too many numbers

25 miles,
5th place,
14th overall,
34t x 15t,
60psi F&R,
2 bottles of water,
85 degrees farenheit,
1 bee sting on the abdomen,
Average Hr 164, max 176,
first lap in 48:46 167avHr,
second lap in 53:10 161avHr,
total time 1:41:56,
8:17 behind David's 1st place time of 1:33:39,
2 beers.

Yesterday was a rollercoaster of mood swings. I was in a very good mood after the race largely because I thought I'd finished in third place. I inquired politely when I saw the posting of the results... and realized there was nothing I could do. When the race started I was 6th into the woods behind 5 multispeeders after a very fast paved start. My teammate David, who lives near Lake Geneva, passed me a mile or so later and I managed to keep him in sight for most of the first lap. At roughly half-way I was passed by another single speeder wearing a green jersey. We went back and forth for a while. He had a better climbing gear but I had more speed on the flats and downhills. With half a lap to go he lost me on a grade and I wouldn't see him again until nearly the end. There were a few multispeeders from time to time, all of them in my way but going slower. My most satisfying moment came when I set up a pass on a downhill corner. I announced "passing on the left" but he kept to the left side of the trail. There was room so I stayed to the left and passed him anyway. As I pulled abreast he asked why I didn't go right and I told him I was committed. As I completed the pass he uttered "damn, a singlespeed." I kept my tempo amazingly steady as far as my body was concerned but my speed did slip a bit. Once the last set of fallen tree obstacles were ridden over I caught two more multispeeds just before the remaining mile of pavement to the finish. I could hear Phil Liggett's voice describing Jan Ulrich climbing a hill..."he slowly ticks over the pedals like a diesel engine building speed" ...as I wound up my RPM's to maybe 100. I gapped the multi that exited the woods just ahead of me and by the finish line I managed to put 3 seconds on him. 13 minutes later Jesse, shortly followed by Marco, finished the 37.5 mile Expert race. They both rode their Ferrous' set up for single speed, but entered in the Expert/29 & under Category as a "protest." More likely they wanted to fuck with the multispeeders. Ah, to be young and fit again.

Today was marginally better. After a good day at work I ran errands on the Rig and then gave it a bath and lube. the ride was nothing stressful but my body had no aches and didn't protest when I sprinted a few times. Tomorrow after school I hope to ride in spite of the forecast of rain.