First Race of the Season

And I'm at home. Actually the Frostbite TT is delayed today, if not canceled; it's all white up north around Everett and snowing lightly down here in Seattle.

Unfortunately, either way the race isn't really an option for me. I've been off the bike since December. Not by choice however.. up to the end of Demeber I was commuting about daily, and getting in 13-16 hours a week.

Training for the 2011 season, getting ready to hit the ground running in the 3's. With 2 points carried over from last year I was ready to get some more.

But then..

The sad fact is that many drivers still don't look for bikes, much less see us. And they are apparently in a hurry.

A driver pulled out in front of me on a training ride, and with no time to stop I ran into the car.. long story short I haven't been able to ride for about two months now, recovery has been slower than I would have liked.

So here I sit, thinking about how Mason Lake (road race) is coming up on March 6th, and I'm still in pain now and then from the accident.. And the first Sequim road race is on the 12th.

Dammit.

It's not like the Mason/Sequim races were all that important, but it would have been nice to get out there with everyone else and put my training to use. Walla Walla is still an "A" race for me, and I really hope to make it there. But there's no rush.

Until the doctors give me official clearance to return to the racing, the main focus is still on recovery.

Be careful out there! And expect to see me in the peloton later this season.

Michelob Ultra Circuit Race 2010: First Crash

I was signed up for a class out at the track, but rain was threatening and I felt like doing this race instead.. a circuit race out across The Sound, in Glenwood, Wa. (initial confusion offered by Google put this near Mt. Rainier, way far away! Luckily it was just a drive out to the Port Orchard area)

Seven of us loaded in the Recycled Cycles Van and headed south to drive around The Sound via the Tacoma Narrows bridge. Cool temps, gray skies & little sprinkles on the way down reminded us this isn't SoCal, but then the sky returned to its dry gray and we were reminded this is indeed racing in the Pacific Northwest. Rain or shine, let's do it.

The Course

The course started off on a slight downhill, leading to an easy right turn and then we started the undulations. Just as the profile showed, there was plenty of ups and downs here, but nothing lasting longer than 30 seconds or so. "A course for punchy riders" I think the flyer said, and I thought that sounded good for me and my riding style. Looking back I'm not even sure what "punchy" means, and whatever it is I need to train my punchyness..

But for some reason circuit races just aren't my thing. I can hang in long and slow(er) road races, and short and blazing-fast crits. But the circuit race is somewhere in between, you basically go fast for an hour and a half or so, the laps going by quickly and the speed not letting up all that much. My worst placings last year was definitely at the late-summer circuit races, usually it was the top-end speed coming through the finish that would almost drop me, putting me at 35th place or worse.

The Race

Short neutral rollout and then we were off to a nice pace. Most everyone was smooth, with a few notable exceptions (in fact even a "repeat offender" from Vance Creek!), and the riding was nice until we got on the short but steep-ish climbs. Not that I really wanted to climb all that fast, but we would just jam into the backs of riders slowing in front of us, and have to climb at a crawl it felt. Shouldn't be surprising, as this is the way the pack-dynamic works - those in the front slow down as they hit the hill, but still in the draft you end up having to brake to not hit their wheels.

Trying to Get Away

About 20 minutes into the race we were on the backside on the slight 2-3% uphill, doing what felt like a ridiculously slow pace all of a sudden, I think it was 16-17 mph. So I worked up the left side, and put in a dig to make separation, my new favorite past time in bike racing. It was early in the race, probably too early, but this is a great test of how the legs feel. And people will generally let you go since it's a doomed mission 95% of the time anyway..

Sure enough, while the pace seemed "ridiculously slow" while in the pack, it was taking 190 bpm (my max is 196-200 bpm, mind you) to stay off the front, and all of a sudden being in the pack felt like a better idea.

Looked back, had a gap, rested a bit, but the HR wasn't going down. Yikes, not a good sign for the longevity of the solo break.. get back in the pack! Tried to go once more on a different lap in about the same spot, but just couldn't hold it.

Team mate Ian went off the front once or twice, and Jason did too. I wanted to go again but didn't have the legs, and I actually cramped a bit on the 2nd to last lap, that sucked. Was just hanging on for the finish towards the end, really didn't feel like I had anything to offer at the end.

The Crash!

The last lap came, and there was still one rider pretty far up the road, and given my position in the pack and his big gap, I'd pretty much given up on the catch, just wanted to see what happened in the sprint for 2nd place.. well a lot happened.

We took the last corner, jammed it and got ready for the slightly downhill, the pack speeding up to at least 35 mph I'm sure, getting ready for the sprint. We were close to the 1k to go sign, or maybe just past it, and with thoughts focused on the field sprint ahead all of a sudden there was commotion in the pack ahead, and a big crash, right in front of me.

Slammed on the brakes, skidding, fishtailing a little.. I remember at least one bike on its side in front of me, and just not wanting to run over it or its rider, who was also on the ground, sliding. For a split second I thought I'd saved it once again, but ran out of space and before I knew it my front wheel was swept out from under me, and I too was on the ground. I think I landed on a bike or two, not sure.

The next thought was "am I gonna get hit next?!" and I glanced up to see people slamming on their brakes, but somehow nobody fell on me. Then I thought, "Wow, it finally happened."

Actually my first thought was probably "DAMMIT." The top 12 or so missed the crash, but just about everyone behind that was either on the ground or having to go around the mayhem. And given a few sketchy riders I witnessed during the whole race, I wasn't too surprised it happened. Even more motivation to get to the Cat 3's, where I don't think a big stupid crash would happen like this.

In the end I really have only myself to blame for being a Cat 4 and not being in a winning position (top 10) in the last 1k of the race anyway.

