Tuesday, April 28, 2009

More socks


Your intrepid and wool-clad Cat 3 racer went back into the woods last weekend at Winding Trails in Farmington and came out with not just socks, but also a cool multitool. The 15th Annual Fat Tire Classic was last Sunday and I had a great time. By a hair's breadth, I got second place in the 19-29 Cat 3. I started in third, but got in second after the first mile or so of the first lap and I had the leader about 100 yards off for until the end of the first lap, when he finally pulled away from me. The man who came in second, Kyle, started creeping up on me and was soon riding my wheel. This went on for the middle third of the second lap (of two), he'd get really close on climbs and then I'd beat him back into the single track. Suddenly, he was gone and after the race he told me that he slid out in some sand. I thought I was sitting pretty and started taking it easy. As I approached the finish, I saw him maybe 50 yards behind me, but thought I was cool. I was not. If it wasn't for the spectators telling me to "watch out! he's right behind you!" I would have been behind him by half a bike instead of in front by half a bike. I was fourth fastest overall, but the fastest in Cat 3 was a woman who just decimated everyone.

Soon, if I move up to Cat 2, I'll write great race reports about puking and coming in last.

2 comments:

Mark said...

Well, I didn't puke riding three laps in the SS Open race (CAT2) but I learned a few tricks prior to race time. Like hitting a hammer gel 30 minutes before the start, then at the completion of every lap slam another. I even passed some younger bucks with gears.

Brendan said...

The two guys who repeated beat me before moved up and are both doing quite well. Maybe, I'll end up in third or fourth behind them like I did last year. That's respectable