Je suis le cowbell rouge ... I think.

So!

Today's race was my best race ever!

...And I could have said that no matter what happened, because it was also my first real, official race (with a number and everything) ever.

In fact, regardless of what this shot may imply...

From OVCX Kings Cross 2010

I didn't even crash into any other racers.

Sometimes I even looked like I knew what I was doing:

From OVCX Kings Cross 2010

Though once I also dropped my bike in the middle of the barriers:

From OVCX Kings Cross 2010

Um, oops.

I love the way I'm looking at my bike in this picture. You can almost see me saying, "Crap, where's my downtube?"

At least once, I looked pretty awesome:

From OVCX Kings Cross 2010

...Even though I was the only crazy dude on a flat bar bike with toe clips:

From OVCX Kings Cross 2010

Swift, it turns out, is not as effective an off-road machine as Quicksilver. I've ridden swift on trails and over grass before, but not really at speed. At speed, that is one rough ride.

I had some issues with my grip shifters — there was one big, steep climb, and whenever I tried to use my bars for leverage, I would trigger the grip-shift, throwing Swift into a bigger gear. Not what I needed, considering that I'd accidentally disabled my granny gear (yes, I really could've used it this morning, I admit it). I put up with that for one lap before realizing that I would not die in shame if I just ran that climb — half the field was running it, anyway.

The most important part is that I had a blast. Well, okay, the most important parts, in order, are that I did not die, my shorts did not split, I did not cause any disasters, and I had a blast :) In fact, I'm pretty sure that my race had only one spill — a fast fellow came around a sharp turn and wiped out. He was back on his bike before three of us could say, "Are you okay, man?"

The best moment, I think, was when another Rogue racer shouted out as he passed me something like, "Good job, Rogue! Stay strong!" That was awesome. It was near the end of the race, and I needed it. I found him and thanked him after I finished. Then I found DD and sucked down about two litres of water.

I haven't seen the results sheet, so I don't know if I was really DFL. Even if I was, I don't care. I had a great time, and I finished. There were four Rogues total in my race, and I think one of us did pretty well indeed. More will be out tomorrow, but I had to get back for church.

There is definitely more 'cross in my future. I may or may not do Shawnee Park on the 25th or 26th — it depends on the race details (time, entry fees, etc). If I do, and it's not soggy out, I think I'll ride Quicksilver.

Anyway, that's it for now. As you can probably tell, I am still somewhat addle-pated, and I will probably retire at some point in the not-too-distant-future and sleep like a log and dream about riding my bike.

Thanks to DD for all the pictures, and also for being the best soigneur/team car driver/boyfriend a fellow could ask for. DD, one of these days, I am going to win one for you!