Mother Nature better Restrain Herself on Saturday

The anticipation is worse. I can taste the first race. I finished my studying for tomorrow's exam and my bike is wired up with new cables and housing; I'm ready for Saturday. I have nothing to write about except for my excitement. It has been a while since I've felt the draft of a pack tearing around corners in a criterium.

I remember being anxious before my first race two years ago. I was nervous not knowing the way of the pack. It was around 32 degrees with a mix of rain and snow. Worse yet for my virginal experience, bodies were hitting the floor. Around the second lap, I heard the most unnatural, torturous sound of aluminum, carbon fiber, steel and titanium attempting to mix. I swerved around one collegiate athlete on the wet, bloody, pavement.

I heard voices spreading through the peloton. Regrouped, we rode around the loop at a neutral pace. The first time we passed the downed cyclist, I saw people crowded around him holding his neck. Halfway through the course, an ambulance sped around us. Passing the rider again, we gawked as the EMS worker put a neck brace around the athletes bloodied neck. Maybe I should have ignored the incident, but I couldn't. My uncensored eyes quickly presented the idea that road racing may not be as safe as mountain biking. As a result, while riding the neutral laps around the course, I formed a firm understanding of what I was getting myself into. I was exposed to one of the inevitable aspects of racing: the crash.

I used to be fearful of crashes, but now I don't think about them. I ride smart and look above for some help. People have said that bike racers are superstitious. I never saw it until I realized I was forming a pre-race ritual. As we wait at the start line, I grab the necklaces that were given to me while in India, one being whats left of a crucifix, and I say a quick prayer. I'm not a very religious person, but I do believe. As with racing, my faith grows in certain circumstances.

Enough of this personal stuff. Just know that I'm ready to ride. My legs feel fresh and I have a good feeling about this collegiate race opener. However it turns out, I will be happy to be back in a pack.