thescrawnycyclist

In all of the cyclo-cross training and racing I've done, I've always mounted my bike from the left. So I didn't make the same mistake twice and parked my bike on the right side of the corral. Therefore, no mounting fail at the beginning of tonight's race of the Liberty! Bicycles 12-mile series, and a good start; I was able to see the lead train of yellow Liberty! jerseys in the distance on the gravel path. A fast start is crucial to get to the single-track before the bottleneck effect happens.

After exiting the first bit of single-track and getting on to the service road, I actually caught up to Dan D. and motivated him through the next single-track portion. I was feeling strong and even started to consider an overtake. Then things kind of turned for the worse. I hit some sort of debris, washing out my front wheel and nearly hitting a tree. Then on an incline, I Schleck'ed my chain, causing me to nearly go over the handlebars. Tommy W. took that opportunity to overtake me. I did gain one position back after catching and passing Tom F. but after that, there was nobody in front of behind, so I relaxed slightly to avoid any further mishaps.

I feel the race overall went well, besides a couple of minor mishaps, and I finished in 16th with a time of 42:12. Nice fast time.

Comical sight of the race - Jeff K. in an aero tuck like he's descending the Alps, but going 30kph on a 2% decline on the gravel path.