April 7, Rock Hill Road Race
We trained....we went...we crashed
Although this was a beautiful course for a CAT 4 like Moi.........Each race hands up a set of circumstances beyond one's control.
We were 5 miles into the race....good pace..good strategy..Teenie, April and in the front of the pack
We shifted appropriately for the wind...slowed down the pace at one point by all 3 of us blocking/pulling the pack.
Then KABOOM.....one gal had moved over ever so slightly to surge with the front pack and a brand new CAT 4 gal freaks out and turns her wheel quickly to the left and BAAAAAM........5 down...one broken wrist...one deep slash to the forward, a concussion, lots of blood! April bruised/ helmet smashed! I can't even tell you what happened....the bike went completely over my head..landed hard on my shoulder. All I knew was in those few seconds before impact my brain said PROTECT your collarbone so I tucked and rolled ....to the right! How does the brain react so quickly? Once we got ourselves up and our fearless leader Teenie got it all under control with kind words/cold water and hugs...We all looked around and asked HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? It would have been a good race for all..Teenie, April and I.
Dan had the worst of it ..as he and the Masters Group had to ride by viewing his wife on the side of the road.........Teenie & I were able to smile and wave him on........He said he raced really well as he wanted to get back to the start line to see his girl!
Take Away for Rock HILL .....Big Note to Self... CAT UP ASAP!
3 comments:
The incentive to cat up! Unfortunately, it is often a safety issue. Glad to hear that all of our ladies were not seriously injured.
Hope to see ya out there soon Jil.
Glad none of you were hurt badly. Sometimes it's a challenge to try and anticipate what those squirrely riders are going to do next. A good tactic is to try and identify them early in the race, and avoid them if you can. Easier said than done sometimes!
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