Racing at night

A couple of days ago the Murphy night race took place, I came in DFL but I had a blast.

The whole day was really cloudy and windy which made it very chilly. I was not totally prepared for the weather but it was alright. The race started at like 6:30 and they gave us a few seconds in a staggered start. I decided to go last because I knew I wouldn't be a very strong rider. When I ride, I usually put in miles and almost never worry about speed. While I was out there I was running faster than usual and I was well beyond an anaerobic, I felt like my heart was going to flop out of my chest.

I've ridden Murphy once, but I did not do a lot of the course, I just kind of whisped around on a demo Cannondale bike. It was much different at night with one light. I found that I kept staring off into darkness. I believe another light for my helmet may be in my future. Everyone had a lot of fun and Freewheel provided some pizza and drinks for everyone. We had a little fire going but we were all sweaty and it was cold, so we were cold. No one hung out for long, we gave out door prizes and such and then everyone pretty much went on their way. All in all, it was a great night.

Last night I picked up a pair of Fasterkatt's. I am sick of cold feet and I hate booties with a passion, so I decided to bite the bullet and get them. I wore them around the house last night and they are on my feet right now as I write this. The weather actually seems like it is going to be pretty nice for the next few days and since I run a little hot anyway, I don't plan on using them this weekend but I am sure when it cools down next week I will put them to good use. When I get some good miles on them I'll write up a little review.

The CrossCheck is still down but will be undergoing some major surgery tonight. I've got some new Paul Engineering Components touring cantilever brakes and some new SRAM Red shifters I'll be tossing on there, along with new cables and such. My Rival shifters are soft and gummy. I've tried to flush them out but it did not help, well after I bought the new shifters I found that I could have just bought a rebuild kit. Oh well, live and learn.

I plan on doing a ton of riding this weekend and you should too. It will be the last hoorah of good weather I suspect. Get out there and enjoy it!