I've been pretty lucky with my cyclocross races, i haven't crashed much and i haven't had a flat in a few years...knock on wood. Today made up for lost time. The course in Rome took advantage of the only hill in the area...the Levee along the river. We went up and down the hill several times and even road along the side for some up and down off camber on grass....oh joy. I made it almost through the first lap when i hit one of the sharp down hill grass off-camber turn, rolled my front tire off the rim, the wheel dug in, i flipped over the side of the bike and the guy behind me came crashing into my bike and got tangled up in it. I jumped up to get going and realized their was a bunch of grass and dirt in between the tire and rim where it rolled, my handle bars were about 70 degrees out of wack and my right shifter was messed up. I didn't want to try and force the handlebars straight with my carbon steer tube, so i had to call it a day. Next race i'll carry a multi-tool. Live and learn. I should have some nice bruises on my calves tomorrow.
On a positive note...nothing was broken on the bike.
This is right after the start....i didn't make it this far again, where the guy is re-mounting his bike is right about where i crashed the next time around.
The first time up the hill you could ride it easy, then there was a u-turn back down and another u-turn back up, I opted to run since it was just as fast, and different muscles...litte did i know my race would be over in about 30 seconds. Not finishing sucks!!! I think i might put a mtn bike in the pits next time.
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