For whom the Bell(South) tolls...

So the TNCWC went off without a hitch, but ended with one.

The main instigators were in attendance last night, even though the field was relatively small. There just wasn't a whole lot of filler out there last night. The wind was a factor last night as it was completely opposite of normal. The backstretch had a screaming tail and the front was the head. The speeds on the two were very similar somehow!
About 10 minutes in, my phone rings. The H.O.'s grandmother is in the hospital and had open heart surgery 5 days ago, so I'm obliged to answer. The H.O. proceeds to ask me what #1 has eaten through the day and what she should fix him for dinner...??!!! Sweet Baby Jesus, you're his mother, figure the shit out!
So I missed a lap for THAT and jumped back in. The group ebbed and flowed for the next 25 minutes, until Der Kaiser and Toby got off the front and just drilled it. They had a huge gap in less than 2 laps. There really wasn't a concerted effort to chase until about 10 minutes to go. The pace wicked up and guess what...? My GD phone rings again! This time, the H.O. asks me if #1 needed more cold medicine!!!!!!!! So I missed another lap for that! I was quite pissy by this point, so I pulled out @ 45 minutes. I'm at the end of my cold, but am still having trouble breathing properly. The interruptions did nothing but take me out of my rhythm and F up my ride. The phone gets put on vibrate from now on!
Here's where we get to the hitch...
Il Professore took it upon himself to keep the time. No issue with that other than the time kept was incorrect. He started the time @ 6:30 and ran it until 7:20. There would be no problem with that if we actually rolled off at 6:30 every Tuesday. When I rolled up, after dropping out, it was 46-ish minutes and Il Professore was yelling 3 to go. It was, in reality, 4 to go.
Toby and Der Kaiser were away and if the time had been kept correctly, they would have been caught, as the chase group of four was bearing down and was within 100 yards at what should have been the bell lap. If the laps/time had been counted correctly, the outcome would have been different. I noticed a couple of weeks ago that two to go was yelled before the 50 minute mark had been crossed...
The race is 50 minutes plus 2 laps, regardless of what time we leave. I will be keeping time next week to ensure it's correct. If the group crosses at 49:30, it's three to go, period. There's no "-ish" timekeeping in bike racing...
Other than that, it was a good race, everyone was safe and we all got a good workout. I had good legs, but am still fighting the lingering effects of this stupid cold.

See you guys Thursday...it'll be a short one as it's dark early. Be there for a 6:00 sharp departure.