It seems like the past few days have kept me pretty busy. Jason arrived home from Montana on Thursday, actually it was Friday since his 11:45 pm flight did not arrive until after 2:00 am due to flight delays. Fortunately Sandy picked him up but I didn't get to bed until late because Jason kept calling with flight updates. And then I woke up when they arrived home about 3:30 and then had to get up for work about 5:00.
Later in the day Jason and I did two laps at Addison Oaks since he planned on racing there on Sunday and had not seen the new trail changes. Sandy and I went out to dinner and visit the new Papa Joe's after Jason and his brother Greg left for the wedding that Jason flew home for.
I think Papa Joe's replaces Whole Foods as my new favorite place for food samples. It seemed like the end of every aisle had samples, even up by the checkout registers. Plus the store had two wine bars that allow you to use a store debit card to order wines by the glass. Several people were walking around the store shopping while drinking.
On Saturday all of us went down to Eastern Market in the morning and then had lunch where they were cooking the outdoor barbecue. They had an item on the menu called the Oh My God Hamburger, one pound of meat. I couldn't believe how big it was until I saw it on the grill. The food was really good plus they had an outdoor karaoke going but the performers were really good, not some drunk patrons who thought they could sing.
Later in the afternoon Jason, Greg and I went up to Boulder Pointe in Oxford to play golf. Jason and I hadn't played all year so I wasn't sure what would happen. The course was really nice but one of the best features was the carts. They all have electronic screens that give you a picture of the hole layout and the green plus distances to all the obstacles. As you would drive the distance to the pin was automatically calculated and displayed, it also told you how far ahead the other carts might be. In addition to letting you order from the clubhouse a few holes in advance of making the turn, the carts would provide updates of the Michigan and Michigan State scores. I actually played fairly well and ended up shooting an 84. Not practicing at all hurt me, especially in the short game.
Today was the Addison Oaks XC race, the trail where I probably ride the majority of the time. Unfortunately I could tell on Friday evening I was coming down with something as my eyes were getting itchy and my nose running. By yesterday the cold had set in and I was worried about the race. Today I didn't feel a lot better but didn't want to waste the opportunity to race a local course.
My Expert class started a little after 9:30 and I stayed near the back but made my way forward until I was running in 4th or 5th. The guys in front of me suddenly made a wrong turn which put me in first. I stayed there through the first lap before fading and the original group caught and passed me. Between the pace and my cold it was a struggle to finish all four laps but I managed to hang onto 5th out of 11.
About an hour later I got on my bike again with converted rear wheel and crank to race the SS class. This would be three more laps plus I got to line up with Jason who was also racing single speed, his only race of the day. At the start everyone took off and I could tell right away I was struggling. I did manage to catch a few riders but knew it was only a matter of time before my legs seized up, I was getting the tell-tale signs. I made the decision to stop after the first lap so when I ran across Jason on the side of the trail I stopped to see what was wrong.
It turns out he had flatted while running right with the leader of the class. Jason had been feeling pretty good and thought he would be able to win or at least take a close second. In the half lap he had completed before flatting, Jason and the other guy already had a couple of minute lead on the rest of the field. Obviously Jason was very disappointed with the outcome but that's racing.
Tomorrow it's back to work for me as Jason drives to Ohio to visit his grandparents. He flies out early Tuesday morning.
Next week is the Pando XC race, the last race in the MMBA series but I doubt I will go. I will probably end up in 4th place for the series and can't really improve on it at the race. So racing is almost over for me this year, I don't plan on doing any cross races but there may be one more XC race or two before Iceman in November.
Jason with the vendor who happened to have a chair that Jason kept playing on.
The one pound hamburger!
Jason getting ready to hit his second shot on a par 3.
Where my ball landed on my first shot on the same hole.
Our last few holes were an adventure as the sprinklers came on.
We had a good time!
No comments:
Post a Comment