The Pleasure of Pain

Bob Arnold of DRJ Racing. Bob had a 'yard sale' during the Castlewood Race back in early May and returned from the hospital to finish his race promoter responsibilities. Tough guy! During my pre-race warm-up, I actually passed Bob on his bike as he was leaving the course following his crash. I remember thinking to myself, "crap, this is my first race and if this course is chewing up riders like this, I'm going to get my a$$ handed to me!"

My crash Tuesday night seemed minor at the time. My elbow took the brunt of the impact, but now my right shoulder is quite sore and hurts like hell anytime I raise my arm. It's funny how we injure ourselves, notice the obvious cuts and areas of bleeding, but then later find out we've injured a less obvious part of our body. This seems to be the case in my crash. My elbow has two gashes and really doesn't hurt that badly. However, my shoulder is without a blemish and hurts! Go figure.

Am I skipping the race this weekend because of my injury? Hell no! Why not? Look at Bob. He didn't quit? Yes, his race result was a DNF. However, he returned from the hospital to finish his responsibilities promoting the race and ensuring everyone had a great experience (including this rookie.) In my book that's as tough as it gets. I'm starting Saturday in pain, racing in pain, and finishing in pain.

.....And then I'm going to have a cold beer with my racing buddies!