Utah Cyclocross 2009 Race #3

About a year ago, I did my first Cyclocross race at Heber's Wasatch County Fairgrounds. And now, I've got like six races under my belt, so I'm pretty much an expert. Okay, at least I own my own bike now. That's 95% of it right? Anyway, it was good to be home.
Early this morning, we picked up Riley,(and his girlfriend Camilla. Yeah, I know.) piled into the family wagon and headed to Heber. This is probably the first time I've made it to a race with plenty of time to get ready. And I had my smokin hot wife and three adorable children with me. So I had a built in cheering section.
The race organizers kept warning people about the goathead thorns all over the course. I run airlock/slime tubes, and have never had a problem with thorns. This leads to a cockiness about flat's. I just don't get them. And when they warn people about thorns in certain sections, I take it as a cue to go faster on those sections because, as I said. I don't get flats.
With that in mind, they shouted out one of the famously random start times and we were off. I got a good start and was hanging on to the lead pack. I was dieing, but I was with the lead pack. We had gapped the rest of the group and I made it to the end of the second lap still in sight of them. In fact, I managed to pass my second favorite Texan(Cobes) while I followed them. I didn't know where my Team Clammy Chamois Teammates were, but Kellie was keeping track of them.
Wes and Riley at the top of "Mt. Heber"
That coupled with the fact that the Slyfox Cash Zone was in play. Dollah, Dollah Bill Y'all. Here's me stashing one of the four singles I picked up in the race. The good news was, I always suffer on the first two laps, then level out and feel better from the third lap on. So, since I was still with the front pack at this point I was starting to think I might actually finish respectably. Then I took a hard right turn on the grass and heard my tire make a buzz that at once told me I was both low on air in that tire, and probably not going to finish well.
As I ran up "Mt. Heber" to my cheering family I mentioned my slowly deflating tire, and my wife(Kellie) screamed,"Just Ride It!!" I took this as permission to buy a new wheelset if I destroyed the wheel. By the beginning of the fifth lap I was completely flat. But I found I could still go pretty fast I just couldn't turn for beans. I figured, I'd just go into survival mode. I still had a pretty good gap on better than half of the field.
If I could hang onto that, I'd still finish respectably. Here's me losing ground on the leaders.
Survival mode was working. Coming into the final lap, I was still in between packs, and had only lost three or four places. I headed through the straightaway into the 180 degree turn before the triple barricades, right in the apex of the turn, my tire came off sending me violently over the bars. The guy right behind me faked left, went right and rode right over the top of my bike and I(not his fault). My front wheel was bent, with a wad of tire and tube jammed into the brakes, and my rear wheel was so bent it wouldn't turn through the frame.
I was going to give up........
A lesser man would have..........
But I........decided.........to run. Okay,.......walk....... mostly.
I am on a team after all. And I owed it to them to finish.