May 2, 2010, AZ State Criterium Championships, Masters 55-59
Scottsdale AZ

This was the final criterium of the Arizona racing season. It was a 40 minute race and I rode in the Masters category. The state championships are divided into 5 year age groups for most of the Masters categories, and the 24 riders in the 50-54 category would be racing in the same pack as our 55-59 group of 8 riders.

I had entered another criterium two weeks ago in Buckeye AZ and was dismayed at my lack of fitness. After only half way through the race, I had been dropped from the pack with a lack of strength in the legs and the lungs burning; a situation I was not familiar to be in. The training I had done since the March 3 car accident that had broken my left collar bone and 6th rib had been limited. I was only just beginning to be able to pull up on the bars and most of the upper body strength has faded away. My back would also have a sting of pain when trying to do weight work on the legs, so I've not been able to utilize any weight training for 2 months. Trying to do longer intense efforts would put internal pressure on my ribs, causing pain there and only recently have I been able to get into a full tuck position without causing pain to the ribs from contact with the legs. So having lost a good bit of fitness, it's going to be a long road to get back what I had before. Since this was the State Championships and I was the defending champion (on a different course), I thought I'd give it a go. I had done my best to keep my sprint strong, so if I could just survive to the end, I might have a chance to take the win.

The course was a half mile in length per lap and perfectly flat, with narrow streets, bumpy turns, and a speed bump thrown in just 20 feet after the last turn into the finish. The final straightaway was about 130 meters to the line; just enough to allow one to possibly come from a second position and take a win. There was a head wind after the first turn, but the buildings sheltered the finishing stretch from much of it's impact.

I had a fairly good start and stayed somewhat near the front to make sure that no breakaways might slip away that included anyone in my age group. David Bixby and I have been trading off wins in this contest over the last several years, so I made sure to always keep him within reach. I was not having difficulty, but I certainly didn't feel as powerful as I did in the early season before my injury. Thus I stayed back just a little bit to avoid having to put out extra energy at the very front. I was a little disappointed at my trepidation in going through the final corner and would need to alleviate my fear before it came down to crunch time on the final lap.

Although the stretch after turn one had a headwind, it was also the best opportunity to advance on position within the pack. Oddly, even though the following turn was a sharp right, the pack would often swing to the right side of the road in the center portion of the section. This was probably from the lead rider trying to swing off and the following rider staying in his draft, rather than continuing straight and taking a turn into a headwind. The other areas of the course were so short and narrow, that it was extremely difficult to move up in the pack.

David and his teammate would often be in the first quarter of riders as the leaders of the 55-59 group and I'd be very close behind. Unlike last year, the 50-54 riders were stronger than the 55-59 group and were setting a pretty good pace. I took a time check at ten minutes into the race and followed the riders around turn 1. Due to the narrow roads, we were bunched up pretty tight and the headwind enhances that bunching due to the lead riders hitting the wind and being slowed. All of a sudden, a rider two ahead of me crosses a wheel and starts to go down. I see that he was going to take out the rider directly in front of me, as both he and I are surrounded by riders on both left and right. With a crash becoming unavoidable, I aim for a soft landing area, that being the back of the rider in front of me, directing my good, right shoulder at the target. Immediately after hitting the ground, I ball up, with my back facing the oncoming traffic I hear approaching, and try to protect my previous injuries as best I can.

Amazingly, I was not hit by any more riders from behind after the initial crash. I surveyed the scene and there was about eight of us on the ground and no one was looking anxious to jump back into the fray of things. I was sitting in the middle of the intersection, just short of half way down the stretch. I hear a couple of guys groaning and rolling around on their backs in agony. I am able to stand up without much difficulty, although my left knee took an impact to the handlebars and felt bruised. My right forearm also hit something and was swelling up. I'd have a giant bruise on my buttocks the following day and my left elbow developed some swelling as well. Although the bike was ridable, the front shifter lever body had cracked, making it unable to shift into lower gears. I really didn't want to risk damaging myself further by pushing myself while in an unknown medical state and thought it best to limit my losses. Apparently that was not the only crash in the race, as out of the 32 starters, 14 did not finish. Almost every other race that went on that day also had casualties, as you'd see the walking wounded wandering back to their camps.

I have no more races planned for May, so hopefully I can heal from old injuries and new, as well as try to get back some fitness. The rest of the races for 2010 look to be track races, which are shorter and safer.

Not a banner year for me so far.

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