Avon State Road Race Report

Being sick Thurs. and Fri., I didn't expect much from this race. Keep the rubber side down, stay near the front and hang on as long as possible. Given those expectations, I did really well. I narrowly avoided one crash right in front of me. By the time the big crash happened right near the end, I was already dropped. Unfortunately Neil and another LSCer weren't so fortunate, With Neil ending up with some pretty nasty road rash and the other LSCer being taken away in an ambulance. The words 'broken collarbone' were being used by the police officer on the scene and the rider was holding his arms up as he was lying on the road. Ouch.

This will probably stir up some controversy, but I'm beginning to think that the strict enforcement of the centerline rule is causing more injuries than it's preventing. People get bunched up, make risky moves to move up, get pushed into the shoulder gravel (as was the case with the first crash), bump handlebars, etc. Without having the other side of the road at least as an escape route, things can get scary. Even the girl in Illinois that was killed wasn't violating the center line rule - she was bumped over the line. Discuss.

I hear Tuffy won the 3 race, right after upgrading. This is awesome! He's been trying to upgrade for a while, and to win so soon after his upgrade came through mid-season is really admirable. After seeing a many people refusing to upgrade when they should, I find it even more of an example to be upgrading without having to be forced to.

The amazing thing about road races, which I wouldn't even be doing if it weren't for the peer pressure, is that we can be cruising along with the perceived effort of a club ride, and I look down at my bike computer and find we've been averaging 23.3mph for the last 40 miles! Neat. In the end, my team went to the front during the last half of the last lap, and that's what popped my off the back. As I was struggling to stay on, another rider asked me why I wasn't up front with them. All I could manage was a weak smile and a phlegmy snort. My team has been fielding a potent Masters 4/5 road racing team the last part of this year. I'm looking forward to next year!

Now it's time to hang up the road bike and get serious about cyclocross. My first run on Monday hurt bad. There will be more hurt where that came from. I'm excited about a packed cyclocross calendar and hopefully some good fun this year! Who knows, maybe we'll even get dirty!