Returned to racing from my brief hiatus after Gloucester with the Cat 4/Citizen races at the Uncle Sam GP in Troy, New York. Initially I had planned to do both the Cat 4 and the Cat3/4 races on both Saturday and Sunday, but I didn’t sleep much this last week, so I toned down my aspirations.
Saturday morning was absolutely freezing cold, with temperatures in the mid-30’s when I arrived at Prospect Park in Troy. The course was not my favorite: lots of grass, lots of tree roots, some off-camber, a killer run-up. As it started to warm up and the ground started to thaw, things got slick. Not muddy–I like muddy–but slick and unpredictable. Starting near the back, I maneuvered my way through traffic, and rode as hard as I could to a solid mid-pack finish.
Sunday was a bit more interesting: it had rained all night, and was still raining when I arrived. The course had been torn up from the previous day’s racing, and combined with the precipitation things looked to be slippy, sloppy, and a barrel of laughs. And they were, at least through the first lap, during which some smartass appropriately blasted “Yakety-Sax” over the PA. I once again was staged near the rear, but was riding very well, making my way from group to group, picking off riders on the power sections and paved road. Everything was going well until I made my to the off camber traverses for the second time. Guessing that it would be faster to run, I dismounted and threw my bike up over my shoulder. I was making my way around a dude struggling to stay on his mountain bike when my feet slid out from underneath me, and my handlebars connected squarely with my right eye socket.
I’ve never had the misfortune of being full on decked in a bar fight, but I imagine it must be similar to smashing your face onto your handlebars. I pulled myself from the race and went to make sure I hadn’t done anything permanent. The damage: a cut on my nose which didn’t want to stop bleeding, a scrape above my eye, and some serious bruising on my eyelid. Baby’s first black eye.
Not my best weekend. But I’ll be back next week for the Saratoga Spa CX.
