Hopkins crit - broken spoke

After debating between the 3/4 race and the 4/5 race, I decided to go with the 4/5 race. I'd heard about some scariness at the stockyards crit in that field, but hoped for the best. It would be nice to have a chance at making something happen, or at least not get pulled! That was not to be, but not because of getting dropped or crashing, fortunately.

To stay safe, I went straight to the front for the first two corners. On the back stretch I softpedaled into the wind, and got swooped up by the field before the second two corners, but everyone seemed to be riding safely, and I relaxed. Everything went well, and the old instincts were there, no worries, and I was having fun.

After a while I started moving back up again, and got out of the saddle to sprint up the left side in the straightaway to gain some position, when suddenly my foot pulled out of the pedal (again) and I dropped my chain. Later on I found out I had broken a spoke on the drive side of the back wheel, right in the middle! Not sure what caused what, but since I had ridden to Hopkins instead of driving (in which case I'd have spare wheels), my race was over.

I'm not too upset, though. I've got the mojo back, enough fitness to hang with the 4s at least, and most importantly, no crashes. There were a couple later on, though, but fortunately no one was hurt too seriously.

Of note, Birchwood was riding very well. Todd, Eric, Talib and Chris were all riding strong and well. Nice racing with you guys today! Thanks also to Freewheel Midtown for getting me rolling again, and an awesome espresso milkshake while I waited!