john

Heh Mike R. and obra,

As I sit at home with my broken leg I know exactly what you are going through and am really feeling for you. I can't imagine a hip break.

It is very very important to share cause it reminds us what the consequences are. Believe me breaking a leg is probably the worst thing that has ever happened to me... (my break was my own doing though... )

You should have moved over to the left a little more and crowded the yellow line, So that he couldn't even attempt to bump in. (unless of course a car suddenly appeared !) but I wasn't there so I don't know exactly how you were bumped... and things happen so quick...

George is very correct in all his statements.

With the down-time from my broken leg I have time to write this big long email. I apoligize if its too long but I hope it will help.

Also I had time to go through my racing logs and journals from the past 17 years and so first to establish my crediblity: I've done over 120 road races since 1989 most in the midwest( MI,IN,IL) and In nearly half of those races entered, I have placed top ten or better... Although about half have been done at cat 3 or cat 1-2-3 level, a lot, the other half of those races were done as Junior or as a Cat 4. Without teammates or with only one teammate. (i've raced OBRA seriously only in year 2000 and 2005 and at 40-50 lbs more weight! so yes I am a cat 4 ).

First if you want to place in a normal road race or crit you have to be in the front (an exception is PIR, more later). In most of my races there was always a full field. My experience was that if you constantly fought for the front by constantly filling gaps and keeping things tight then you could maintain your location in the pack. If you "slept" for even a little you would quickly be in the back. To get back near the front was hard work. Usually you could only do it at corners or when attacks happened or on hills because only then would gaps open up and allow you to shoot for the front but of course everyone else was sprinting for the same.

My Experience was that if you weren't already in the front (this means in the top 10 riders), you had to start trying at least 5-10 miles before the end of the race in order to work your way up there, and then be willing to put in some serious effort to stay there.. If you weren't in the front at a mile to go, FORGET IT !! your race is over !! There was just no way unless some big miracle gap opened up.

And I've been in a few races where I actually was right near the front (like 3rd line) but the guys in the front decided not to sprint until like less than 100 yards and so everyone was blocked in and there was absolutely nothing we could do except yell "go, someone GO" (to smiles and deaf ears of the front line) as we slowly rolled (literally) towards the finish line... Hmm i think that front line had same colored jerseys ?

I still remember a junior race with our 53x15 gearing, and we had been all spun out for miles before the finish. It was hilarious, the sprint was just whereever you happened to be in the pack...no one could really pass anyone else.

PIR: Those whose main racing experience is PIR, need to realize that PIR is NOT like any other normal race! PIR is so wide that you can move up anytime you feel like. Someone else mentioned chaotic. There is no structure cause the road doesn't force any. The finish is always sort of a gamble on to which line to follow to the finish and I have actually seen people place well coming from the back of the pack which I find just incredible. The dynamics of PIR are vastly different than a normal road race or crit. But in addition, I have also found that in the normal oregon road races and crits, it is really easy to move to the front as compared to races I have done in the past in the midwest. There are always big gaps. Of course you still better move up before the last little bit if you want to place...

In all my races in the midwest I have been in very few and have seen very few crashes. And really only one serious crash in a crit. Seriouly I could count them on one hand and a couple of which were simple crashes from riding off the road from a strong blast of wind

Even this past fall on a weekend visit to my brother in Ohio, we did a Cat 4 road race together. Narrow winding roads and a 50 mph descent. But I was amazed on the descent the pack was still fairly close, Just no one touched their brakes, no-one panicked, everyone trusted each other. and No crashes of course.

I am sorry to say, but Racing here in Oregon is more dangerous. Obviously its not the races, its the riders, and I have had to really keep my wits about me.

One of my first obra races was a bannana belt in 2000. Good God I almost got crashed three times. I really was just amazed by that and that somehow I didn't go down too. And then this past year almost everytime I was at PIR there were crashes or near crashes. And a couple times I was run off the road by swerving riders..

Solution ? :
1. Club rides. Especially for beginers or those of you who have only done cyclecross. And sorry, just sauntering rides although great are not enough. You have to have short hard club rides on nearly flat roads, to give beginners a feel for the speed, and the closeness (that is necesarry to keep from getting dropped). And it helps to have experienced riders giving feedback at least for a few rides... Club rides of 20 plus riders are huge in the midwest in almost every town with a bike shop. This is where people learn to ride and race.
2. Practice riding close to people. Practice pacelines. In general, if you are a racer, whenever you are riding with anyone else, you should be doing pacelines and riding close to one another. Even on a casual ride, ride side by side and chat. You should get comfortable with handlebars only 2 to 3 inches away. Yes you may touch occasionally but thats all that will happen and its all learning not to panic.. Yes you need a good spin and a quiet upper body.
3. Never ever make sudden movements if you know there are people around you. Always assume they are to the side of you or are overlapped on your rear wheel. Never ever brake in a pack if you can help it. That doesn't mean you can't move to the side or etc.. you just have to do it slowly.
4. You need to spin when riding in a pack. Seriously there are all kinds of benefits to a good spin. One of them is its safer.
5. Ride at Alpenrose Velodrome. Other than my one time getting crashed, it really is quite safe, safety awareness is heightened and everyone is trained quite well. Go to at least two Wednes training classes. And also read up on velodrome safety and then ask a lot of questions too.
6. If you don't have a club, ride with PWTC. Seriously their Tue Wed or Thur rides will provide some good group riding dynamics. Their pacelines aren't great but its better than nothing !
7. If by yourself practice riding on the white line...

That is all I can think of off the top of my head. Of course that advice probably wouldn't have prevented the crash at cherry pie.?.

A lot of people say crashes are part of racing. That they are not uncommon.
Sorry that's bullshit ! Crashes should be an exception, a rarity. Seriously when I raced in the midwest, crashes just were never a concern, were really never on my mind, because they rarely happened.