Things were looking great for the 4th race of the series. This was going to be the first night race here in SoCal according to the race promoters. I had a soccer game to coach so I missed my age group race so I signed up for the Men’s 3/4 and got ready. The night before I had put a new derailleur and cogs onto my trusty Fuji Cross. The old stuff was destroyed in race #2 of the series.
Near the course was a huge parking lot that is used for the Verizon Amphitheater. I was riding over in the lot to get warmed up before the 6:30pm start time. At 6:20pm to be exact I got a flat rear tire. Yes, one more thing added to my already frustrating cx season. I rode the flat rear tire all the way back to my car, found my wife and got my key, changed the tube very quickly and made it to the start of the race with about 2 minutes to spare. Since I got the flat I ended up in the back of the field at the start. At the whistle I took off and passed about 15 guys in the first 100 yards. The start of the course was lit up very well by huge stadium style lights. Unfortunately one area immediately after a short run up was not lit up, in fact is was dark. I went flying into this area and instantly realized it was Gravel City on concrete or asphalt. Getting the flat prevent me from getting in a pre-race lap so I didn’t know about the hazard. As I hit the gravel my front tire washed out to the left, my right foot went down and skidded across the gravel. My left foot was off by then and I was 99% out of control for a second. Once I was out the gravel I got my feet back on and hit gravel patch #2 and hit the ground on my right side. I quickly got up and put my water bottle back in the cage (no feed zone race) and kept on racing. 3 guys passed me and I quickly reeled them in. As I made my way around the course I made several pages of mental notes. This course was tricky and technical, which I love, and it was even more of a challenge at night. As I wound my way back to the start line for lap #2 I reached down for my water bottle and didn’t grab anything. It was gone. Hmm, great, 45 minutes to go with no water. I hunkered down and just kept going. The rest of the race was great except for one off course excursion where I almost hit some spectators and took out some course tape. I caught several riders in front of me and got caught by 2. I am not sure where I finished, middle of pack most likely.
A highlight of the night was the costume race. There were a lot of costumed racers ready for a 3 short laps around the course. I had on my cave man suit and hairball wig. Dressed up racers were everywhere. I am guessing at least 40 people were in the race with costumes ranging from banana suits to speedos and everything in between. A few lords went for it with garters and g-strings. Good times!
