BULLDOG RUMP RACE REPORT:"What a long strange trip it's been"

Last week I went back to where I grew up in New York for a family / business trip. When I was planning this trip I noticed there was a race in New Jersey on 6/25. Since my favorite TV show is the Sopranos and my favorite musician is Bruce Springsteen, I figured doing a race in Jersey is a must for me! I have never ridden in Jersey never mind raced. I was prepared for a flatter race then we have here in Northern California with more wet roots and rocks, I just did not expect things to be REALLY WET.:eekster: :eekster:
If you watch the news, you know there has been major rain all along the east coast. We have not seen a drop of rain where I live in about 8 weeks, so a "little" rain sounded nice to me.
Well, it rained & rained every day before the race
.




During the race it came down hard when the Sport riders were racing









So by the time the experts started it was like riding in a mixture of peanut butter and diarrhea! :madmax: My group was 40-49 and my plan was to hit it hard from the start. I had this fantasy that because I'm from California and can ride year round, that I would be faster then everyone :skep: …I got the whole shot and was in 1st place for ….about 30 seconds……then a guy named Dave that everyone was cheering for passed me . After running up the first short steep hill we headed down the first hill. Our bikes were sliding all over the place and I realized right away that I was not used to these conditions and I better take it easy if I want to finish in one piece. After my chain came off on the next hill a rider ran passed me in a green team kit. "Mr. Green" and I went back and fourth passing each other each lap, something I hardly ever experience. I thought he was gone then I would catch him, thinking that was it for him, then he would re appear and pass me. This went on till the last lap when I finally put the nail in the Green coffin and passed him for good.

As I started lap 3 the rain was coming down really hard, the trail a mess and so was my bike. I learned to stop trying to shift up front since the bike would not cooperate, can you see why



As I started the 4th and final lap my legs felt OK, but the big problem was seeing the friggin trail. My glasses were useless after lap 1 and now all the mud was going in my eyes. Avery time I went downhill I would get a chunk of mud in the eyes and I would try to rub it out so I could see where the hell I was going! I was going so slow from the mud induced blindness that another racer passed me right before the finish. When I finished I asked where the hose was to wash the bike and me off. They told me there was no hose and that everyone was washing off in the lake. I got this pic before I cleaned up.



Hey I got to race and get a mud facial for free!



I ended up getting 4th place, and will probably have to spend a few hundred bucks to get my bike to work again.:madman: One positive note, no cramping!! I'm becoming a believer in Sportlegs! Next stop 7/15 national championship race.:eekster: