Sunday USGP

I really had to work around my work schedule to get out to the USGP this year. So in order to make it happen I needed to race the 2,3's on Sunday morning at 9:30am. That meant getting up early to drive the 1.5 hours but the course was so much fun last year that I was willing to do so.

The conditions were cool--in the low 40's--and sunny. I didn't get a chance to see most of the course before the race so my first lap was rather exploratory. Unlike last year where I started in the 80's this year I was 27th and in the 3rd row. A pretty good spot to be.

I had a good start. Nice and fast but under control and moved up about 5-10 stops in the first 2 turns. Then things slowed down quite a bit in a tech section and there was lots of bumping and pushing going on. Everything was going pretty well. Some guys shot in front of me and then I pulled them back. By the time we got to the run-up the positions were switching much less.

After the the run-up there was a steep downhill turn that I attempted to go through with no brakes. Which was fine until my front tire broke loose from the ground and I slid out. I landed hard and the guy behind me rammed into my back. He asked if I was okay. My reply was, "Yeah, but I broke my pinky."

I've broken it before, which is probably why it stayed straight as I went to the ground, so I knew it was broken. But I could still grip the bike so I kept going. Upon remounting my bike I discovered that my right shifter was turned in about 35 degrees. Amazingly though, everything shifted fine still.

I was clearly going slower now because I couldn't really steer the bike at top performance on either side. But I was staying in it. I raced two more laps until as I was running up the run-up and a guy yells at me "What, are you warming up?" I looked at him inquisitively. He yells back "Where is your number?"

I felt my back. Sure enough, my number was gone. It must have torn free when I went down. No number means they weren't counting my laps. So I stopped riding. Oh well.

This picture isn't a good angle. The shifter was turned much more than this looks.

After the trip to the med tent. It took two tries to pull the joint and bone back into place. I really should have taken a picture of it beforehand, but my phone was in the opposite direction of the med tent and after seeing my pinky, Paul advised that I go get it checked right away.

It is never a good sign when you have a tire track on your back!

I'm sure this post is full of typos, but give me a break, I have a broken pinky and two fingers taped together. I have a week off of racing coming anyway, so I should be good to go by my next race. I don't see it slowing me down all that much.

Thanks for reading!