What is it about crashes that you just can’t stand to not watch?

So being part of the GamJam’s network, We’ve been asked to help promote the Raisin of Hope at Reston Town Center Grand Prix.  They’ve been nice enough get an interview with Saul Raisin and get some details: http://www.gamjams.net/2009/06/10-questions-with-saul-raisin.html

In an effort to try and get this out to all, I’ll post this every morning.  Support it, check it out, come on out, and show how strong our cycling community is in the DC area!

DC

I thought this little infomercial would be appropriate for my fat ass.  I’ve got some great exploits coming from the Tour of Washington, but am waiting for some photos to surface so I can illustrate it even better.  Until then, enjoy!

Probably both. I am kicking myself for picking this as my first race of the season. I managed to pull 27th out of my ass, and not without the cost of my soul. Time trial today and a Crit this afternoon should render me into Father’s Day mush.

Well, due mostly in part by the birth of my second child, the Tour of Washington County will be my first race of the season.  In an effort to keep a semblance of peace in my home, I have reserved myself for some training for my first stage race.  When I began cycling, a stage race was my goal someday, and I’m excited for my first this weekend.  I had a chance to talk to Joe Jefferson recently and in the interview he made this statement:

I would just hope that everyone marks their calendars for June 20-21 for the second year we are putting on the Tour of Washington County.  It’s a three stage, two day stage race run all on time.  A road race on Saturday, a Time Trial on Sunday morning and a Crit in the afternoon.  Last year we were one of the only people in the region running a stage race.  This will be the second year of having this stage race and I hope people support it because in supporting it this year in this economy will only make it easier and increase our prize list and get more money and sponsors for this race in years to come.

I’ve been talking about this damn race for a year, and it’s finally here.  As an American Indian, and to try and bring about that warrior spirit, I’m shaving my head into a mohawk!  So come find me and say hi!  Maybe I’ll try and get pics with everyone and post them on Monday?!  Regardless, have fun!  If you’re racing, good luck and if you’re not, come out and support!

DC

Maybe Rock is on the up and up?  I saw this on their Twitter postings.  I don’t mean to kiss Rock Racing’s ass, but damn if they don’t make for good cycling drama. Now if we could just get their site working and functional again.  VeloNews.com hasn’t picked it up this little bit, but they have said that Astana has solved their money issues.  Again.  The world makes sense again.

DC

Ok, so the deal here is this: for what ever reason, my recording of the interview did not happen.  I was fortunate enough for my friend Reb to video tape all the interviews I had.  Unfortunately the sound on that particular interview is drowned out by the commentators of the race rendering my interview barely audible.  Rory was soft spoken, friendly and actually pretty funny.  Anyone who follows Rory on Twitter can see his Aussie wit.  I can’t give you the exact transcription, but I can give you the run down.

Let me preface that with the fact that Rory was one of the riders I really wanted to talk to.  I was on the watch for him, and when I spotted him, he was headed to the Port-o-Johns, and I had to wait for him.  So, looking like a stalker, I sat on a nearby bench and waited for him.  When he came out, he got on his bike and began to ride off when I called out for him for an interview.  He said sure, but I could tell he was a little annoyed.  I made it quick.

I opened with the same opener of me being with District Cycling, of course.  I had mentioned that he was with one of the most anticipated domestic teams this year with him and Floyd.  He laughed at that, and said that Ouch!’s season was going well with a good showing in many of the domestic races and the support of the team and specifically him and Floyd was overwhelming and humbling.  For that particular day he was waiting to see what would happen, but that he and Karl Menzies would likely be the lead riders, but they would wait and see what happened.  With no feed zone, it would prove to be interesting, but he was smiling while saying all of this so I think he saw it as a challenge.  I had the impression that he loves his job.

Believe me when I say that I am disappointed about the interview not turning out because of technical difficulties, but the pictures prove that it happened.  He was a great guy and I hope to connect with him again in the future.

For anyone that has been to a pro race, there are few times that you ever see an attractive woman standing by that isn’t there in support of her husband that is racing, if not racing herself.  So imagine my in seeing this woman in a black shirt hanging out with a pad of paper watching the race fervently.  I had decided during this race that I would approach anyone that I had interest in, or that might make for an interesting interview…so I asked her who she was with and what she was doing.  If you pay attention to CyclingNews.com, then you might recognize Kirsten Robbins’ name.  She was sweet, smart, and accommodating in talking to me (and cute as hell!).  I had a few minor questions about her impressions on cycling, since she’s been writing about it for the last 4 years.  Here is what she had to say:

District Cycling:  This is Gregg with District Cycling and I’m here with Kirsten Robbins with Cycling News.  What do you do?

