Bloomer

The race at Bloomer that was suppose to happen on 5/17 was re-scheduled for 5/24 because of rain. This trail is swampy even on a good day.

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I did this race after five unscheduled rest weeks in a row. I spent these rest weeks carbo-loading so I showed up on Sunday well rested and with five extra pounds of stored energy around my waist. I have never been so unprepared for a race in my life. I won the Sport Single Speed class but that doesn't mean anything by itself; only four people showed up in my class and I would have finished in last if I raced Expert Single Speed. I was exactly 30 seconds faster than last year and my lap times were average for Expert geared racers, which are both positive signs.

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At the last minute I changed my rear gear. It turned out to be a good choice for the course but apparently I didn't tighten my rear skewer enough. The wheel loosened up and I dropped my chain three times before I stopped, readjusted it, and hopped back on the course just in time to get stuck behind the second wave of Sport riders. I finished the first lap over a minute out of first. My family came to watch me race, first time in about 5 years, and it looked like I was going to come in last place. Nice. I slowly crawled my way back into the race. An OK finish but a reminder to myself that I can't take another 5 weeks off.