TJ Woodruff ONLINE

The shootout left my rear tire ‘shot out’ on Saturday. All was going well until 20 miles to go when my rear tire was ripped open. Who knows what sort of shrapnel I ran over but it put a pencil-diameter hole in the tire, three holes in the tube, cut the rim strip and put a small dent in the rim. Of course I got a flat earlier in the week and used my last inner tube, so all I had to my name and in my set bag was a booklet of glueless patches, obviously inadequate for the job at hand… I eventually tied a knot in the tube so the holes were tied off. Using my PowerBar wrapper as a tire boot meant that I was going to get home just fine, only about 15 minutes later than usual. The thing didn’t even loose any pressure!

The shootout is a funny ride because it starts with everybody and their brother riding out of town, but eventually the group is widdled down to 25 or so. At one point in the ride I was off the front with Gord Fraser and another guy who appeared to be a Master’s National Champion, guessing by his stars-n-bars jersey. I took my pull and looked over my shoulder to see that both of them had sat up. I guess we had gone hard enough…  Not long later Gord told me that I smelled good and had to ask what kind of laundry detergent I used on my cycling garb. Laughingly I let him know that it was Gain. Sometime intense, other times chill, the Shootout ride is quickly becoming a weekly staple to my riding schedule. The only bummer is that it starts at 6:30am. Ouch!

Another week commences at dawn and I’m hoping for more fall-like weather as riding in a long sleeve jersey today was a welcome change.  Thursday I’ll be heading up to Angel Fire, NM with the U of A cycling team for Collegiate Nationals. It ought to be a fun weekend and I’m excited to see the racing action. Too bad I can’t join in; perhaps I need to consider graduate school so I can race collegiate stuff again.

Keep it Real,  -TJ