At lovely Elk Grove and then in Downers Grove, my deft bike handling skills were put to the test and sadly snapped to record two crashes in consecutive weekends. I crash less often than most people and take pride in the fact that my skin remains relatively intact throughout the bike racing season. So the two crashes pretty much stunk. I even wore my new SRAM socks, which I liked to think were going to be my lucky socks. Apparently not. My good luck (err... good skill, rather) returned yesterday in Binghamton, NY for the Chris Thater Criterium. It's a tougher than average criterium featuring some screaming fast, off camber corners, and a lengthy hill every lap. I started the breakaway of the day which stayed away for 2/3 of the race, but was unfortunately caught with a mere 3 laps to go. Kyle Walmsly rode like a fiend and attacked for the win with a half lap to go; this is especially impressive since he was in the break with me all day. Sheesh, well done.

That's my first real race update in about 18 months, so I hope it satiated your race report needs.

Peace out.