Bill and I spent the majority of the week building a fence. In the mud. And not riding much. There were going to be a couple hilly road races down in Tulsa, but one got flooded, so it was canceled. It ws 7pm Friday and I was wasted. But, I’d bought a Honda Elite Scooter on the internet and it was in St. Louis. I decided to drive there a pick it up. And there was a local criterium there Saturday. I thought it was on a hilly course. Wrong.
It was the same stupid course I’d done a couple years ago. Less than a mile loop. And I mean loop. Not one corner. And, of course, flat. Very unchallenging. It was cold enough that people had wood fires burning to stay warm. With the smoke blowing across the course. I almost didn’t start.
I knew it wasn’t going to be good for me. It was going to be a everyone-against-Steve race. That is fine. But, I have to fault myself for not being patient enough. I was patient for the first half of the race. Rode 30 guys or so back and never showed my face. But, the last half, I blew it. And when the attacks started going for real the last 15 minutes, I lost my composure and everything went south.
There is no place in cycling, especially when your at a local race on your own, to get rattled, frustrated, etc. Cycling is a very cool sport for the very reason that the best riders don’t always win. Sometimes the best athlete might not ever win. So, in the end, I was probably not going to win that race. I didn’t. I was 3rd. Brian Dziewa, THF and Zach Reed, Mercy-Specialized, eventually rode away individually and stayed off the front. I won the field sprint for 3rd.
The scooter is in my garage now. Another project it might take awhile to get to. The garage is becoming a scooter stable. Three, to be exact. One in perfect running order. Two that are close to being road worthy. I’ll post photos.