It's nothing worth 'weeping' over...

Yeah...  this last race, EFTA's Weeping Willow, couldn't even be chalked up to a good workout.  When I realized I was going to have to DNF, I had it in my head that I'd figure out my tire dilemma and head out to ride and explore until the race was over.  Then it became apparent that it wasn't likely that the air would stay in and I was having a good time chatting it up with a good group of people, so I decided to call it a day.

I was probably sunk before I even started the race, but I just hadn't quite noticed yet.  About a couple of miles in, my bike became progressively more and more squirrelly in the front end.  Thinking back, it felt weird when I started the race, but I just thought it was because I was so out of breath.  Now, I realize my tire was probably bogging me down even more than my out of shape lungs were.

So, I finally conceded to the idea that I'd be better off just turning around and heading back rather than trying to finish the first lap, so I hid in the brush and cheered as the men and women who'd started behind me tore their way through the single track.  I inched my way slowly back to the double track, attempted to ride the now very flat tire a little further, and eventually came across a man who appeared to be comfortably reclining in the woods next to his buddy.  These guys were spectating, but only because one couldn't move, and the other was there to make sure he was okay while help came.  I offered to get back as quickly as I could to send for help, the reclining man offered me CO2, and because I couldn't figure out the fancy contraption he used to inject his CO2 cartridges, I graciously allowed the poor guy to put the air in for me.  Don't worry, I brought my bike over to him.  If anyone knows this guy, please tell him thank you again, and I really hope he's okay and recovers quickly.

I was off again, but I knew I was probably going to be racing the slow leak that I had coming from some unseen point on my tire.  By the time I was within 200 meters or so of the start/finish area, the elite men were already starting to come through on their next lap, and people were already notified of the injured man and on their way to retrieve him.

It was a brilliant day for spectating.  The weather was lovely, so standing around all afternoon talking to friends in the sun kept me pretty upbeat despite my first DNF (and hopefully last) of the season.  It is the past couple of days since that I've been getting upset about it.  It's weird how I can be DFL at a bunch of races and care less about that than not finishing.  Anyhow, after I checked out the situation with the wheel, it's apparent that I wouldn't have finished the race even if I had been prepared enough to have my own pump with me.  I had a hole in the rim tape that looked like it had been there awhile; there was Stan's caked around the hole that seemed to have loosened up.  I'm guessing that all of the wet stuff I'd been riding though last week was the final straw, and the sealant could have gone at any time.

So the worst part about it all, is I didn't get a good ride in Sunday, and this week, I'm enrolled in an intensive week-long English class that is consuming every waking moment of my life (with the exception of the 20 minutes or so I'm taking as a break to write this ).  I'm hoping to get outside, regardless of the rain to bust out some intervals on the pavement.  Here's hoping...

One bonus for the week is that the books and short stories I am reading for this class are fantastic.  Tobias Wolff and ZZ Packer are my new favorite writers.  Also, I got my grades for the spring semester and it looks like all of my hard work paid off - four As and a B.