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Running to the Points Lead |
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Written by Sean Daley
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Monday, 21 April 2008 |
Running to the points lead, literally!
Winsted Woods
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Winsted, CT
So last week at Hop Brook Dam I had a good race and took second place. This week I was hoping that I could score enough points to get the Root 66 leaders jersey. I felt a little rough warming up but I figured I would feel fine after the start. I hadn’t pre-rode the course, but I knew I wanted to be leading into the single track.
After the gun went off I jumped into first place and hit the first climb. It wasn’t long or hard, but for some reason I was feeling rough. I was leading another strong rider out until he overcame me in the second bit of single track. The single track was composed of soft soil, rocks and roots. It was a lot more rough on the body than Hop Brook Damn. My back started to bother me right away.
After I lost sight of the guy in first I was all alone. I had a pretty big lead, but I was hurting pretty bad. My Fiancé (Kyla) wasn’t with me this week to hand me water and cheer me one so I asked one of the girls at the feed zone if she would hand me my water. After coming through the start finish in second I knew first was at least 2 minutes out and possibly more. I pulled myself together a bit and started to concentrate on gaining back any time that I could.
In the middle of the course there was a long gradual climb that was open to the sun. It was there that the trouble started. I heard a ticking sound and had what I thought was a chainsuck until, all of a sudden, my legs were spinning out of control, I had lost my chain. I hoped off the bike to see what the damage was, and realizing I had no tools I pulled out my front skewer and tried to bend the link open and secure it by hitting it with a rock. I was having no luck. I was covered in grease and quite frankly bummed. I try not to sweat the small stuff, but I had a good lead. Then it came to me that no one had come up the trail and I realized I had a much bigger gap that I thought. After a while riders started going by.
I thought to myself, well the chain is toast, there weren’t too many guys in the line at the start maybe I can salvage some points by running it in. So I whipped my chain in the woods and started to run with my bike. I rode the down hills and ran everything else. Everything was going great until my bike bounced off a root and my pedal hit me in the side of the knee so hard it took my breath away. I was not loving it.
I kept on going and came thorough the start finish clipped in on one side of my bike pushing off with the other foot. On the second lap I was with a couple of other riders for a while and a steady stream would pass on the flat sections. The down hills were a reprieve and after a while I was hating it. I was given word of encouragement as most riders past, except for the one guy who passed me right after I the first climb, he said “you have a really long way to go man.” Yeah, I know, thanks buddy.
After about, I’m guessing six or seven miles of running, I came down the single track to the start finish and pushed myself to 10th place. Had I known that I had scored 35 points I would have stuck around. I grabbed a cheeseburger, compliments of my buddy Trevor, and headed to the parking lot and the three-hour ride home.
Then that night I was checking out the root 66 page and noticed I had scored the 35 points, but it was listed under C. Sean Daley and my results from last week under Sean Daley. Now C is the first initial of my fist name that I don’t use because my parents called me by my middle name; Sean. I have to use my first initial on my credit card so when I pre registered it came up. So I e-mailed the director and informed him of the situation. He let me know it was all taken care of and that I could pick up my leader jersey next week. So I literally ran to points lead! Sweet.
The guy that won did so by a ridiculous 16 minutes. I wasn’t too far off the lead when I broke my chain and think that I will be upgrading after the Connecticut Championships in two weeks.
I have a rest week this week and a huge egg on my knee to heal. Until next week, enjoy the nicer weather.
Sean
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