One week prior, I raced under sunny skies and 80+ degree temps… but Saturday morning, 1 hour to start time, it was a chilly and windy 35 degrees. Gotta love Texas winters. Warmer temps were expected that day and with 6+ hours of racing ahead, anything could happen.
I was registered, prepped, and ready to go. I felt great after last weekend’s race and a couple good rides during the week and I was looking forward to the Erwin Park race. Although still in ‘training mode’ I was ready to turn it up a notch and see how things felt. We would start with a typical “LeMans” start, which would include a short run before mounting our bikes, followed by a loop on the road. I decided I would go for it on the run and the road lap in order to get a decent position headed into the woods. I wanted to avoid some of the trail congestion I had experienced in a couple recent races. Lined up and ready to go, I chatted with a few of the guys as we scoped out the terrain for the run. One minute to go. 30 seconds. At about the 15 second mark, something caused me to glance down at Mike Bohn’s shoe…. and my gaze locked on his ankle. More specifically, his TIMING CHIP!!! I was suddenly gripped by the realization that I had forgotten my chip!!!
<insert expletive here!!!> So as the gun went off and the crowd began to run through the field as prescribed…. I went the other direction — to my car to get my chip! I returned to the start area, made the loop through the field, and with the exception of 1 guy who was walking with a beer in his hand [9am start, this guy is hardcore!!] and another guy who races with a prosthetic leg, I was the last guy to my bike. I did what I could to pass some traffic on the road, but even at that, by the time I reached the single track it was like Friday rush hour in Dallas.
I did what I could to keep passing riders, many times pulling out of the worn groove to ride up on th grass, which was a total drain. This continued for most of the first two laps, which I did non-stop, and into the 3rd. On the 3rd lap a bit more room opened up and I kept hammering. I rode with Ryan McLaughling and Jerry McNutt for a bit and then pulled away on some open field climbs towards the middle and end of that lap. I entered the pit quite a bit ahead of them but needed a break. My toes were completely numb and I needed to massage them a bit to warm them up and get some feeling back! Some food, a rest, top off my water bottles and away I went on lap 4. Jerry McNutt had come and gone and I was still nursing my frozen toes. I took off on that lap in hopes of finding him, but had no luck. The next lap the toes were frozen again and I made a trip up to the car to get my shoe covers– in retrospect I shouldn’t have started with out them! I was a bit worn out from the hard effort I put in during my first 3 laps–probably more than I would have pushed under normal circumstances — but I was still feeling good. The temperature seemed to drop again and the winds were cold and from the north, so I actually added clothing as the race went on. I left for lap 6 knowing I could probably get that lap and maybe 1 more. At the end of the lap I had just barely enough time to try and get in lap 7 and then MAYBE even lap 8. Somewhere during the lap I gave up a bit as I realized I would not have time to make it back in time for the cutoff, and that 7 laps would be my max that day. This came back to haunt me. As I came closer to the end of the lap, I began to push it again, thinking maybe I COULD make it. I was actually able to hear the race director on the PA system announcing how much time was left. I was cutting it close!! I gave it all I had, but in the end came up 40 seconds short!! I played over and over in my head how many places I could have made that time up! Not much to do about it now though. I was done for the day and warmth was waiting.
Although the ride itself was good, I was disappointed not only in my finish, but especially my start. I guess this is why it is good to have what are considered ‘training races’. Forgetting my chip was an avoidable mistake. One of my goals is to manage the avoidable mistakes in order to minimize the impact of the unavoidable mistakes. Something like the timing chip error could have been devastating to me in a race I had traveled a distance for and put a high priority on. Better to get it out of the way now!!!
*edit* Just heard the news that the 3rd race of this series, at Isle Du Bois State Park, has been cancelled so the race committee can prepare for a Spring TMBRA race. Looks like I need to find a new race somewhere!!
