Well, that's two races in a row now that I've had mechanical issues.  My bike has worked flawlessly all year throughout races/events and recreational/training rides.  Maybe it's time for some new drive train parts, huh?

At Big Bear, arguably the most important race of the year (CA State Championship) I wound up getting a giant nail stuck in my tire.  Yes, in the middle of the national forest there are rusty construction nails.  A tire change would've been easy, but my tire was essentially glued to the rim.  Whether a combination of the drying Stans sealant and heat all summer, or just rim tape and a hard to remove tire: the end result was the same - huge time loss while trying to get the tire off the rim.  The tube change was easy.  Then I had some problems putting the wheel back on.

The end result?  Dead last finisher.  I refused to give up and DNF, though I thought about it many times.

This past weekend at Bonelli I wound up not being able to get my small ring to pedal.  I thought something from the front derailleur snapped off (there was a small metal piece laying at the DT/ST junction after a snap sound), but it wound up that I had lost the majority of small chain ring bolts from my bike.  Once I got the bike shifted into the middle ring I could finish my race, albeit only with a 34T middle ring (on my big wheels).  I'm not the strongest/most powerful climber out there, so some of the steeper hills were tough.  Since I couldn't spin I wound up climbing out of the saddle a bunch on tired legs, so I was thoroughly beat at the end.

Wish there would've been some more competition out there.  I did wind up passing a few guys throughout the remainder of my race. 

Here's to having better luck in November!