UCI3 weekend

Last weekend was UCI3 Cincinnati Cross weekend. Friday's race was very hard. The course was very hilly, bumpy and very dusty. I did not really feel myself that day and finished around 29th overall. I really did not have a feel at all for the course. I could not get myself into a good rhythm. But every course is not going to suit you. Saturday's race was at Sunset Park and it is one of my favorite cross courses. There was a lot of tight corners, wide open sections for passing and two sandpit areas. I was feeling very good during the race until I washed out around a corner and the guy behind me ran into my bike. His front wheel ended up pushing my rear derailleur out of whack and caused my chain to jam in between my rear cog and my back wheel. It also forced my chain to wrap around my crank arm a couple times. So at this point, a few racers were passing me and my bike was unable to move forward. In one last attempt, I simply pushed my bike backwards causing my chain to slack and I was able to fix the problem. I still felt strong throughout the race and finished well, despite my mechanical. Sunday's race was at Harbin Park, and this course is another course I love. I had a great start in this race and felt the best during this race than the previous two. I picked myself up to almost top 1o with three or four laps to go and I was telling myself to keep it up. Next thing I know, I am flying down a hill and shooting up an uphill when suddenly I hit a big root and seconds later, I get a flat. I ran the rest of the way to get to the pits and take the front pit wheel. Later that lap, my Dad flatted as well and unfortunately, it was a front flat. But what was really horrible is I had the spare front wheel from my flat, and my Dad was in 3rd place in the Masters 45+ race and he had to withdraw because there was no spare front wheel. I had no idea what was going on during the race. I finished way back because of all the running I had to do and all the racers passing me. Despite the bad luck all weekend, I had a great time with everyone. It was a fun weekend and TLE had a great showing in each race. I believe we left a great mark on the competition with the great results everyone pulled off.

Later.