Well had my race gone well I'd not have much to blog about but....
With a bunch of the fast dudes out of town it was a better chance for me to get some cash. Just as we roll off the line for the “red limit” first lap, I look back and there’s nobody behind me. What am I doing? I work my way up a few spots through the first lap then in a high speed chicane I lost the rear end a little and after exiting that turn there was a thump, thump, thump, coming from the rear wheel. Stopped and tried to decipher the problem and after that frantic 15 seconds, as the rest of the field rolls by and it gets real quiet, I discover the tube bulging through the sidewall. Tried to ride it to the pits like that but a loud pop would mean I had to jog 500 yards to the pit area. That would be my longest run in about 25 years. I hope I never have to do that again. So now I start to figure out what to do. Tire is wasted and I was lazy and didn’t load up a spare bike or wheels. But I did have a tube and floor pump. Maybe some leaves to patch the rip in the sidewall and…. Well, fortunately I did not have to MacGyver it as Joe Lekovish came to my rescue and offered up his rear wheel. Yeay! I get to finish! I tried to ride hard the rest of the race though it was kinda hard to stay motivated to suffer when I was so far off. At the end I was 14th of 16 starters and last to finish. I know a lot of guys would have packed it in but it’s one of my little quirks to finish every race, no matter what. My record stands at 1 DNF (2005 lumberjack – broken collarbone) after 287 races.
