Last Saturday Chad and I were in Sunbury racing in the YMCA fundraiser. It's not a USACycling event but it still draws a good crowd like cat.2 (I think) roadie Ray Adams (he also happens to be a semi-pro mountain biker on VisitPA.com).

It was an interesting day for me since I had no bike but was still racing. I had a mishap with my Rivet so I had to get my 'cross bike into somewhat road gearing. I only run a single ring (instead of the double on a road bike) and it is normally a 42. I had a 46 laying around so I put that on but then I thought "those climbs are going to kill if I only have a 46" so I put a 27 on the rear. This gave me almost as low a gear as a 39x25 but my top end was way short. About 19 gear inches to be exact. I figured I'd pull Chad as long as I could keep up.

Just as we were about to start Chad's brother pulled in with his bike. A 52cm (50 is about my limit) but it had a big ring! Woo woo! I quickly put on my wheels, adjusted the seat and lined up.

Being an open category race I took the lead out of the blocks to weed out the pretenders. It worked pretty well since the first three miles were up hill. I pulled the whole way until about 3/4's of the way up when Ray took off. I guess I was going too slow for him. I saw Chad hang on his wheel so I dug deep to stick with them. Just as we were about to crest the first climb I heard a "hiss". Another flat for me. The wheel support was way back and it took them about 3-4 minutes to get to me so I just called it a day. There was no chance of getting back on now. I got a lift back to the start line and waited.

While I was waiting I checked my computer. Three miles, just over 10 minutes, and 1000 feet of elevation gain. Seems fast to me.

Tomorrow is Iron Hill MTB. It's #9 in MASS. Tom, Joel, Shawn, and I should be there. I haven't heard if Brooke will be there or not.

Next for the road is Race Ave. Crit on the 23rd in Lancaster city. It should be a blast.

The season is starting to wind down but 'cross is right around the corner. 'Cross is always fun, even if it's not.