Kirsten Robbins:  I am a journalist and writer for CyclingNews and I cover American events.

DC: And you do this full time?

KR: I do.

DC: Other than racing in a pro team, I can’t imagine a sweeter gig than going around to races and reporting.

KR: Yeah, it’s a fantastic job.  If you love the sport and you love to travel, then it’s probably the perfect fit.  If you love to write as well then yeah!

DC: What impressions to you have about domestic cycling?  Obviously it’s changing and with Lance [Armstrong] coming in changes things a bit too.

KR: Domestic racing in the states is growing every year.  I’ve been working for CyclingNews now for 4 years and I’ve been able to witness it progressing each year.  I think it definitely flourished to the next level when Lance came out of retirement this year.  That was really seen at the Tour of California and Tour of Gila.  The crowds are attracted to a rider like that because of what he’s done in the sport in the past and what he’s given back to the sport and of course with his Cancer foundation.  That combined really helps with North American racing and I think when someone like Lance is around it really forces everyone else in the US to bring up their level, step up their training, step up their game and the teams work harder.  It really does increase the competition in the United States.

DC: This race is a bit smaller than last year where we had Slipstream and Highroad and of course Rock Racing.  I am a bit surprised about Rock Racing this year where the hype has gone down considerably.  Are you hearing anything about that?

KR: I’m not so surprised.  I think when they came onto the scene they offered a new image that the cycling community wasn’t used to and I think the cycling community has now adapted to that.  They have lovers, they have haters, but all in all they bring something to the sport that was needed when they first came on the scene.  They brought in a lot of publicity and their new image did spark an interest in the community of cycling.  They also brought in a brand from a completely different demographic and I think that cycling needs that.  Am I surprised that the attention they got from last year has decreased this year?  Not really. I think people have gotten used to it.  I think their fans enjoy having them around and I hope they make it to the end of the season.

DC: I think a lot of teams are beginning to feel the effects of the economy as well.  What is your love of cycling?  You’ve been doing this for the last 4 years…

KR: Yeah, I used to race myself and I also love writing.  When I first started, I updated text websites for professional teams in the US and with that I was offered a position with CyclingNews.  It’s been a fantastic career so far.  I have to say, if you love being a professional rider, being on the other end of cycling, on a flipside from racing whether it’s in an organization or promoting an event to  media, it’s pretty rewarding to see the other side of the sport.  Most pro riders don’t get to see that.

DC: I started this [District Cycling] to make it for myself with a love of the sport and you know, I don’t work for CyclingNews, which is why I put this together.  There are a whole bunch of us out there that love this and don’t get to see the back end of it except for the occasional article or documentary that comes out.  It’s great to see CyclingNews out here and I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me!

KR: Yeah, I appreciate you being out here as well!  Thanks!

Rory Sutherland interview tomorrow!

DC

So as we were walking around the race, I happened to notice that the teams had different members walking around with radios.  I had decided to grab one of the guys and talk to him:

District Cycling:  This is Gregg with District Cycling and I’m here with Kevin with Planet Energy and I notice you’ve got a radio.

Kevin:  Yeah!

DC:  So what’s going on here?

K: Well, a lot of the teams use radios to relay information to the guys in the race.  We just basically try to give the guys general information about what’s going on, breakaways and the time gaps are, what we might think the other teams are going to do and especially if we can see anything visually.  When a team is massing a lot of guys on the front, we’ll let our guys know what’s going on so they can just react appropriately in the group.  It’s just basic information and instructions and it keeps the guys informed in the race.

DC: That seems like an amazing advantage from what amateur teams can do, but even from a few years ago.

K: Yeah, I think a lot of people do the radios now.  The systems aren’t really all that expensive anymore and anyone can go to Walmart and buy some radios and they’re good to go.  It’s definitely changed racing in the last 8 years that they’ve started to become widely used.  It’s really changed the way racing happens and you start to see more tactical, but the directors can give the riders a lot more direction in the racing making it a a lot different.

DC: What is the difference between a road race and a crit like this where it’s in a closed course and it’s harder to give information?

K: In the bigger road races there the Commissaire that have a radio channel that they relay information to team directors and to the team cars behind so often times in the bigger road races the information is just as good as it is in a race like this.  It’s pretty much no different.

