S.E.R.C. XC Race Clemson

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6-15-2008 Clemson XC Race

After coming off a great result the day before in the time-trial, I was feeling ready to race. I changed and began to warm-up. The nagging sluggish feeling in my body still remained but I was hoping to capitalize on the decent form I found yesterday.

After a decent warm-up and a kiss from my girlfriend I lined up for the start. Today looked promising as the rain had held off and a cool front had moved in.

We were off. The start was a quick with all the riders filing in the woods shortly after. I wound up entering the woods in fourth, a little further back than I wanted for these trails but still manageable.

After a fast, loose, rocky downhill there was a sharp left with two routes. Locking the brakes up, I ducked on the inside route and moved up two spots. The next place to make a move would be the first of the harder climbs of the day. Still in a group we hit the first steep section.

After monster trucking through some debris on the trailside, I made my move. Now in first I hit the next section of the climb fairly hard. I soon began to open a gap. I was cranking out of the saddle when a stick or something else locked up my drive train. This sent me catapulting over the bars.

During my flight, I introduced my knee to my stem. They hit it off rather well and left me flailing around in the middle of the trail. After flopping around briefly I regained composure and began to chase. With my bars knocked to one side I gave it my all.

As my knee began to swell and turn blue each climb became more difficult. By the end of the first lap I was sitting trying to spin every climb. Losing more and more ground I decided to cut my losses and shut it down. I made my way to the car and began to have a few beers to ease the swelling. Maybe next time.