Many of you have probably heard by now that I was in an ugly crash during the Rogers Session Tuesday night. @
Cleave was there and witnessed the aftermath. He also provided me with much needed support, I’m glad he was there.
What happened was this. I was riding in the low group in the pole lane and a larger group was up on the blue/stayers line. My GPS data confirmed that we had just slowed from 26 MPH to 21 (we were doing intervals), and as we rolled into turn three, a rider slightly ahead of me in the high group went down, slid down track into the woman in front of me and I hit both of them. We slid a good thirty feet after the impact, and it took a while before I was completely untangled from the mess and then loaded into the ambulance. I suffered skin tears and cuts on my left arm and hand, and contusions on my face, but the worst part was I received five broken ribs. None were displaced, but some do have multiple fractures. If you have had the misfortune to have had rib fractures, then you know how disruptive and severely painful they are.
The woman who had been in front of me was knocked out and concussed, and her helmet was completely destroyed. The rider who started the chain reaction received minor road rash and was otherwise okay.
My Giro Aerohead helmet was destroyed. Somehow my kit survived, and I wouldn’t let the ER staff cut it off of me. The bike received some damage, too. The rails on the saddle were badly bent, ruined, the back wheel has a ding in it, and there is blue paint embedded on the top of the steerer.
I’m off the bike for unknown amount of time. Nats is in jeapardy mainly because of the financial setback this is going to impose. I’m off work for at least a week, too. I have a wonderful support system of friends here, I’m being well taken care of.
All for now....