Quad Cities Crit...Bon Jovi Greatest Hits

Having never raced in the rain before Saturday's Snake Alley event, I was a bit surprised and annoyed that I once again was going to get some real time experience. Of course, it didn't rain BEFORE our Cat 3 race, allowing time to make equipment adjustments, it rained right as we started. I had on a nice and speedy 19mm wide TT tire and 60 mm aero front wheel. Not sure on the tire pressure, but wishing I could put on my regular wheel set.

The announcer spent several minutes chatting about how oil can surface on roads when it rains, and the slickness of painted road markings. Well, I didn't think much about it as I got a great start.

-"SLIPPERY WHEN WET"-
I was setting a great pace coming into turn 7 of the very first lap as my wheel slid out from under me and I began sliding across the pavement. Thankfully, I was far enough ahead of everyone that the others had time to stir around me.

I hopped back on my bike and easily got back into the pack, that I believe was now abit sketchy having seen my wipeout. My bike seemed functional, but as I started to see my sock turn from white to pink with blood, I started to wonder if I should keep racing. I had skin abrasions on my calf, hip, forearm, shoulder and knuckles.

My nerves were pretty shot, as I caught up with and even passed some riders. The field was completely shattering into many groups, as everyone had a different level of confidence with respect to cornering in the rain. The announcer noticed this, realizing people weren't getting dropped because of lack of fitness, but because of inability to corner as fast as the group.

Several others dumped their bikes throughout the race. Somehow, I finished 52nd out of 75 riders. Amazing, considering I only really rode about 7 laps. So 22 riders were out very early on. The refs continued to pull people. Towards the end of the race I have to guess there were only about 30 people still in a race that paid back 20 spots. How sweet it would have been to be one of those guys.

Knowing that I had signed up for the Masters 1,2,3 race that started right after this one, I decided to pull off at the first aid tent. They attended to my injuries, then I went over to get my more rain friendly wheelset and prepped for race number two.

Sure, I wasn't really positive that I should race again. My bike was battered, as was I, and my nerves were a factor. However, it was starting to dry up and I felt better about riding tires that were wider and that I could lower to 100 psi for extra grip. Most importantly, I would have been severely 'beaten down' had I not given the next race a try. I didn't want the weekend to end on this down note.

Below are the pictures from that race. You can see the bandages on my calf and arm.

I thoroughly enjoyed this race. It was smoother and ultimately got into a controlled rhythm and was actually able to 'race' with this experienced field. The rain on the road was drying up lap by lap, as well.

My only goal was to finish this race without crashing or getting dropped (which seemed likely to my shattered state of mind), so coming in 18th out of over 40 riders in this very competitive field was a bonus.

I gained a lot of new knowledge as a result of this weekend. Unfortunately, if I replaced all of the damaged parts and clothing/shoes the crash caused, these will be very expensive lessons.

I am a little out of it right now, but sure that I will be ready to roll by the next criterium I race in a few weeks from now.