Ruminations and Revelations

So, I've been reflecting on Sea Otter. Here are a couple of thoughts:

1. Short Track - I am not a short track kind of guy. Go super-hard from a dead stop on a tiny course. Sort of like cross without the barriers and mud. Or cool atmospher or beer. The race was over before I got warmed up.

But the cool thing about this race is that I got to ride a Pivot FS bike. Now, you know me; I'm not a FS or geared kind of guy. But this trip was about trying new things, and this race was an opportunity to do just that. The bike was awesome! It handled the course with ease, and although I didn't lock anything out it didn't feel like riding a sick water Buffalo. I'm kind of bummed that I didn't get a chance to ride this bike out on the XC course. I was offered the opportunity, but declined in favor of a plate of pad thai.

2. Road Circuit Race - I have to admit that I was surprised to do so poorly in this race. I'm no road racing stud, but I've won Cat 5 races before. More than once. So to get dropped at the start just didn't seem right. I was dealing with a stomach issue, not enough sleep, etc. But still; dropped from a Cat 5 race? It just didn't seem right.

So I was looking at the road bike this afternoon. I noticed that the new Rival crank I had installed just before leaving for Sea Otter was tight. Very tight. Like, I had a hard time turning it. I almost did a post before I left about how I greatly favor the Shimano method of attaching cranks as opposed to the Sram method. The pinch bolts (or whatever they are called) on the Shimano stuff is idiot-proof. Apparently, the Sram stuff is not. I loosened the bolt on the non-drive crank arm and what do you know? Now the crank spins... I know, I know; excuses are like ass-holes. Nevertheless, this makes me feel at least a little bit better.

So make of that what you will. It was still a good trip; the stories I heard on the way down and back were worth the price of admission. But some better results should be on the horizon soon. That will be fun, too.