On the Fence

"We're last!" shouted JustinT, as he went by. I glanced behind me - sure enough, there wasn't a rider in sight. What he really meant was "You're last!" - not a great start to the Falls City Firecracker race, a race where I usually do pretty well. Two years ago won my first race here in Sport, and last year got onto the podium in Expert class.

Today just wasn't feeling motivated - had been on the fence about coming to this race the whole previous week. It's a 3.5 hour drive, meaning a full day's commitment, and I had a shitload of backlogged chores and other stuff I've been trying to do and can't find the time for. So thought I'd just skip it. But then I already paid the entry fee - OK I'll go. But if it's just the $, then driving down there will probably cost me $50 - OK skip it. Then there was the weather forecast - not good, with rain expected the day before and day of. And when they say rain on the Coast, it usually means it will be pissing down, not the sporadic showers you get around Bend. So yeah, that seems like a good reason to not go. But wait, maybe then a lot of people won't go, so if I show up I'll have a better chance of podium'ing. So on it went... somehow I found myself in my car driving over there Sunday morning, looking for any reason to turn back. Hit snow in the pass, then rain on the other side. Stopped for a leak, and the tempation to U-turn almost overcame me, but then I figured what the hell I'm 3/4 of the way there. How about I just keep going, and if the overall experience sucks, then I won't do it again.

So as the race started in a light rain, I was totally unmovitated to be there, and didn't give a crap about being last. But went up the initial long climb as best I could, and soon was passing people. Ten minutes in, all self-absorbed crybaby talk was gone, and I was determined to do well. There was a new downhill section this year, with plenty of loose slippery sections, and crashes were plentiful. I took good advantage of these, and was having a pretty good time. Starting the 2nd lap of 5, I heard someone yell 'Go Romasco!', the name of someone who had beaten me by a bike length a couple of races ago. Man, if I beat anybody today, it has to be that guy ! So now had another reason not to slack off. One pesty orange jersey had been shadowing me for a few laps, and on the climb on lap #4 he made his move and passed me. This did not bother me at all, and I stayed close on his tail. On lap#5 climb, he seemed to wilt, and I returned the favour. Now just have to rail the descent and hold him off on the last climb. Yep OK, and I finish up with absolutely no cramping - probaby because it was 84F last year, and only 48F this year. Grab the last podium spot, and was in the top half of the young punks 19-39 Expert class. So ended up being worth it after all.