Yesterday I participated in my second Canadian Cyclocross Championships. I was a fair bit slower this year, but on the flip-side I was far less nervous. The race went great. The weather was nice (maybe too nice) and I had loads of family, friends and teammates cheering me on seemingly at every corner.
The last two laps I battled it out with this fellow:
(click to see my poppy)
I've been at events where I've raced against guys with vocal cheering sections, and when they're cheering for the other guy it really sucks. So it should come as no surprise that I gapped him on the last lap to at least win one small battle.
Had I not fallen three times I might have nabbed a better placing, but all the dirt on my back only proved that I rode with everything I had - it's such a good feeling knowing that all your effort is spilled out on the course - no regrets.
I ended up 24th out of 55 starters in the Men's 40-49 field. Not great, but I bet I was the first guy to cross the line with cancer. Or at least the second.
- - -
This will be my last post for a day or two, so some house cleaning is in order:
- Apologies for the depressing turn at the end of the last post. I was quoting my kids where a cheerier paraphrase would have sufficed.
- I'm checking in at 6:00 AM for what should be an 8:00 AM surgery. If all goes well it will only take 4-5 hours.
- After that I'm in ICU (acronym!) for a few hours, followed by a day or two in a step-down room.
- Once I'm out of there I can start taking visitors if Christi deems me lucid and handsome enough to do so.
- If she's up for it you might get a guest blog post or two from her. Hopefully she won't Wally Pipp me. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wally_Pipp
See you on the other side,
Kevin
See you there. Love and Light.. or should I say Bike?
ReplyDeleteWe'll be waiting on the other side. All our total best.
ReplyDeleteI think we raced shoulder to shoulder in one of your first cross races. Ever since then I have watched you ride faster and faster. No tricks or magic, just hard work and a real love of cycling. Watching you ride on Saturday I could not see much weight on your shoulders and it seemed like the wind was always behind you. As always you had some encouraging words for me after the race. The silver lining here seems to be a new perspective for you. One that I know you will employ with great care for years to come. I will gladly ride with you at crit nationals next year so we both finish with the pack.
ReplyDelete