In the old man 4's we had a very nice big group. Underneath the DRS/Blue Sky Velo tent we warmed up with very high spirits.
The race looked like a who's who in cycle cross with Teasdale, Farell, Kilmoyer and Graboski, then you toss in a Ho, Eric Scroger, Ed Fostveit, Kaminski and Brad Erdner--The day had a lot of potential. Man, I hope I didn't get any names wrong or miss anybody. I apologize if I did...
I think all in all the group raced well. When I would look around I would see Blue Sky jerseys all over. It felt really nice to have the army around. Even Ed who hasn't raced since 1999 in a crit was hanging in tough. A couple of times I saw Dave K railing some turns. I think Rob would have been proud of him.
With around 25mins into the race, Ho and I were hovering around 15th place and Ho decided this was not a good thing. Ho decided to work us up to the front. We were sitting pretty comfortably in the 2nd and 3rd spot.
Then with about 7 laps to go the "Crit Monster" bit again. I reached down to grab some water at the same time the guy in front of Ho pulled up and a little over. So the pace died pretty quickly and Ho moved over a little bit reacting to the guy in front. Next thing I know my front wheel is on Ho's back tire and I've got a hand on the hoods and a hand on the water bottle and then I'm on the ground with people landing on me and bikes flying everywhere.
Before the race Kevin said ride at the front and then followed up with "Do as I say not as I did". So of course what happens to me when riding at the front?
Good news is that I'm okay--just the standard bruises and road rash. It look liked most of the people in the crash rode off except for a BPN guy and me. I'm hoping he is okay. If I wasn't so frazzled I probably could have jumped back in the race but better to be safe than sorry.
Ruined Skin Suit - $120
New rear d - $80
New Powertap carriage - $80
Ruined Blue Sky Gloves - $27
Giro replacement program - don't know yet...
Racing with Blue Sky team mates - PRICELESS.
It is so much fun racing with like 10 of us out there. Each and every race we are getting better as a team and as individuals. Let's keep up the good work.
I think special props are in order for Brad who bounced back from yesterday's race to a very nice personal win on today's race.
Mike Dancel
Again, hopefully I captured everything correctly.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Crit Monster Bites Again....
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12 comments:
Great job today Mike! You were looking strong. Some bad luck but the most important thing is you're o.k. Too bad about the crash because I thought we were in a great position to work you on to the podium. My head was no longer in the race after I knew you went down hard. The race also became confusing with a supposed neutral being called and confusion causing guys to sit up in front of me on the last lap thinking the race was over. Weird race but I'm sure good things will come in the future. It was great having so many BSV racers in the field!
Ho
Glad you're ok, Mike. Wish I had done at least ONE race prior to yesterday's and maybe I could've worked a little bit for you. It took the first 1/2 of the race to get my nerves back up a bit. I must say that I now realized how much I've missed the adrenaline of the crit over the last 9 years! Nice to race with you guys. - Ed
Where do I begin? I was just behind this disaster unfortunately (for me). Lots of mixed emotions about this one, so here a link to another perspective on the race.....
http://yogidavelife.blogspot.com/
Thanks for posting this, because I really needed to know just WFT happened!
In your other post (Successful Day at Niwot) you admitted to smashing on the brakes and taking a corner to fast and ended up on the sidewalk. I am afraid to think what it would have looked like if 2 or 3 guys were outside you on that corner. You got lucky on that one and so did the other innocent riders in the peloton that day. Riding in close quarters overlapping wheels and with no hands near the brakes is insane! It seems to me you have more fitness than skill at this point. You have already hurt several people and are bound to repeat it. I find your post hap hazard and smug. The other guy that didn’t ride away had a concussion. Another guy wanted to wet his feet in the crit world again and you smashed his hopes for a finish. You could have seriously hurt several riders. I was forwarded this blog by several other racers whom were taken back with your posts. I thought about it for a couple days and I have to say something.
Entry fee for a Crit - $25
Race ready road bike - $5,000
Training for the race season – countless hours
Being taken out by a rider with his head up his ass - PRICELESS!
THis is Bike Racing. I'm sorry to hear you were hurt and I'm sorry to hear about all the damage your bike suffered, but THIS IS BIKE RACING. THe most experienced racers crash and cause crashes. In the Cascade Classic this year, Tom Danielson went down in the feed zone and cracked his tailbone. And what about Zabriskie in the Giro, or Tim Duggan in some other Pro Tour race? All professionals, all very skilled riders, yet they all went down. All it takes is a half second in a crit and you are down. MOST of us know this going in and don't take it out on others.
Hey anonymous, I'm also sorry to hear that you were hurt and that your bike was damaged. That does suck. I know how it feels to be taken down by another rider. But, crashes happen at all levels of bike racing including the less experienced cat 4 level. It's too bad that you decided to lash out against a fellow racer, who already feels bad about the crash. That's not constructive. Your response says a lot more about you than Mike. Anyway, remember that bike racing is supposed to be fun and no one feels good about being involved in a crash.
Ho
Hey Mike, after talking to Ho this weekend I would like to retract my comment. I do not agree with any of the anonymous posters comments now that I have the full story.
Heal fast!!
Rob
> Riding in close quarters overlapping wheels and
> with no hands near the brakes is insane!
Huh?????????????? Who said that? Can he not read? Does he not know what a brake hood is?
"With one hand on the hood..." do I have to draw this guy a diagram! Mike said he was reaching for a water bottle, common in ALL categories, and had the other hand "on the (brake) hood", also common in ALL categories except those on the track where there are neither bottles to grab or brakes.
The crash in question was a caused by a combination of a Cat 4 on front who decides swinging to the side wildly is the way to get off the front with Cat 4 # 2 (Horatio) a little over lapped for some reason (actual reason is they are Cat 4's) and Cat 4 #3 also over lapped, Mike.
The position of the hands, while unfortunate, had little if anything to do with the crash and the person commenting thought's on the matter should command respect commensurate with his experience level...very little to none!
Cat 4's over lap. Cat 4's take bad lines. Cat 4's do lots of things which are less than optimal and in the wrong situation can cause a crash. That is why they are not allowed in the P/1/2 race. In his situation, if he does not like the occasional bad combination of circumstances and skills, umm. He actually DOES have an option! 35+ Open! We would be glad to have him and when he gets some experience he will realize exactly how silly his comments are on Mike's blog entry.
Since I was actually IN this race, I can say that until this crash, the field was pretty smooth. I saw very little bumping etc.
That said, I'm still mad that I crashed but do not entirely fault Mike D. I'm still in a lot of pain and my bike is still down due to various broken bits.
I don't know Mike, so I'm not going to hassle him. I'm sure he's a good guy. The next time it is someone else in one of these races, remember all the hammering Mike has gotten here.
Sh1t happens.
I just hope that everyone takes away something positive from all this sniping and learns to race better and safer.
While I don’t think the assessment of me being a rider with my head up my ass is fair or accurate assessment, I think there is major learning for me from the post from Anonymous.
I wanted to formally apologize to people out there that have found my post to be “hap hazard and smug” and also to the ones “taken back by it”. I truly did not intend it to be smug nor is that part of my personality. I’m actually a pretty nice and friendly guy that loves to ride and train. I’ve thought about it a lot and I can see that I could be a little more careful in my writing. When there are injuries involved I could do a better job of writing in a not so lighthearted way. Sorry guys…I sincerely hope everyone is getting better and back to racing soon.
Mike D.
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