"The Finger" and Bike Jam

I consider myself to be a nice guy. I'm not one of those people that yells or curses in the peleton when people hit the brakes or cut me off or touch my wheel, or any other reason you would find to yell or curse at someone in that kind of situation. I figure, such is racing, and if I get bent out of shape every time that happened, then I would never enjoy myself when I raced. But, yesterday at Bike Jam, in the 2/3 race I, D.J., in a moment of indiscretion, did indeed give someone "the finger".

To whoever that person was, I offer my apology, not because I feel like you didn't deserve it, but because it was completely out of character for me. I think in the heat of the moment, you (John Doe who was the recipient of the finger) where just running your mouth and yelling so much that I got a little, or a lot, tired of it. I never understand how people like you could claim to be racing, and putting out the kind of effort that it takes to win, but still muster up enough energy to scream and yell throughout the race. Do you really think people respond to that approach? Because I certainly do not. It's just mind boggling. I also do not understand how you could continue to ride behind me? It's like in traffic when a slow car is driving in the fast lane and you tailgate them, then flash your high beams and they still don't move, you eventually get frustrated enough to just go around them. Apparently you had been behind me long enough to analyze my riding style, diagnose my problems, figure out I had no business being in that race, and then offer a solution, "moving to the back of the (expletive deleted) group!" If my riding style bothered you so, why would you not just come around me. You are obviously a person far more skilled than I am who would've had no problem moving up to the front of that group. After a while I didn't hear your voice anymore so either my finger worked or you did decide to just move on up to the front where it was much safer.

Anyways, I offer my apology again to "that guy". I had to get that off my chest in order to say how much I enjoyed myself at Bike Jam. That was my second race as a Cat 3, or first if you don't really count Greenbelt. I didn't get in a warm-up at all because I was too distracted on actually getting into the race. I pre-registered as a Cat 4, but got my upgrade. I had to wait until check-in for the 2/3 race was closed before the organizers would let me in, which was only 20 minutes before the start. Fortunately, I at least was already hydrating in hopes that I would get in, but 20 minutes only left me with enough time to get the rest of my kit on, number pinned and head to the course entrance for good positioning at the start line. I felt like the race started off pretty fast and I could tell that I was nowhere near warmed up. I was surprised how fast the race stayed, but that wasn't a problem at all. What killed me was not being able to move up in that race, and it seemed like as soon as I moved up, somehow, some way I would end up slowly moving backwards. It seemed like I was yo-yo-ing somewhere between 20th and 40th, if that makes sense. But I learned, at least for next year, that positioning is everything in that race.