Slipp'n 'n slide'n
North Bend, WA
Monday, April 09, 2007
Seattle is but a short jaunt from that which the world revolves around (North Bend, WA)… With its sprawling population of 5000, I was a bit bewildered to why the race I was off to on Sunday wasn’t just held here in town. Cycling enthusiasts are actually abound here; the pick-up with the “red-neck” sticker is a front.
Needless to say, the criterium was in Seattle, so I took the chance to make the commute part of my race- I thought it was quite industrious really. Anyway, it was a four hour ride, and when I left it was nice ‘n sunny. When I arrived at the race, it was quite cloudy, & moments later it was raining just hard enough to completely soak everything. The ground looked more slippery than ever, & I’d heard rumors of a particular corner being exceptionally treacherous. So I sent Jonathan a quick text to get his take on the situation. He said to either bag it or sit in the back. But after listening to some of the local hotshots muse over ruining their chances for tst by crashing I knew I was gonna make a race of it whether it was slick or not. Just to spite them- hmmm, so you’re not gonna do it ‘cause you’re afraid of crashing out of tst… I’m doin’ it and I’m doing Georgia…
Alas, I was definitely the sketchiest guy out there. I couldn’t figure out why, but every time around corner two, I was sliding somehow no matter how I approached it. I even got the two wheel slide going once… which to me seems, when it’s wet, almost impossible without crashing. I’m gonna have to chalk that up onto my list of many things to ponder (bet you don’t have one of those…). Despite my lack of cornering skill I gave it a go. A group of nine kind of rode away, it was probably from one of the many gaps I initiated around the turn, and ended up winning by some 20 seconds. I suppose it was good training, but that’s a fun one when it’s dry… maybe next year, eh?
Monday, April 09, 2007
Seattle is but a short jaunt from that which the world revolves around (North Bend, WA)… With its sprawling population of 5000, I was a bit bewildered to why the race I was off to on Sunday wasn’t just held here in town. Cycling enthusiasts are actually abound here; the pick-up with the “red-neck” sticker is a front.
Needless to say, the criterium was in Seattle, so I took the chance to make the commute part of my race- I thought it was quite industrious really. Anyway, it was a four hour ride, and when I left it was nice ‘n sunny. When I arrived at the race, it was quite cloudy, & moments later it was raining just hard enough to completely soak everything. The ground looked more slippery than ever, & I’d heard rumors of a particular corner being exceptionally treacherous. So I sent Jonathan a quick text to get his take on the situation. He said to either bag it or sit in the back. But after listening to some of the local hotshots muse over ruining their chances for tst by crashing I knew I was gonna make a race of it whether it was slick or not. Just to spite them- hmmm, so you’re not gonna do it ‘cause you’re afraid of crashing out of tst… I’m doin’ it and I’m doing Georgia…
Alas, I was definitely the sketchiest guy out there. I couldn’t figure out why, but every time around corner two, I was sliding somehow no matter how I approached it. I even got the two wheel slide going once… which to me seems, when it’s wet, almost impossible without crashing. I’m gonna have to chalk that up onto my list of many things to ponder (bet you don’t have one of those…). Despite my lack of cornering skill I gave it a go. A group of nine kind of rode away, it was probably from one of the many gaps I initiated around the turn, and ended up winning by some 20 seconds. I suppose it was good training, but that’s a fun one when it’s dry… maybe next year, eh?
posted by Tom Peterson @ 10:50 PM
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