CRW Ride Report or 1st crash of 2009

5 April 2009.

There's a saying among cyclists, Cat-5 races are the most dangerous. -5ers are the most inexperienced of the racers, and as such they are more prone to make mistakes.

Today, although not a race, served as a reminder of that for me.

As the 40 mile ride took off, I tore off with the fast group... again. You think sooner or later, I would learn to choose my riding groups better.

My commute home overlaps portions of this route. After you fly through the rolling descents, leaving Needham for Dover, you are greeted with a small, but always punishing hill. Every ride this hill craters me. I've done worse hills, but regardless of my fitness level this dinky hill gives me grief. And today, my turn on the front came up just as we reached the bottom.

I reached down and buried that hill. I kept the pace up and pulled the train up that hill. Unfortunately, after I pulled off at the top, I was immediately dropping off the back. Appropriately measuring my effort is another lesson I've yet to pick up.

So for the remainder of the first half of the ride, I was mainly on my own, stuck in a no-man's land between groups.

This sets up Mile 20ish. A group was slowly catching up on me when I was rewarded with a lovely decent. I tore down that hill trying to escape the chasers.

The descent was straight, fast, and long. As we neared the end, the markers indicated next turn was approaching. The hill continued straight, with our down hill banked near 180 degree right turn sharply veering off.

I committed, hard lean around the turn, tap on the brakes to kill a little speed (for insurance), and dove into the turn... only to see it covered with sand. New England + Down Hill Right Turn = Sand.

The second the rear tire hit the sand it immediately let go; a little hip wiggle and brake and I brought it back... only to have it go out again half a second later... this time I unclipped my right foot figuring I'll lay the bike down (worst case) or try and drift my way around the turn (best case)... That worked, and momentarily I was back in control... until the rear tire hit a spot clear of sand.

Snap - the bike immediately righted itself and launched me off the other side. Bam - I hit the ground, tucked and rode the inertia across the empty road.

The second I stopped, I lept to my feet, running to get back on the bike. Just after I reached the bike and started to put my water bottles back, the chasing group zipped by (with a "you alright?").

All told, I only damage I really did was scraping my left elbow and knee, although I'll probably be sore all over tomorrow. The bike faired rather well - considering the speed - scrapped hoods, rear fork, and seat and a broken water bottle cage.

The rest of the ride (thankfully) was uneventful. Shortly after the off, I met up with another rider who set a nice recovery pace until I mentally recovered. Ultimately we (and another rider we picked up) would all share the work at the front and come home together.