Looking at the Garmin data, I think I was only stationary for about five seconds, then I got rolling again! Felt longer, I guess everything does at 180+ bpm.. didn't notice the gash on my shin, the big hole in my bibs on my hip, or the small blood spot on my elbow, I just wanted to finish this damn thing.

After crossing the line I saw Rob from Second Ascent puking on the other side of the road - what a race! I love the carnage. He was on the front a ton during the race, and stayed up there to stay out of trouble and come in somewhere around top 10. That's what I should've been doing..

The Results

Somehow came in for 25th (out of 80+ total in the 4/5's field, lots of DNFs though) overall, which was surprising given I was on the ground.

The Raleigh Prestige got a big ol' gash on the top tube, you can see the carbon weave and it's soft to the touch.. sounds like it's repairable but I'm not sure I want to race on a carbon frame I repaired.. (I can even hear it shearing just by grabbing the seat & bars, not good)


Looking to get my hands on another Raleigh and get back out there, Ravensdale road race this weekend, then Wenatchee the weekend after! Gotta get them points and get up to the Cat 3's.

Crashed On Ice Today.

With a thick fog overnight combined with temps close to 30F, I should have left the Ciocc idle today. Some of the local roads here on Capitol Hill were visibly dusted with a little bit of "icing", and I saw a garbage truck slide a bit coming down the hill this morning - that should have been a sign.

So when I headed out at about 1 PM for a quick spin down to Seward Park and back, I figured that since the skies were now blue it was safe.

Coming down Madison St (a nice 15% grade) there was some moisture on the roads, and evidence the city had been out de-icing a bit on the major roads. Made it down Madison without slipping, took a few extremely slow turns on Lake Wa Blvd (like that one S curve), so by the time I made it down to Seward Park I had gained enough confidence to go at full speed since I hadn't seen any ice or frost (on the road at least) for 11 or 12 kilometers..

The Crash

I had just wound down a little sprint coming into Seward Park, as I usually try to go for the crosswalk near the sign for the park, just before you follow the road left to get to the park entrance. According to the Garmin I was doing about 20 mph when all of a sudden there was a patch of frost on the road in front of me, and though at first it seemed like I was riding through it successfully, before I knew it I was sliding on the ground and the world was turned sideways.

I probably made an interesting guttural sound as I hit the ground, and the crash was loud enough so that some bystanders asked if I was OK. Luckily I was, and the only visible damage on the bike was the bar-end had been scraped and pulled out a bit. Luckily the winter layers mostly protected me from road rash, though I did end up with a little strawberry on my left hip.

More Carnage

Only a minute or so after I hit the deck two cyclists approached and before I thought to warn them, one of them went down in the same patch I hit.. then 20 seconds later a guy in a UW kit slid out going the other direction seemingly just as he was asking if we were alright.

I tried to warn a bunch of other cyclists on the way back up Lake Wa Blvd, hopefully had better luck on the ice than we did. So did anyone else crash today?

Got Hit By A BMW Today.

I knew it was bound to happen. With ~6,500 miles on the road this year, the odds are that sooner or later, I'd end up on the ground..

At about 2 PM I met a man named John (I think it was) in the worst of fashions. By smashing into his shiny BMW at 15+ mph, which he was going at least that same speed, coming at me.

And like they say, it happened so fast. No time to react, only time to let out a guttural "ugh" and close your eyes and brace. Impact. Loud sounds of metal & BMW side-panel coming together, and the sense of being a rag doll. Dammit.

But I made it out in once piece!!

The scene - 10th & Mercer

In a nutshell, the driver cut left on the round-about above (instead of going the long way around it and then turning left, like you're supposed to), surprising me with about one second to react to a grey/blue BMW in front of me while I was going probably 15-18 mph! I bounced off their windshield-hood-roof, and landed on the ground next to the car. (Oddly on the right side of the car, the same one that I hit, didn't fly over the hood)

I opened my eyes to find myself on the ground, facing west when I was initially facing north-east. Must've been a pretty spin I did.. The wind was knocked out of me, but after a few seconds realized I was more or less OK. Got up to see my frame pump on the ground, and the bike laying next to it, at least in one piece.

The guy was apologetic, and stuck around to make sure I was OK. A passing motorist asked if I was OK. Of all the reactions I could muster, laughter was the one that came to mind. It's just the way I am - something this unexpected, what can I do but laugh?

I told him he could leave, I just wanted to get back home (this was just six or so blocks from the apt). The front wheel wouldn't even spin, so the walk home was me half-limping and holding up the front end of the Pacer.

I didn't bother getting the guy's insurance info, as I don't think it was that big of a deal. The bike should be easy to repair, and if not I can afford to fix it. Shit Happens. I didn't feel like dealing with police to get a report either, even if that would somehow change bike stats in Seattle.

Pacer's Damage

Twisted handlebars/brakes (fixed at the scene), untrue wheels (front won't spin at all). No visible cracks or bends on the frame or fork, but I'm definitely gonna have the shop check it out to make sure. I'll have to true the wheels before I can even walk/ride it down there!!

My Damage

Left hand hurts a bit, right elbow is skinned a little, and my lower back hurts a decent amount. And just below the knees I'm pretty well bruised, both from the car and the top tube of the bike.

I'm glad I had a helmet on, as I'm pretty sure my head bounced off their roof or windshield, and then most likely hit the ground. It was definitely crooked when I got up.

Car's Damage

Saw a cracked windshield, and I would assume from the paint on my fork there's a little paint damage too. Hopefully the guy will learn a lesson to not cut the round-abouts anymore.

And all I wanted to do was ride! Take it easy out there folks, you never know what's around the next corner. Or round-about.