Indianapolis, IN 12th Cat 4/5 (29)
4/22 Notre Dame Crit, South Bend, IN 12th Cat 4/5 (29)
4/29 Ann Arbor Spring Training Series Ann Arbor, MI 22nd Cat 4/5 (40)
5/6 Kalamazoo Half Marathon Kalamazoo, MI 13th (27) AG (M 19-24) / 249th (1392) Overall
5/7 131 Racing Series, Martin, MI 1st 'B race' (9)
5/12 Tiger Lane Crit, Memphis, TN DNF Cat 3/4 'heat'
5/20 Ann Arbor Spring Training Series Ann Arbor, MI 6th Cat 4/5 (25)
5/28 Waterford Hills Circuit Race, Clarkston, MI 13th Cat 4/5 (38)
6/3 Cobb Park Crit, Kankakee, IL 18th Cat 4/5 (36)
6/4 131 Racing Series, Matin, MI 2nd 'B race' (6)
6/9 BTR Crit, Kalamazoo, MI 8th Cat 4 (16) 20th Cat 3/4 (32) $30
6/10 Race for Wishes, Lawton, MI DNS 'rain'
6/15 Zeeland Crit, Zeeland, MI 26th Cat 3/4 (43)
6/18 131 Racing Series, Martin, MI 1st 'B race' (9)
6/24 131 Racing Series, Martin, MI 1st 'B race' (10)
7/1 Great Lakes State Classic, Marne, MI 4th Cat 4/5 (11)
7/9 131 Racing Series, Martin, MI 1st 'B race' (7)
7/14 Detroit Cycling Championship, Detroit, MI DNF 'crash'
7/15 Corktown Crit, Detroit, MI DNS
9/9 Uncle John's Dirty Ride 30th 24 Mile (90) 'crash'
Almost forgot to mention how PRO I felt riding to the finish after having crashed. Everyone told me when I got back in they were surprised I was able to ride back, the crash looked bad. To be honest, I didn't think it was that bad, and I was ready for some more!
New job is swell for all those keeping score, soccer is going well (although I haven't been as involved as I'd like to be thanks to work, school, bikes, etc.), school is going smoothly, I really have no complaints besides crashing on my bike every other week.
I feel strong. I feel tired. I feel like I should be doing something else. I feel happy.
Cheers! CE
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