2003 Sacramento CX #8

What I hoped was just some bruised ribs was a not. A friend told me that bruised ribs will get better every day while broken ribs will only get worse for about a week. I experienced the much worse scenario. Man, breaking those little bones really hurts.

After the crash last Saturday I rested for a couple days. I thought maybe I could get back out there on Tuesday. I attended our normal CX training ride with some of my Rio Strada teammates. It was a high-intensity ride that more closely resembled a mountain bike ride on CX bikes—rocks, mud, singletrack, and some tough climbing. I hung tough because of my fitness right now, and my fresh legs because of the time off, but the pain was intense. Pulling on the bars on steep climbs and running with the bike hurt really bad.

On Wednesday I was completely wrecked. It hurt to breathe, sit, walk, lie down, everything. There was no escaping the pain. That training ride was a really bad idea.

So I have these broken ribs. I tried to come back but could not. The last race was today and I was not there.

I really regret skipping race five now, since I have only five race results to everyone else's six. Grass Valley was a hilly course, like the ones I usually excel at. Even six points for a fifth place would have moved me up significantly.

Even so, a top 10 is cool all things considered.

2003 Sacramento CX #7

My race didn't go so well yesterday. I was involved in a pile-up right off the start and just couldn't continue. A guy landed on me and put his elbow right in my ribs and knocked the wind out of me.

It sucked. Still does, actually.

It was pretty much the fault of the organizers in my opinion. We were lined up for the start waiting for the whistle to go off when a couple people started moving early. That prompted about half the field to jump also. The rest of us assumed there would be a restart, but they just let them continue. Those of us who actually waited for the whistle that never came were screwed.

It really caused a panic in the field as we worked hard to pass as many people as we could up the first hill. Then came a short decent. On the next climb an idiot tried to pass by going off the trail, but then swerved back to avoid an overhanging tree branch and knocked another guy over who in turn knocked me over. That probably would have been OK, as we weren't going that fast, but then a couple more people piled into us, and one fell right on top of me elbow first. He was a really big guy.

I must say, it hurt pretty damn bad. He got me about an inch below my left nipple, and I felt my chest compress quite a bit. A couple people, including the guy who fell on me, said they heard something snap. I didn't hear it, but they may have been right because I do suspect I have a cracked rib or two.

Anyway, I rolled around on the ground for a few moments unable to breathe. No matter how many times that happens to you, each time you still wonder if you are ever going to breathe again. I did get up to continue, though, only to find my front wheel bent and my handlebars tilted down. Race over.

What sucks is if they hadn't blown the start I would have been up towards the front, or even leading like last time, which was my plan. It was such a huge advantage in race #3 to hit that first decent in front that I was determined to do it again this time. Oh well.

Today I am experiencing some uncomfortable soreness, and it hurts to take a deep breath. My breathing is clear, though, no rasping or rattling, and none of the pain is so sharp that I wince. I could go to the doctor, but even if there is a broken rib they won't do anything besides give my painkillers. 

I'll just take it easy today and watch some football.

I assume I will fall out of fourth place in the series, which is a bummer. I really felt I was going to do well yesterday during my warm-up. I had good legs. There is only one race left (in Vacaville next week). I think the best I can hope for is fifth in the series, which was the goal I set before the season started.  Still, I wanted more.

Later.

2003 Sacramento CX #6

I skipped race number five for a number of reasons. First and foremost, my son was born two days before the race. Two, Grass Valley is quite a drive from my home. And three, we get to drop a couple races, so I thought it was no big deal to drop race five. In hindsight, that wasn't a good decision.

Race six was again at Granite Bay. I rode a good but not great race. When it was clear I wasn't going to be a factor, I buried myself into a headwind to set up Gordon. We blasted by a couple guys on the last lap and he coasted in for fifth. I managed to hold on for sixth and scored a few points for the overall.

Later.

2003 Sacramento CX #4

Race number four took place at Negro Bar. This course typically uses some grass. Like sand, it seems to be tougher for the skinny guys.

This was a pretty flat course with a bit of running and I struggled with it.

Truthfully this one is a bit of a blur. My mind was elsewhere and I just rode in circles and suffered.

I ended up 10th, which was good for one whole point in the standings.

Later.

2003 Sacramento CX #3

Race three took place out at Folsom Point, a venue that I really like due to the hills. As luck would have it, I had my climbing legs. Today was a good day.

The course was the hardest I have done yet: 1.4 miles, very hilly, rough, rocky and technical, with little running. All of this was to my advantage as a mountain biker.

After poor starts in my two previous races, I decided to make a point of getting out fast. We would start at the very bottom of the boat ramp and ride up the long asphalt climb before turning left onto dirt and going down a bit before continuing to climb more. I took a spot a few rows back from the front and waited for the gun. We started and within a few pedal strokes I found a gap and made my way towards the front. Suddenly there were only two guys in front of me. I thought, hell, I'm going to try getting to the corner first so I can go down the hill dust free. And within a few more strokes I was on the front. It seemed too easy. I looked behind me to see a gap. I figured, well, might as well grab the first lap prime.

We turned onto the dirt and I rode a strong but not hard tempo all the way to the finish where I did indeed grab the $10 prime. It kind of cost me on the next couple of laps, where a few guys passed me. I backed off the gas just a bit and kept going.

Lapping Gordon, who would DNF.

For a couple laps nothing really happened. I hovered around 6th to 8th place. I was cruising along in my own world, not really racing so much as riding.

As guys started getting tired they were crashing and making mistakes. I just tried to ride hard but under control, and I started reeling them in.

Doing a decent job on the barriers.

On the bell lap, I had two guys within striking distance, so I just put my head down and went after them. I caught them about halfway through the last lap, rested for a few seconds, and then attacked with everything I had up a hill. I got a five-second gap and held it all the way to the finish for second place.

My man Curtis took 11th.

The payday was not too bad. Along with the $10 prime, I was awarded a water bottle, arm warmers, leg warmers, socks and a nice bottle of locally produced olive oil.

With nine points for second, I am sitting at second overall behind Gordon and back in the thick of the series.

Later.

2003 Sacramento CX #2

Granite Bay was again the venue for race number two, but this time on the north course. This typically entails a lot of riding and running through sand, which I suck at, and today had plenty of sand. And I unsurprisingly sucked.

Dismounts are not my strong suit and today there were many. Riding in sand is tough for me as a skinny guy, and we had that. Running is by far my weakest skill, and we had two different running sections in deep sand.

That's me in the lower left watching the big guys power away from me.

It was a struggle from start to finish. I couldn't get going, couldn't maintain momentum, and there were no hills to speak of for me to make up time. Every time I even began to feel strong there was another section of sand to run.

Here's Rio teammate Curtis also struggling.

In the end I took a very disappointing 13th place. Gordon again won while Alex took fourth. Curtis finished right behind me in 14th.

I have some work to do to get back in this series. We have a break in the schedule, so hopefully I can start peaking and work on my technique.

Later.

2003 Sacramento CX #1

Race number one of the 2003 series was a good one. The Granite Bay south course has been good to me, and today was no exception. My buddy Steve came out to watch and manned the camera. After the race he assured me that he took lots of "sweet pics," but this was the only one on the camera:

Sweet, indeed. Not sure what button he was pushing, but it obviously wasn't the shutter.

After taking second in the series last year in the Cs, behind Alex, this year we both moved up to the 35+ B class.

Race wise, I took off and hovered around second to fifth place most of the race, ultimately taking third at the end. Gordon won and Alex took sixth. It was nice to grab eight points right off the bat. Hoping for a solid race number two next week.

Later.