long story.

opus again.

i only really showed up to see if i won some wheels. and to maybe ride the womens race as a coach.

i didn't really feel like getting my ass kicked again in the big show.

so i rode out with the sr, and when we got to registration i asked skibby how many lgr ladies were in attendance.

zero.

wtf?
only 7 women in the race. no lgr. boo.

so then i had pretty much no choice but to race the final opus for real, kind of.

i lined up, the whistle blew, we descended, i dropped my chain.
shit.
get it back on, chase in the little ring, catch on. shift to the big ring, drop the chain again.
shit.
no chasing at this point so i pull off into the staging area, do a few slow circles around the lot, and jump back in the pack as they come by. someone decides to crash about 15 seconds later.
someone else crashes too, all on their own.

i'm tailed off.
repeat parking lot scene.

jump back in. realize i really need to used the restroom.
pull out again for a nature break. from the port-a-potty a hear the pack come by twice.
wait for them, and jump back in.

3 laps later, get dropped. see sr up the road a minute later, catch up.
ride with him, he's bitching about a free lap or something.

the kruse catches up to us.
with 4 to go he asks for some assistance to stay on even laps.
what the hell else am i doing?
i'll work.

sr also works, but pulls a pretty sweet stunt for the photographers that i am surprised he hasn't told you about yet.

3 gut busting laps later, we are half way up the climb, when the pack comes blazing around the corner for the final sprint.

i yell at andy to gun it because they're on our ass.
we have one to go, but all he has to do is beat the leaders to the line to stay even and just roll the last lap.

it was pretty epic.
he squeaked it out by half a wheel i bet.

sr bitched at the officials for 10 minutes about how he should not be down a lap on account of the crash that affected him.
he was scored -1 lap on the results.

the officials let him rant, and i would have to inform him later that he was beat to the line on that final lap by swanson and marcotte, and went down a lap in the last 4 feet of the race.

they gave him his free lap, but he was still down one.
i still don't think he gets it.

oh well. all-in-all i think i went down 5 laps.
maybe 6.

(i was also scored at -1 lap. ha!)