............. The Fine Grind: ....bam

I think I'm going to invest in a horseshoe factory, because I think its the only way I'm going to get rid of all this bad luck.

The weekend was up and down. The team and I were greeted with 38degree temperatures in Washington for the race. The change in weather is ridiculous but oh man I was loving it. I was almost at home in the heat coming from Tucson. Our Thermal long sleeve skin suits were a little ridiculous, but got the job done in style. I think I might cut the arms off for Euro trash factor and turn them into arm warmers.

(Gordan and le team)

I got 10th in the TT(of 46) which was ok for 3rd time on the new TT bike. The photos reveal that lots of work needs to be done on the position though to scrub a little extra drag.

The Crit was where the trouble started. It was a twilight/night crit on a pretty good course if you were riding a mountain bike. Honestly the pavement was so bad the race was rougher than the Harris Roubaix race. A lot of people's wheels were exploding hitting the potholes and there was about 15 flats in a hour long race.

I was having the best Crit I raced all year. Honestly the legs were fast and fresh and I never dropped below the top 20, which I was super pleased with. The problem started on the second-last corner of the race....300meters to go. The pack went in super hot and a Total Restoration guy slid out directly in front of us(I was running 8th). He took me and about 5 other guys out sliding directly in front of the pack.

I cant remember the crash but I remember getting up. Brett, who was behind me said I rode over a guy(we saw the chain ring marks), then hit the deck, slid for a 10 feet directly into a curb. All going 52km/h..the Garmin/Polar doesn't lie.

When I got up I was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo pissed off that I was so close to having a great result...honestly so close, and the team and I were in perfect position. Luckily Scott who was running about 5th sprinted for 4th on the Stage.

The Ambulance yielded a very bruised knee, shoulder, left calf, and I re-opened the elbow that had just healed that week from the crash 2 weeks before. What a mess. Not to mention some new ventilation holes in a brand new team kit.

When I looked at my bike later that night it revealed something more expensive.....crack.

So I was out for the road stage. I was VERY bummed about that as it was such a beautiful course. Brett said it was like racing in Europe with 14km climbs and super fast descents. I might go down in a few weeks to ride in that area again simply because the riding was so nice and I didn't get to ride the friggin' course.

(The Road Race course)

Scott kept showing all of us who is boss and pulled out another 4th on the road race stage to get 4th overall. That guys a legend. Brett got a top 10, and overall the team did well.

So that's that. I went to the hospital last night for some x-rays on the knee and a check of the shoulder and nothings broken..just stiff and swollen. Doc said take a couple days off, so I'm hoping to get back on the bike tomorrow. I think I might ride the MTB now that the roadie is out of commission until I find a new frame.

I think someone is forcefully telling me to ride a friggin' mountain bike.