2006 ABA Grands...
Every day we are all given the chance to learn something new, and I learned something at this years` Grands.
WEAR A HELMET THAT FITS!
My new helmet is too big for me. It`s not on purpose, it`s what I could afford. I usually wear a knit beanie cap under it to keep it snug, but somewhere between our pit and staging, I lost my beanie. I pull up to the gate with my helmet wiggling around like crazy, but I wasn`t letting it sink my ship before I even set sail, so to speak. I had a good lane choice and was feeling pretty good anyway. I had sized up the other riders and honestly, I was expecting to walk away with a qualifier. And if the finish line was at the first jump, I would have. I took the holeshot and figured I`d just hold my line and keep any monkey business to a minimum. Well, I barely bonked the doubles going into turn one and disaster struck. My helmet dropped down over my eyes and I couldn`t see ahead of me. I glanced to the side to see where the next rider was and my helmet stayed facing straight! I`m now looking into the side of my helmet! Dang!! Passed by someone! The second straight went "flip up helmet, get a couple of cranks, repeat". Darn it! Passed again! I`m in third, and they`re only taking two. OK, I can pull some space in the LOOOOONG rhythm section. Wrong again. I couldn`t see far enough ahead to get a really good groove going. I even tried to hold my helmet up with one hand for a moment, but one handed through the whoops was a little unsettling.
So, it looks like I`m going to be on 661`s doorstep for a new helmet. I use everything else they make, just haven`t gotten a helmet from them yet. It`s going to be the right size, and next season......
Redemption.
(all in all I wasn`t too upset about it. I was pretty hacked for about sixty seconds, then I realized it was time to put my inner child away and deal with it in a mature manner.......LOL)