Well, I got up @ 0515 Saturday morning and should have just gone back to bed. I felt iffy on the VERY early ride to Charlotte to race, but figured I could gut it out for 45 minutes.
Bad Omen #1: Setting up the bike on the trainer to warm-up and my 14 year old trainer broke. POS!! :) The handle that tightens the clamps on the skewer spun freely and wouldn't secure the rear wheel. Considering I bought the thing in 1995, I should have expected a failure at some point. At least it didn't fail while I was in the middle of warming up. Falling off the trainer is right up there with kicking yourself in the nuts.
Bad Omen #2: Forgot my chamois butter...team shorts w/no chamois butter is baaaad.
As I've chronicled in previous posts, the buckle on my right shoe has slowly been dying, thanks to my crash back in April. Well, the little plastic/aluminum bastard gave up on me during the race. I stood to come out of the last corner and my foot nearly exited my shoe. Two times in two races! I felt fine and planned on staying in, provided the SRAM Neutral Support guy had some duct tape. He did not...! How the F does a guy with a dozen full bikes and sets of Zipps NOT have duct tape. For safety's sake, I opted to drop out and drive my happy ass back to Cola.
Buckles and straps are in transit from Diadora as we speak.
Timberlake had the best finish of the day with a 20th. The rest of the team...well...I don't think any of them really want to discuss it!
Sunday, Doog and I met with the plan to do 3 hours somewhere slightly North of easy. Neither of us felt as that plan was ambitious, so we did 2:15. I did feel better the longer we stayed out though. I felt a little bad though, after I led the boy down a dirt road that had been newly converted to gravel and he flatted.
This morning, Doog and I met for a nice 2+ hour jaunt through the flats. The plan was to beat the heat, and we did, barely! It was 87 when got home...at 1115!!! I'll pass on racing the crit in swampy heat. It's just the thing that makes me feel like shit the next day. Off the bike tomorrow, but a double day on Thursday.
Peace out...
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