CRCA Park Race 3/24 CRASH BANG BOOM OUCH

This morning started out just fine. A good number of us from the team were present. On the last lap, it appears either someone hit one of the large potholes on the west side's drive causing a chain reaction of riders going down or some wheels touches. Either way, we were charging on the flats over 23 mph, when all of a sudden there were about 4 girls down in front of me. I had no where to go but up and then of course, down...onto the pavement. I landed on my left side and immediately sat up to move out of roadway so I wouldn't get hit by the rest of the pack. I tended to some of the bleeding girls and then looked at my own hand. It was a mess. Swollen and so so sore. I could barely move it. It was maybe 38 degrees out so I started shaking since I was wet from sweating the first hour plus of the race. I was shivering and started coughing. When I coughed, I started to cry because my ribs hurt so bad.

Over in the middle of the road, Elizabeth from Metro was moaning in pain. Some joggers carried her out of the roadway before the men's field came through. She suffered a concusion. Another rider broke her collarbone requiring surgery and fractured her wrist. Three ambulances arrived and we were taken to the ER. I didn't want to go. Angela from CC had borrowed my bike to go get our bags, and she never returned with it. My teammates assured me that they would take care of everything, which of course they did. Near the finish line, my bike had been left with a Metro Team guy who had no idea who's it was. Martha spotted it and took it from him. She then gave it to my teammates who brought it to the ER.

The good news with the race is that Nancy got 2nd. The bad news was the crash. Because of it, the team ended up in the ER instead of enjoying hot coffee and muffins at the coffee shop. Sorry girls! Anyhow, I am ok. I got lucky. I have strong bones and everthing was just really bruised and sore. I ended up with bruised ribs, wrist and hand. My neck had some painful whiplash and my lower back really hurt. Alison was awesome and escorted me home in a cab with my bike.

Crashing is a part of racing, but surely a part none of us racers like.