DC: There is a bunch of us that love this stuff, so it’s great to hear the inside scoop.  Thanks for talking to me!

K: Thanks so much!

DC

Part of me thinks its bad luck to post something like this, but sometimes you gotta suck it up!  This is a tough one because it can be one of trial and error.  If you haven’t had any or many crashes in your amateur racing career, then what reference do you have?  Perhaps it’s not about you.  I’ve had one major crash.  The aftermath was so horrific to me that I still remember it well.  It happened a year ago last March on the 15^th, the day before my 33^rd birthday.  It was the second in a series of 3 crits called Cold Toes.  I was feeling good and confident because the week before I took 3^rd and was looking to make a move this time.  I had teammates as well, and it was exponentially drier than the week before.  At the beginning of the race I was feeling a little uneasy because my computer went on the fritz….an omen.  Additionally, the race was going in the opposite direction from the week before…another omen.  I shrugged it off.  Showing our strength, me and one of my other teammates hammered the front for a few laps about half way in.  In the whole circle of this crit there were two turns, and only one of them a tight 90 degree.  The group was coming around that turn where I had and kept the inside.  The group aggressively came around and began to jockey for position on the inside, where me and a teammate already was.  It was one particular team that was especially aggressive that got so close to my teammate that his pedals hit the spokes of his front wheel.  My teammate, a Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran who came back because he blew up (literally) had to have incredible bike handling skills because he already had a horrific back problem, yelled at the rider.  That rider slowed down enough to come along side of him and then chaos ensued.  There was a bump, a push and I went down.  My position was one of the inside, my handlebars about equal with my teammates seat.  We had distance from each other, at least enough that this wouldn’t be a problem, but all the pushing put us right next to one another.  When the pushing happened, he was literally pushed into my handlebars thus clipping me.  Amazingly enough, I was the only one that went down.  One rider bunny hopped the curb to miss me, and my teammate rode his pedals along the curb to a stop.  I, on the other hand, was not so lucky.  I’ve relayed this story before, but do so now as reference to my experience with road rash.  The things that I learned that are staples for healing early are this:

1)    Shave your legs.  The road rash I had on my legs healed almost immediately because when covering them  I didn’t pull anything when pulling the bandages.

2)    Scrub.  If you have a chance to go home before a hospital visit, scrub the damn thing yourself.  It’s rough, to be sure, but if you do it it’s on your own terms and not on the terms of a masochistic nurse that hears bitching and moaning all day and could care less if it hurts.  I did it myself, and my wife was giggling at the word spewing from my mouth with how much it hurt.  When she peaked into the shower to make a light joke, she was horrified to see that I was literally weeping from pain and that my words where nothing more than truth bombs.  Ouch.

3)    Keep moist.  That is to say, use something that is medicine driven that will help heal the damaged skin.  Many use Neosporin, which I did, but what no one tells you is that you body will only respond to this in one good big effort like this.

4)    Go to the hospital.  I didn’t, and should have.  I was lucky that it didn’t get infected with the area it covered, but I was pretty diligent in keeping it clean and moist.  But if you go to the hospital for any reason at all, pain killers.  Every day use might not be needed, but believe me, sleep is extremely difficult when your nerve endings are healing.  Additionally, it’s ok to make a decision about your treatment there.  Usually the EMT’s aren’t equipped for such work.  My damaged area was big enough that the EMT was horrified and stuttered the words that he had nothing to help me with to cover an area that big.  Way to go, guy.

5)    Keep covered.  As your nerve endings are healing, every wind and whim will be felt and amplified.  Keeping it covered helps elevate that.

6)    Alternative medicines and remedies are good.  Half way through I used a special Honey called…….I felt the effects almost immediately.

Some of the things no one tells you is the pain that is involved in this healing effort.  It’s stupid pain, and I believe contributed to my willingness to suffer on the bike to a degree I never thought possible throughout the rest of the season.  The road rash on my elbow was almost to the bone and took nearly 2 months to properly heal.  At about the one month mark, I lightly brushed my arm against my leg to pick up my little girl and took the skin right off…thus starting the process all over.  This is a good example of how supple and fragile the healing skin is.

After it was all said and done, I have some great battle scars.  If it happens again, I’m going with Tegaderm for recovery.  I’ve heard it performs miracles.  One of the issues I had was changing bandages.  The damaged area always stuck to the ‘non-stick’ gauze and caused more pain.  In the end, do what works.  Keep it clean, get some rest and when you are truly able, get back on the bike. 

DC