Fire Cracker!

Well, all I can say about the race this weekend is "Pre-Ride"! There is something to be said about the pre-ride, because you know what to expect and where to expect it. On the first lap, I was taking a corner that turned out to be much sharper then I thought and I washed out on my side and the guy behind me rode over my arm and face. Luckily I was OK for the most part, but, the bike wasn't so good. The rear derailleur was pushed all the way into my spokes. So, I did the only thing you can do out on the trail, I grabbed it and bent it back out and tried to get it as straight as I could, but this is a huge gamble because you can easily brake the hanger off the bike. So, I didn't want to try and get to straight. But I did get it good enough to ride and find a couple gears to ride.

I lost several spots messing around with the bike, but once I found the right gears I started cranking. I started to pass people in the final lap and I was feeling strong. But with the major time loss of the crash, I came in at 11th in my age group and 57th overall.