DOWN-BUT NOT OUT

Two more races in the bag-One AG medal and another that put me in the back of the pack.
I finally went down on my bike-first time ever. Didn't bother me too much.  It was on a bike leg in a Tri. I didn't know the course and was riding a slight downhill at approximately 30-35mph. I saw a left hand turn up ahead but did not realize that soon after it morphed into a sharp right. The "S" curve was to much for my meager bike skills and down I went. I slid across forty feet of pavement on my rear, but luckily my shorts took most of the damage. I hopped back up, put my chain back on my bike, and finshed the race while flashing the spectators some moon. :)   The only bad part of the fall is that I missed 2nd in my age group by 40 seconds and I can't help but think that if I had stayed up, I would have gotten 2nd instead of third. That's racing.
My tri last weekend was a disaster-it was my first open water swim and it kicked my A** far worse than my spill. It was a lake swim but the wind was kicking up and the surface had waves like the ones that sank the Edmund Fitzgerald (maybe slight exageration). I think the water level dropped several inches during my swim beacuse I drank about a quarter of the lake. Anyways, by the time I made it to my bike, the race was over. I had an OK split but could never get past the fatigue of the swim. I just looked at it as training-but perhaps  "schooling" is a better term. It did make me face the facts that I'll have to devote more time to the swim.  I hate to swim.
But I do like to bike. The flashpoints have held out really well. I have only needed to replace one spoke despite several hundred miles of training and racing over rough pavement. (my LBS swapped the spoke for me quickly and free of charge-thanks Jim and Chris). I am happy with their performance so far and will keep you updated as the season moves along.