Monday, May 16, 2011

In praise of the swamp thing


In which I become the tallest midget...

Yesterday was the Winsted Woods race. As you may have noticed, it rained a lot. When it rains a lot, people make a big deal out of tire choice. I suppose they probably have a point. Originally, I was going to run an IRC Serac, but I brought another wheel with a Maxxis Swamp Thing just in case. It was a good decision. The Swamp Thing is magical in nasty mud (terrible the rest of the time).

In terms of actual racing, I didn't do very well. I had a good start, but on the first unrideable climb (a tire can only do so much), I started running and my heart rate went through the roof. It took like a mile to recover. I went from second to fourth and never found third again. Although, judging by results, I was pretty close to catching third by the end. Too bad they shortened it to two laps. Three wouldn't have been a problem. I did two in 1:07, so it would have been three in 1:40. I think the officials just wanted to go home. Also, I hit all the jumps and the log thing, and didn't crash at all!

I'm not generally one to Monday morning quarterback by suckitude, but I chalk up some of my problems to warming up inadequately. It was raining, which was unpleasant, so I wasn't eager to go out on the course and since it was muddy, I didn't want to ride very far for fear of seizing up my bike before the actual race.

But, anyway, my 3rd place at Winding Trails and fourth yesterday narrowly made me the Connecticut State Champion (CAT 2 19-29)! I got a medal and everything (the medal was everything). Being the CAT 2 State Champion just means that it's finally time to relegate myself to the back of the pack in CAT 1.



I went for a pretty kick-ass ride to the blowhole on Friday and found some nice connective and fun trails in Dividend Park. And, I did some intense grocery shopping training on Saturday. I can fit $80 worth of Stop and Shop food on my bike, so I can fit like $200 worth of Whole Foods food.


5 comments:

Damian said...

Congratulations, man! You are the epitome of an absolutely unpretentious winner.

Mike said...

I recently put a post on my biking blog entitled Why Does Whole Foods Hate Bicycles?

I thought that it was ironic that Bikes For The World collected bikes at the new Whole Foods in North Bethesda. The new store is located at the end of a bike path, yet it doesn't have a bike rack. Why not encourage biking at home before collecting and shipping bicycles overseas? Probably because you would spend more if you are driving home with your groceries. If you can carry $200 worth on your bike, imagine how much you can haul in your SUV.

dario said...

It has always been a pleasure to ride with you, Brendan. Now, it will even be an honor!

Congratulations.

dario

Brendan said...

see how the snail training regime can pay off!

dario said...

Steady, now ...