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After feeling wishy washy about doing the Mad Anthony Cyclocross race until this morning I went ahead and did it anyway, and I’m really glad I did. Riding up and down and around Historic Fort Wayne (Wikipedia) was a blast, especially heading through the stone tunnel of the sally port.
Unfortunately, about 1/3 – 1/2 of the way through my last lap I pinch flatted my rear tire, just after hopping up a curb and while navigating a long switchback grass downhill section. I’d just passed an employee of the shop that I ride for (Trail’s Edge) and right as we were exchanging greetings a hiss started, and as I turned the next corner I felt the rear wheel wobble and slide out from under me, indicating a definite flat. While I was only mid-pack, I still felt like I was riding well and having a good day. This instead ended the race for me and began a long walk back to the start. It would have been nice to finish, but at least I got to ride most of the race. Oh well.
For this race I used the aforementioned 69er and found that it worked out really well. I need to move spacers around a bit and drop the bars, but it otherwise works really well and is quite fun to ride. I think I’ll keep it in this setup.
(The photo above was taken with my phone just before the start of the Class B race. More photos should be available later, and hopefully even a video. Matt Dughi, creator of some top-notch local cycling videos, was out at the race today filming and had his new wire cam setup running along with his normal hand-held footage.)