Fitness Douchebags

Yesterday turned out to be what was probably the hottest day of the year so far, perfect for rolling out of bed with about four hours of sleep and going for a hot, sandy ride around Candlestick Point.  And by “perfect” I mean “kind of a terrible idea.”  Didn’t have time for a practice ride around the course or any kind of warmup, but with some patient support from Riana I did make it to the starting line numbered and chipped.

Once I did hit the course, “lumpy and dusty” turned out to be an understatement.  There were long stretches of nothing but dry sand, turns through one-inch gravel that was six inches deep and paths through the grass more pitted than the face of a greasy teenager.  I think I counted five falls on the first lap alone.

Also dropped my chain a couple of times, and at one point only figured out that I’d just completely missed a turn when the white course tape I’d ridden through finally snapped across my front wheel.  Fell three more times before the race was done, was listed as finishing 52nd out of 59 and the whole experience can be most accurately described as a hot mess.

But I won some style points with my ensemble and had a shit ton of fun.  And of all the crashes, I didn’t actually go down in the same place twice, meaning I think I might have actually learned something. (For instance, show up in time to preview the course first!)  So naturally while I was at home icing my knee and trying not to think about how long my marathon training will be interrupted, I signed up for the next race.

For the full race report, check out the NCNCA CX blog. Before and after photos by Riana Pfefferkorn.