The Race that Almost Wasn't

Saturday was the Church Creek Time Trial. For my race report go here. What follows is the rest of the story.

Thursday

I was riding to work on the TT bike hoping to hit Hains Point during lunch for some laps to get reacquainted with the bike position. I knew that I was missing a bolt in my crank but had been assured by the guys at the bike shop that it was ridable. Well, it was not. Riding up 14th St I felt a little wiggle in my foot. At first I thought my cleat was loose but with the next pedal stroke I found myself splayed on the aero bars and ping-ponging between two cars. I somehow managed to stay upright and pedal with one leg to safety.

Not what you want to see on your morning commute. That spot of grease on my leg has turned into a nice bruise from where I hit the thingy where the crank should go.

After surveying the damage, I realized that I would have to walk the remaining mile to work. With no shoes in my pack (I keep them at work) and not able to release my crank/pedal from the shoe I trudged barefoot not wanting to mess up my brand new Raw Talent Ranch socks. In fact, one of my first thoughts after the incident was how happy I was that I did not hit pavement and ruin my RTR kit.

The new RTR kit. Very retro and cool. If you want one of the coolest kits out there (next to the C3 kit of course) get in touch with Jay Moglia.

Thankfully I work near one of DC's newest bike shops, The Bike Rack. I called and Chuck promised that if I could bring the bike by his shop he'd do whatever possible to get me rolling again. And he did. He even had to take a bolt from a bike on the showroom floor, but rest assured... he has already ordered a new one for that bike. Thanks Chuck!

Chuck at The Bike Rack.

So with the bike as good as new, and only minimal swelling in my ankle I was set for Saturday's TT.

Friday

I probably should not admit this but I played hooky from work Friday. Sonja and I had the White Menace (aka Azucar) for the weekend and I really wanted to take her hiking. So off we went to Fort Marcy, our favorite watering hole (the swimming kind, not the drinking kind... that would be Sonoma).

Azu is an extremely athletic dog but got a late start in the swimming arena so I've been working with her on various tricks. My goal for the weekend was to get her to start jumping into the water, not just wading in after the stick. I found a suitable rock with water deep enough for her to jump and tried to persuade her to join me on the rock. Now, I'm not the brightest bulb in the tanning bed, so I thought I could pull her up on the rock with a big stick. Well, instead of my pulling her up she pulled me down into the water, twisting my left knee in the process.

At first I thought nothing of it, but as the evening wore on I could barely walk. Sonja used her "magic tape" and I put some ice on it, but I was going to be a race-day decision.

Kinesio tape is the bomb.

Even though I hurt my knee, seeing Azu jumping off the rock was worth it. This is what she looks like after one of our hikes.

Saturday

I woke up after a restless evening. Every time I turned over I had severe pain in my knee. Sonja did not want me to race but I promised her that I would abandon if necessary.

After a very long drive due to beach traffic and a pit stop for someone to visit the cornfields, we arrived at the race venue. The knee did not feel great, but I was determined to at least start and I'm so glad I did. Only the first couple of pedal strokes hurt but when I settled down into tempo, the pain in my knee was a distant memory. (If only it would stay that way... turns out I have some kind of issue with my meniscus. More on that later.)

Unnamed rockstar.

On the way home, we once again hit traffic but made the best of it by stopping at Wendy's. Sonja and Anathea chose their meals wisely. Amanda and I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich. If you know Amanda and me, you know that we will eat pretty much anything, but we draw the line at rawhide.

Grilled chicken or rawhide?

A closer look at what was truly an inedible chicken sandwich.