A bridesmaid again

Once again I was the bridesmaid, not the bride. I raced the time trial at Ft. Custer today, a trail I had not been on since I raced almost exactly two years ago when Jason was in town. It is a very fun trail and the re-routes they have done lately have made it even better.

The trail overall is pretty fast with no really big climbs so I decided last night to increase the front chain ring by one tooth to provide a little more speed. I felt pretty good riding around before the start but there were a lot of SS's at this race and I wasn't sure who was in my class.

I started last, or so I thought, but luckily I didn't have too much traffic to contend with as I caught slower riders who started in front to me. There were a few times I had to slow to find the right place to pass; you don't need to force someone off the trail or yell at them as they are trying the best they can also. Racing is hard enough as it is without some Bozo ruining your day.

I seemed like I had the right gear as I was both able to spin comfortably yet make it up the hills and through all the tight spots with no problem. I was surprised though to see my name at the top of the results list when I finally got around to looking at them. Then I noticed that there were still a few results not posted, and one of the racers was someone that I had rarely beaten. I just had to sit and wait for the final results.

Actually, the final results were never posted but when the awards were given out and my name was called for second place I knew who had beaten me. Sure enough, it was they guy who had started after me. I never saw the times so I don't know by how much.

Oh well, at my second buttons up at least a third for the series since the last race is next week and 4th can't earn enough points to displace me. I have a possible shot at finishing second in the series but since it doesn't matter that much to me I may forgo the last race; I plan on racing in Ohio over Labor Day and don't really want to race three weeks in a row.

Now it's crunch time for the MICA program and we have a lot to do. I just have to keep remembering that this is the pilot season and really we are building for next year.