You know you are a Cat 5 when...

So, you may of heard that some yahoo wiped out on the hill climb yesterday.  Ya, I know how stupid.  I couldn’t believe it either… as I was laying on my back at the corner of the hill climb…  wondering how I wiped out…

Anyhow, I was more than a little frustrated with my little incident yesterday.  As I was taping up my rear end (me, not my bike), I realized as bikers, sorry “cyclist” we often take ourselves too seriously.  OK, maybe it’s just me.  Anyhow, I felt the need to take a step back and recount some (yes, there are many more) of the… well, let’s call them “cycling faux pas” I have done in the past year as a Cat 5.  Some of these are more recent than I care to admit.  Enter my list of you “know you are a Cat 5 when”…

You know you are a Cat 5 when…

•  someone compliments you on your Cat 5 tattoo and you genuinely say “thank you”

• you are very happy with a triple chain ring on your bike…  so nice on hills!!!!

• after shaving your legs you continually bump into doorways because you are no longer able to judge the distance between objects

• you buy a new helmet and can’t find the visor that should have come with it

• you see someone crumpling up their race number and wonder why they dropped out of the race right after registering

• your legs cramp so badly during a road race that you need to stop; all the time wondering if you are allowed to ask one of the wheel cars for a ride home

• someone starts talking about echeloning and you are uncertain if the conversation is still about cycling or if it has drifted to military tactics

• you are unable to find a pocket for your gels on that new skin suit you are wearing.  The small one is just for keys in case you are wondering…

• what the hell does “neutral wheel” mean???

• you wipe out in a crit and don’t take the free lap…. Remember this one.  Could be useful someday.

• you wipe out during a hill climb race… Admittedly this one is probably only me.

Anyhow, I thought I’d share my leanings as a Cat 5 racer and say thanks to all those on the STC team who have gently taught me about this great sport… without outright laughing in my face.  

A special thanks to Trev who would only glance down, smile and make a simple joke unsure if my question was really serious but, letting me know the answer.