It's a very, very mad world, mad world

All around me are familiar faces
Worn out places, worn out faces
Bright and early for their daily races
Going nowhere, going nowhere "Mad World" GARY JULES

How weird is it that I end up exactly mid-pack two weeks in a row? Cyclocross season rages on and I’ve settled in. The fields expand and contract with the different venues and yet it seems that I end up in the same race within the race week after week and we all attack and attack again to get to the place where we first started – first.

I learned this week what a road crash sounds like - the ring of aluminum; air being forcibly removed from lungs; lycra skid-shredding on asphalt and panic. “I love my disc brakes!” I thought as I threaded myself between one of my nemeses and his tangled bike. The crash occurred within the fifty yards of the start. I spent the balance of the race playing catch up.

When you’re playing catch up, a good pre-ride is more than important than ever. There are a couple of features on the Wicked Creepy course that has beneficial lines. One in particular was a stairs run-up with a 180^o left, off-camber turn at the top step and a smooth run out. The beneficial line was the inside line. As long as I could keep a step on my competitor, I controlled the remount. My competitor would have to go way wide or wait. In either case I’d win.

After three laps I was racing familiar faces in worn out places bright and early going nowhere, going nowhere…

And I find it kinda funny
I find it kinda sad
The dreams in which [I feel like] I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
When people run in circles
It's a very, very mad world, mad world