Schenectady Tuesday Night Race Series - #2

Last night I rode in part two of the Schenectady Tuesday Night Race Series. Overall much better than last week, no chain slippage, no wrecks and I felt better while racing.

For the first two laps, I was stuck behind some guy who would not let anyone by. It was infuriating, I've never seen anything like it. He was a decent rider, except when it came to technicals. He would come up to a log or feature and slow down almost to a stop, then go over it and speed off. I had a really hard time getting into a rhythm and tried to pass so many times. He also spun out a couple of times, but would take up the entirety of the trail, I couldn't get by. Two other guys came barreling up on us and I let them by, he didn't. Eventually one guy got by, but he still wouldn't let the other guy pass and we both started yelling at him. He reluctantly let the other guy pass by stating "I guess if you want to try." Unreal.

Towards the end of the second lap, I was getting so fed up, I was doing everything I could to push past and keep going. These trails are extremely tight and twisty, so it was hard to figure out a way around. We started climbing the last hill before a clearing at the end of the lap, and then "pop" his chain goes flying - links and metal shattering all over the place. I was so ecstatic, stood up, cranked out hard past him and didn't look back - karma.

Finished the last lap, near the end of the pack. Trimmed almost five minutes off my time from last week - came in at 1:34, for 15 miles, average 9.5 mph.