Doing it all the hard way...

Saturday, September 24, 2011

The red badges of courage


Scott's legs, post-race

I’ve only done one race and I already have scrapes on both legs. Nothing big or gross, but a couple scrapes of unknown origin. On my right calf there are two lines that are about 5.9mm apart. Since a bike chain is exactly 5.9mm wide, I am guessing the source. When it happened; I have no idea. On my left knee there is a red scrape with an equally dubious pedigree.

My right shoulder had a spot that was tender, and as I was wondering, “what the heck…” I realized it was a bruise from my top tube when I was shouldering the bike running through the never ending sand pit of despair at Lake Sammamish last weekend.

They say that if you like suffering, bike racing is the perfect sport for you. I don’t look forward to getting cuts and scrapes, and my feelings about really suffering are mixed at best. Yet the satisfaction of succeeding at something that is hard is very rewarding. The visible mementos that you get for going to battle tell a story that many are proud to share.

The weather forecast is for possible showers on Sunday. The current chance of rain is 60%. I would not mind if it was dry enough for me to employ my file treads and gain a slight advantage over my nemesis. Historically I have not done well on this course, but history is just history. My only win was on a flat grass course. Hmmm. Stay tuned.

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