Candi Murray
X-From_: jim_fi-@hp.com Tue Apr 18 16:08:35 2000
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Delivered-To: ob-@teleport.com
From: jim_fi-@hp.com
To: ob-@teleport.com
Subject: RE: Racing observations
Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2000 09:08:31 -0700
Bill,
I'm sorry to hear about what happened. Were you the one with the sling on
his
shoulder? As the official, I meant to come over and find out what
happened, but
assumed it was simply operator error (no offense intended). I crashed
hard at
Mudslinger last week due to operator error and landed in the ER needing some
stitches. (I was the one with the limp selling licenses at the Chainbreaker.
<GRIN>)
You are correct in your assessment of the situation. The rider was not
passing
safely and they should have stopped to see how you were. As a racer, when
I see
people crash, I can usually tell if they are alright before they really
even get
up. I have also stopped to help downed riders. It's a judgement call. If I
caused another person to go down, then I would most certainly stop. In fact,
the incident you describe would most certainly qualify for a disqualification
from the race and possibly a suspension. This sort of behavior is totally
unacceptable. If we had more course officials to police this, we could
put some
teeth into the rules. It's unfortunate that racers don't act responsibly
without the threat of punishment.
Please let me know if someone comes forward so that I may address them
personally. I wish there was more that I could do.
Regards, Jim Fischer, OBRA ATB Representative
-----Original Message-----
From: Candi Murray [mailto:ob-@teleport.com]
Sent: Tuesday, April 18, 2000 6:31 AM
To: ob-@topica.com
Subject: Racing observations
X-From_: wlee-@newportnet.com Tue Apr 18 09:01:10 2000
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Delivered-To: ob-@teleport.com
To: ob-@teleport.com
Subject: Racing observations
From: "Bill Leeper" <wlee-@newportnet.com>
Reply-To: wlee-@newportnet.com
Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2000 02:00:21 -0700
I recently had the pleasure and the pain of competing in my first
Mountain Bike race. "The Chainbreaker". I say pleasure because for most
of the race I really did enjoy it. I say pain because approximately 2
miles from the end someone wiped me out from behind and left me laying
face down in the dirt.
I would like to thank the Medic there and the staff for the quality care
I received when I reached the finish line. Without them it would have
been a lot worse than it was. I realize that wipe outs are a part of
racing, both non assisted and assisted. And I know it truely was an
accident. I just want to make a couple of general observations that may
help make the sport more enjoyable for all.
First, the injury I sustained is serious enough to keep me off the job
for at least two weeks so I do not feel that it was trivial. I would not
be wasting your time if it were.
Second, as nearly as I can figure out the other person involved was one
of the Pro riders. I say this because the person who came along a few
minutes later said that the person who must have been involved almost
caused them to wipe out as well and no one else came along in between. I
was unable to even move enough to where I could attempt to see the
license number.
Third, this individual left me laying in the dirt without any apparent
regard as to whether or not I was even alive. I say this because I did
hear a "are you okey" called out to which I was unable to answer. For
all this person knew I could have been seriously hurt as I was not doing
much moving. I had to lay there for several minutes before I could do
much of that.
Now, my points to all this in case anyone is still reading. The accident
and injury are to be expected in a sport such as this. I have no problem
with that. It is one of the risks. But any person with an ounce of
morality would feel obligated to stop and see if I were indeed allright,
especially if they were partly to blame for the accident. What happened
may be condoned in other sports, but should not be tolerated in this
sport. When you have a sport in which everyone from Pro to Beginner are
mixing on the same course then it is partly up to the "experts" to make
sure what someone in front is going to do before trying to pass. I am
sure the other individual involved has managed to rationalize the
accident to have been entirely my fault as he has not apparently come
forward. But the fact remains that it was probably both our faults. I
heard him call out "Track" but could not determinw where he was. As I
was already almost all the way to the right I thought that he was
attempting to pass on the left so I was moving entirely off the right so
he could pass. Unfortunately he was attempting to pass on the right
where there was not enough room to begin with.
Which brings up my next point. There was plenty of room to pass safely
just a few feet up the track. Apparently this individual just could not
wait a few seconds to make sure he could get safely by. Since this sport
mixes us all into the same race, it also becomes the responsibilty of
the rider passing from behind to make sure that it can be done with
safety. Quite frankly, I was attempting as best I could to yield the
course at the time of the accident.
And lastly, I was talking to someone after the race before I made it to
the aid station an upon hearing what had happened to me I got the
response that the sport was pretty "cut throat" among the money riders.
And this attitude should not be tolerated by any of us. As beginners, we
pay our money to race just as everyone else does. And this gives us just
as much right to be there as anyone. As in any sport, if it were not for
us there would be no prize money for these people to win. Who would be
willing to sponser a race to which only a handful of people showed up
for?
I have no problems with the people who put on this race. I do, however,
have a problem with the "jerk" who helped contribute to the accident and
then left me laying there without stoping to see if I was badly injured.
We don't need this kind of person in this sport. If you see someone go
down you stop and render any assistence if it is needed. "Especially" if
there is no one else around at the time to help out and you were also
involved.
I am sorry if I have bored any of you with this long letter. It is just
that I will be racing again and I would like to seethis kind of thing
removed from the sport. And if anyone thinks I am whining and
complaining my e-mail address is listed below and you can 'flame" me all
you want.
BTW, I did manage to finish my first Mountain Bike race. And I will be
back, hopefully by the end of next month. Even with my injury I enjoyed
the race and for the most part it was a positive experience. Thank you
for your time.
Bill Leeper P-II powered by non MS OS
wlee-@newportnet.com BeOS and loving it
Member Beta Bros.
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