Well it has now been a full week since the Manhattan Grand
Prix, and I am just now mustering up the strength to give you the report. As I mentioned previously I have been training most of the season to be in top form for the
MBGP... and on that crisp Sunday morning I could not have felt any better. I cruised down to registration, and since CAT 4 was the first race I had a chance to warm up on the course. In the warm up I had a brief run in with my boy Byron... we spent a lap or two warming up together. I think he could tell I had a bit of a game face on... all I could think about was my strategy to be in the right place at the right time.
As we were called to the line the course was still being set up, and we were delayed for quite a bit of time. This time delay also shortened our race by about 10
mins, which unfortunately meant there would be quite a few rider in the selections that didn't belong. We finally got the go ahead and the race was on.
I pretty much sat in the middle of the
peloton taking in the vibe, watching for strong riders, and trying to stay out of trouble. I have to say that the pace was pretty slow for this level of race... which of course could only mean one thing. Everyone in the
peloton was going to be shooting for the win and no one wanted to work. Well with just 3 laps to myself and another rider went on the attack to get the pace going... I let him lead out and grabbed his wheel. We went for a a while and then going into the last lap I took over the pace setting at the front. As I did so behind me a crash came down and wiped a hefty portion of the field and forced a
selection of only 15 or so riders.
I wish it would have stayed this way. I was constantly monitoring the group behind me and on the slight climb into turn 1 I let two riders go and established myself behind them we led out a huge train and no chance for the chase group to catch back on. With about 30 seconds left to the finish I was 5 seconds from starting my sprint and in lead position to take the win. This part is conceited but I knew how much power I had in my legs and there was no way with my position I would be deprived of victory. Then with one foul swoop a rider
attacked from my right and trying to get on the front... with that move he launched his rear wheel into my front wheel with all his weight. I had about a second before I was down.
Last speed clocked before I made contact with the ground was about 33 miles per hour. The wheels hit and the next thing I knew I was on the ground helmet first then the asphalt cheese grater across my back, a few tumbles and then came the
onslaught of bikes about 8 that slammed into me and my bike. Being on the front of course I was the most hurt, my bike was devastated... but all I could think about was how the win was taken from me. I stood there with my bike in hand stunned. My clothes were practically torn off of me...
safety crew was
talking to me but I
couldn't even respond. At that moment I don't think I have ever been to angry and
disappointed at the same time. I hobbled to the finish line, only to find out that the junior that had been chopping wheels earlier had taken the win.
Looking at the bike and my wounds, the pain of the road rash started to settle in. Luckily my
girlfriend lives close by and she cleaned out the wounds, covering my whole back and hip, and
smattered iodine all over them. I didn't think much about how bad the
accident hurt more so about the fact that I felt
completely robbed of a golden opportunity. Especially since I wanted to slow the season down after the
MBGP. Now with the lack luster CAT 4 performance, I need to make sure I can keep my form for the next few weekends.
Unfortunately, the following weak of recovery was much worse than I thought. The road rash was bad enough to keep me out of the
Lycra for a couple days, but more importantly... between the La
Mirada Crash, the
MBGP Crash, and 6 straight weeks of racing my body was completely thrashed. So I waited and waited... with one bike out of commission I decided to take out the coveted
BMC, $6,500 bike FYI... so on my normal work commute Thursday morn feeling fresh and glad to be on the bike...
BAM!!!!!! Tagged by a car pulling out of driveway. Hit the side of the car, go
straight to assessing damage to the bike... sure enough cracked carbon derailleur hanger and some major impact to the
dura-ace derailleur. Are you kidding me how much does that suck.
Any way to start wrapping this up, the car wreck tweaked my shoulder (golf ball swelling) injured the elbow, tweaked my hip
flexor and gave me a whole new slew of recover time, and mostly joints that need a lot of time to rest.
Prognosis: Missed the race this past weekend, both bikes out of commission, and prospect for the
Aliso Viejo Grand
Prix are pretty bleak.... especially on form. I anxiously await my new derailleur hanger to piece together my bikes again and hopefully will not need more than just some more cosmetic work.
I will leave you with this... Cyclist are a really sick breed of people... the seat you sit on hurts, the position you ride in hurts, pushing yourself up and over a mountain pass hurts really bad and even makes you sick, racing hurts and makes your heart nearly explode, and then falling at 30+ MPH really hurts and jack up your whole body, broken bones, cuts, road rash, bruises, strains, etc... and then all I can think about is how much it sucks sit around and do nothing... all I want to do is get back on my bike and ride. I'm just saying it's really goofy and if you think about it, it really doesn't make much sense...
I think I'm gonna ride in tomorrow... Peace
So what did I find??? Well to those of you constantly demoralized by industry's Lycra pricing, you will be floored when I reveal my discovery... I was astonished. I found NALINI BIB SHORTS, standard black, for only 22 bucks... are you floored??? I mean are you serious, you can't find 5 season used no name bibs on EBAY for that cheap... these are brand new with no ball crust rubbed into the pad. I instantly bought 2, but stock is limited so I will give the links to hop on it.
Next item I found, was a matching NALINI BLACK JERSEY, nothing fancy here, just totally plain... but the price was perfect... 30 bucks. Great price, but again the bibs are even cheaper... you have to buy those quick.
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