changing gears

"Why does mommy's bike have gears? Gears just makes your chain mess up" Oliver Camp, yesterday.

Time for some self-reflection. That's what blogs are for right?? Looking at the results from the Stoopid, seeing where I placed, seeing some friends names I usually finish with, most of whom were above me in the table. Why, I wonder?

Most readers of my words know that I take these long races at party pace. This isn't the Weds. at Wakefield, or Fountainhead, where I have had a realistic shot at the podium. It's all about finishing a long ride with more friends than usual, not being too destroyed to party after the race, and be able to ride my bike the next day. But I do expect to finish fairly well, given how many of these that I've done, I'm only 155 lbs, have decent rock skills, and I ride a bike which makes me climb hills fast. Sure, I'm 45, but, so what...., I ain't the only one. If I have any actual "goal" in these 50s and 100s and XXs, it's to finish in the top quarter of the field. I think I've done that once in the SM100, the first year I rode my SS, with a 32x18. My only sub 10-hour finish there.

So, breakin' the table down into 15-minute finish increments, ignoring the sub 5-hour group, let's see where I might think I should've finished... The 5-5:15 group, Withers, Jamie, Litterbug, nah, I don't think so. The 5:15-5:30 crew, Pete, Travis, Kuhn, Tomi, Topher, Taylor and Martin. Nope, maybe on a fun ride in Michaux they'll let me hang, but not when a gun is involved. OK, so the 5:30-5:45 group of mostly guys I don't know. But I do know Keith, and I know I ain't as swift as he, even with a missed turn. 5:45-6:00?? Albert, Buddy the Leg Breaker, and FatMarc? Now that's familiar company. So I finished 3 minutes after that group and I'm giving myself a hard time??? Three minutes behind Brian Kenny who usually kills me at the Wild 100.

I guess I can get over it.
I guess, if I really want to get over it, I can swap out that wimpy 32x22 for something with a little more bite to it. Sure, that'll hurt a little more, but hey, then I'll get back 5 minutes sooner and have more time to drink beer.