This past weekend Thor and I were finally around on the weekend and able to go to our first cyclocross race of the season. The rain had been coming down, the mud was thick, and our entire team was going to be out for the second Cross Crusade race of the season at Rainier High School.
In typical Tingey fashion we left the house waaaaaay too late and got to the race venue about 35 minutes before the start of our race. We rushed to registration, and then warmed up for about 20 minutes before our start. Thor's field went out first, with mine following about 1.5 minutes later. I got to the top of the first hill and around the corner with the main pack, and as I entered the woods for the first time there was Thor standing on the sidelines cheering. He'd blown his rear tire out in the roots on the first turn. The first $30 registration down the tubes. Rainier 1: Tingeys 0.
I continued to race hard - (although not that hard if this picture is any indication of my effort level) - and quickly remembered how tough cx can be! I think it had been at least 5 or 6 weeks since i'd put in a hard effort on my bike, and my lungs and legs were feeling it! About 4 laps in I burped my rear tire going around a corner, and lost almost all the air. I hopped off course and almost quit then (ahhh - hind sight is so 20/20) - but a bunch of well-intentioned hecklers on the sidelines convinced me to hop back in it and just run my bike to the pit (about half a lap away). I made it into the pit, pumped up my tire, hopped back on my bike and made it about another 1/4 lap before the final disaster struck. I was coming around a corner and realized the line I was on was going to put me right up against the tape at the side of the course on the outside of the corner. There were about 4 spectators there who did not appear to be moving even though it was becoming rapidly apparent that I was likely going to run into them because of how close to the course they were. At the last minute I put down my left foot without really thinking about it - and my foot stuck in the mud, catapulting me over the handlebars somehow and onto my back off course. I laid there for a bit thinking that they pain in my knee would go away and I would be able to get up and keep riding, but it did not. Second $30 registration of the day down the tubes. Rainier 2: Tingeys 0.
Soooo - anyhow. The end of the story is that I have a torn MCL (medial collateral ligament) in my left knee, and I have a super sweet ankle to mid-thigh brace that I get to wear 24/7 for the next eight weeks. I don't know if I'll need surgery yet - I need to go in for an MRI first, and before I can go in for an MRI my insurance has to decided that I do, in fact, need an MRI. Lovely. In the meantime I am at home icing and elevating my knee to try and get the swelling to subside. I'll probably be back to work next week, but it will be a slow couple of months for me coming up. At least it's not mountain biking season!
Here's a fun recap from the Tireless Velo crew - and a fun series of pictures that Bob Croucher on our team took of me clearing the barriers at the race before my untimely end.
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| The end result. |
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