Sunday, July 20, 2008

Fried Clams

In some bike races, I suffer so much that I wish for a flat tire or mechanical problem–a shameless reason to quit. Today was not one of those days. Coming off a week of rest (that included a little relaxing, and not just buzzing around doing everything I don't have time for when I'm training), I felt strong and relaxed riding around the three-mile circuit at the Yarmouth Clam Festival. Coming into the hill before the last lap, I was excited to try to put myself in a good position to sprint like crazy, and finish in the top ten–undeterred by the funny noises coming from my drivetrain.

That drivetrain was my undoing. Crunch! Crash! road rash and a broken chain. The good, or at least not bad, news is that I took no one with me, and walked away (pedalling doesn't get you far without a chain). Ice cream, a Lime Rickey, and then fried seafood were some consolation.
I enjoyed the race (until my chain took me out of contention), the hokey carnival surroundings, and the excuse to spend a weekend at my uncle's harborside home in Maine; I hope for a better outcome next year.


3 comments:

  1. I hope you're doing ok today! That crash scared the jeepers out of me.

    Nothing like fried food after a "fun" race! Hope to see you again soon.

    ReplyDelete
  2. "... included a little relaxing, and not just buzzing around doing everything I don't have time for when I'm training"

    Describes me to a T.

    The balance of real life and trying to improve as a cyclist is a difficult one to find.

    Love reading your blog - keep up the training and cupcake-making!

    ReplyDelete
  3. that sucks to hear about your bit of bad luck. Best to get all those mishaps out of the way before cyclo-cross season though (if there can be a positive point to bad luck!) Hope you are ok from the incident.

    ReplyDelete