Tuesday, October 24, 2006

TROLLS

Here's what I learned this weekend: Trolls live under bridges and can also be found on the start line at cyclocross races. I was little late to get to the start and lined up on the 2nd row. 3 riders to my left was the troll, he's a short-stalky fellow that just cannot ride a bike. The gun goes off and I make it about 20 yards into a perfectly flat/straight paved start before the troll sweeps into my front wheel from the right side. I go over the bars, landing on my hip and the troll. We get our bikes untangled and I try to re-mount(while doing this I'm directing profanities at said troll). My chain is jammed and my wheels will not turn, so I turn around and run back to the pits to get my B-bike. Now the whole field is hitting the course and I'm just rolling through the start. I'm pleased that I picked my way through field and rode as hard as I could for a mid-pack finish. The word from people lined up behind me is that the troll was having a hard time clipping into his pedal while sprinting. After bouncing off a few people he took me out. What did I learn?
1. Line up as far away from trolls as possible.
2. Thank the lord for B-bikes.
3. Don't waste time and energy yelling at trolls who crash you out on the start line.


Zack watching me warm up. Why was he having such a good time?


The dreaded off-camber section.


My mad profile.

After the race we went to get some food and saw this:

How does one manage this?

Tuesday, October 10, 2006