songs in my head

I went into the Curse thinking that it might be the hardest bike race I've done, for the temperature, and for my general perceived slowness and aged creakiness. Saturday was wicked hot, and I was tired, stiff and busy all day. Quigley came up to spend the night for the race, and we rode around town a bit with the boyz, and then feasted on Kim's gourmet talents and kicked a couple growlers.

As happens more often than not before these big, early-start races, I couldn't fall asleep despite being tired all day long. Went to bed before midnight after watching some of le Tour. No Zzzs from 12-1, then got up and went down to the couch and some more Tour. Slept a tiny bit between 1-2 until big Barry came downstairs to use the bathroom. He quickly went back up and I saw on the tv guide that the "The Meaning of Life" was coming on at 3:00 AM. Cool, I thought, something to do. Luckily though, I didn't see any of the movie, I somehow slept nicely until 6-ish. I don't think this is a nervous "how am I gonna do" thing, I think it's more of a fear of oversleeping and missing it, or an "I'm ready now, lets wake up and go" thing.

our neighbor Brandon bringin' it

The race was survival pace from the start for me. I hate that wildcat start down Pinch Flat Alley and took my time, passing many friends with their pumps already in hand. I took Abby Trail as slow and casual as I ever have, catching and chatting with Stephanie Stago a bit. Rode Abby clean until I got to Bender, then stopped and hung out with him for a bit sharing some fun until Stephanie rolled up again. I wasn't thinking about Abby or Yellow Ridge, my head was already on Dug Hill and Canada Hollow. Actually, this picture below is what was in my head most of the day. Dreaming about an easy week in Hatteras next month......., with stacked lines like this...

stolen from Surfline

some lowlights & highlights

• Kim and the neighbors brought the boys out for the kidz race and had fun
  
• cleaning those 2 rock gardens on Sting Trail. I hardly ever clean those on a group ride
• lower down on Sting, I brush close to a pine tree, and a thin branch goes hard into my ear hole. way deeper than any q-tip has gone before. and no cottony softness on the end of it. the hearing in that ear went way down for several miles. it's almost back now
• helping EnduroSteve with a flat
• skipping most of the alternate rock and log play lines that I usually hit on these trails
  
• riding into Jake a few times. Last saw him at that dark dark place at the bottom of the Gilbert Road.
• beer with Travisimo and Bender at the last water stop.
• cleaning that super sketch off the powerline. had been in my head all day that I'd just walk the whole thing, but one clean led to another all the way down it. amazing, I even made it across the creek, never done that on a group ride

I thought I had my bungee budget managed perfectly to get me down the sketch, up the powerline, and home on the sweet Campsite-3 trail. When we took that right down Birch Run Road, something was wrong. I must've missed the left cut thru the woods. I must be following arrows from the 10-mile loop? After dropping down Birch Run, wondering WTF, I turned around and headed back up, looking for the easy way in that I most certainly must've missed. Another rider (the guy who was in distress at the last water stop) came down, certain that it was correct, that he heard it in the racer's meeting. OK, turn around and stretch that bungee out a little more before it snaps. Who in the world thought that adding Birch Run > Wildcat to the end was a good idea? I'm sure that person had a throttle.

All day I had Oliver's favorite song from The Band in my head. By the end, it had been replaced with a classic from the Stones Some Girls album. I'm sure you know the song.

Today is lookin' really good though. Just rode with Oliver over to his summer place at Wilson College, and am working at home with a mountaintop finish at le Tour on the tube. I'm starting to enjoy Mondays almost as much as Sundays. Thanks for reading if you made it this far...