Need a Lucky Penny

Ever since, oh, August I've had some rather terrible luck at the races. OK, OK, I don't actually believe in luck or karma or divine intervention, but this is getting ridiculous. I've gotten flats at 5 races since then. It doesn't sound like a lot, but when you consider the time and energy and financial resources that have gone into them it's a metric shit ton. Seriously. And on Sunday an ill-timed flat with 2 to go cost me a win.

I ended up skipping the BASP race (tired, broke, lazy) and just heading to Folsom. Not nearly as big a turn out, but one girl there totally smoked me at the first Sacramento CX race, so I figured it would be a good test. She had raced the night before, so I'm sure she was pretty beat, but I got a big gap and it kept grown. You know what was utterly and totally amazing? I was fastest on the run-up, and through the barriers! I suck at running, and am usually just in survival mode, so this was a big deal, and it helped grow my lead and confidence. Until . . . I learned what happens when you forget to unclip before a barrier. No endo, but a nice slide. That kind of killed my lead, but with 2 1/2 to go I dug deep and increased my gap again. And then . . . I pinch flatted my tubular. Again.

Okay, let's see here - isn't the whole POINT of a tubular that you can run low tire pressure and not flat? Well I may not be a feather weight, but I'm not a porker either. And now that's TWICE that I've pinch flatted my tubular while running about 30 psi. WTF?! I'm over it. Selling the carbon wheels, this is ridiculous. Obviously I'm just not finesse enough to run tubulars. That's fine. Hmph.

I wasn't too far from where my wheels where, but by the time I ran/gingerly rode over there I'd been passed. Swell. Got a fast wheel change from my pops and started chasing, but with 2 to go I couldn't get it back. 2nd. Not bad. Won a little cash and a tube of women's specific Hoo Haa Chamois Cream. Sick.

So there is good news out of this - my fitness is great! I know my closest competitor was tired from the race the night before, but I think if she'd been fresh I could have hung with her. Maybe not necessarily dropped her the way I did, but not get so totally smoked by her as I did earlier in the season. This is excellent, excellent news. This weekend brings a double header - Sagebrush CX on Saturday followed by Sacramento CX on Sunday. And a good chance to test my legs against awesome competition! This time I'll be tired and she'll be fresh, so it'll be a challenge indeed.