The Branched Oak 12hr Race Report post had two potential titles. "I Suck" was in the running for quite a while.
I arrived reasonably early but most of the prime spots were taken so I ended up right by an industrial size trash can. Maybe that was a sign? I pulled most of my gear out of the van, set the crew free to play around the lake, said a quick hello to
Mr. 24 and slowly got my act together. I was able to get able from the trash can at some point, and was in a nice spot to pit so I felt okay.
During the rider meeting, they announced that there would be a solo SS category and I will admit that my ego was excited. Despite the three weeks off, I thought I could do pretty well.
We took off on a Lemans style start which was more an exercise in not twisting an ankle. We we got to the bikes, the first thing I tried to do was grab
Zach's Niner. For those of you who aren't local, the course starts by following the lake through a secton of the park that's never ridden. The only traffic is probably people walking down to the water's edge. Simply put, it's rough as fuck. Going rigid on it was an exercise in running a jackhammer. Once we hit the actual trail, two things quickly became apparent. No one had cut back the limbs and brush. I was in too big of a gear.
There were a few highlights to my crappy four laps. I was passed by several people who were buzzing right along looking strong, RF, Schlake and Mr. 24 come to mind. Bonsall gave me the best moment though. He pulled up behind me in jackhammer land and said, "Is that one of them singlespeed 29ers?" I started to say "Yes..." when I turned and saw it was Jeff running his 29er Kona SS and smiling. I hope that cat did well.
On my fourth lap, I was walking way too much and said, "Fuck it." I pulled out, sat down in a camping chair and stewed for a long while. The thinking went pretty much as follows. I worked hard over the winter and early spring to really bring up the level of my fitness. Mission accomplished. TI gets rained out. I end up off of the bike for three weeks so basically all of that effort has basically been wasted. Frankly, that's basically how I still feel this morning.
At some point though, I will stop being such a self-centered prick, make some more espresso and go mow my yard. This is the wrong weekend for me to obscess over how poorly I ride a bike.
Snob out.