Races #153-154: Jimmy just got J-Pow'd (aka Jimmy vs The Pros Part 2)

Photo by Blair Fraley, my Facebook Friend

USGP Derby City Cup, Saturday
I have had a lot of fun at the USGP in the past. Pre-riding I get to ride with a lot of the Pro Women and a ton of them are super cool and don't feel the need to wear a race face. Maybe I get to ride behind Johnson or Trebon and just kind of gawk for awhile. I must admit, I'm a super fan.

But this year the pros seemed more ominous than usual! Maybe it was my head, but I cringed every time I saw one I them, knowing the thumping I was going to get later.

I had a pretty decent start, there were some crashes on the first lap and I perceived that I was passing a lot of people. My brain was saying "yay, you are not be caboose!"

Wow, the course was hard. It is very demanding and there is not a place to rest. Tons of dismounting and run-ups, sand, off-camber, hills. Ouch!

I was battling with a few more guys. I put in an effort through the sand and pushed on the gas hard through the "green monster," the Derby City's flyover with steps up and a ramp down. Well, I get about to the top and I threw up in my mouth a little bit!

My average heart rate was 179 beats per minute and my max was 189 (I swore I saw 193 for a sec)! Typically it is more like 174-176 average and 180 max.

I only made it about 29 minutes and change before I got pulled and I felt pretty happy with that performance. That night everyone let me know I was pretty much second-to-last. Evidently everyone I passed quit the race! Darnit!

Look Mom! I'm a couple of blurry pixels on a Live Stream!

USGP Derby City Cup, Sunday
I want to thank the weather gods the weekend was lovely in Louisville the weather was in the 70's the sun was out. It's so much nicer to suffer when the weather is lovely.

On Saturday I chose to race my Redline. I guess I am a little superstitious about the weight. On Sunday I was determined to race the new IF, wondering if the superior handling would make a difference. I had the worst pre-ride ever, I crashed 3 times, once endo-ing in the downhill sand! This was foreshadowing of things to come. I'm not sure if the front end of the IF is a little heavier, but my wheel kept catching zombie hands in the sand.

I had the worst race —I was in immediately popped out the back. Or at least it felt that way.

I had a crash on 1 the downhills and some stupid wipeouts. I didn't have it that day. I felt like I was dragging an anchor. When I was pulled Bridget grabbed my bike and noticed the rear brake was rubbing. Not sure if it was like that all race or because of a crash. It would be nice to have that as an excuse for my terrible ride.

There was reports of very bad hecklers saying pretty crass remarks. The heckles I received were some of the most witty heckles I have heard. I wonder if they had more time to think of something witty since I was so slow?


I must admit, it is a little disheartening to have the crap kicked out of you by your idols. Not sure if this was a cool opportunity or something no sports fan should endure! I licked my wounds and commuted to work the next day! Back to the grind.