June 2016 - Glitter and Dust

I got hit by a car while riding my bike yesterday, but before I get into those details let me start by saying that I love being on my bike. The sound of two wheels spinning beneath me. Wind sweeping around my body. Blood flowing, heart pounding, the sights, sounds, and smells of mountain air, pine, farmlands, and pavement. Yes, even pavement has a distinct smell. Cycling makes the senses really come alive, as though you are part of the land, living, feeling, breathing it, and not just passing by from the comfort (and safety) of a car.

Just like people find joy in art, music, and various hobbies, I, like many others, find joy in being on my bike. But that doesn’t come without risk. Every time I get on my bike, I am putting myself at risk and making myself vulnerable to my surroundings. It doesn’t matter how skilled or defensive I might be – when you are at the mercy of others, you can only do so much to secure your own safety.

I am writing this post with a lot of emotion and reflection, so bear with me if I seem a little sensitive and upset. Something inside of me just felt as though these words need to be shared, if anything to bring more awareness to both drivers and cyclists as we attempt to coexist on the same pavement.

Two weeks ago I started a blog post sharing my thoughts regarding a scary incident I had while out on my bike. During one of my solo training rides a driver in a white van intentionally approached me at a slow speed, crossed over into the bike lane, got uncomfortably close to me, and then proceeded to speed up quickly leaving a cloud of exhaust and loud rumble in my path. The act was completely senseless and uncalled for, and for the first time in a while I was filled with trepidation while on my bike.

Although I did not share the experience with anyone at the time, I was upset over the situation. It was too close for comfort and I felt like my space and my safety had been violated. Instead of letting everything stew inside me, I started writing some thoughts regarding the complete disregard with which some motorists treat cyclists.

Too often in our circles of friends, on social media, or in the news we hear about cyclists getting injured or even killed by drivers not paying attention or not obeying the rules of the road. While I have always been mindful of my surroundings, the incident with the white van left an unpleasant feeling in me, and a fear that I could become a victim some day.

That fear became reality yesterday when I was hit by a car. The driver was a female teenager who made (and was ultimately cited for) a dangerous left turn as I was approaching an intersection from the opposite direction and had the right away. She turned into me fast and hard, hit me from my left side, causing me to land on the hood of her car, roll up the windshield, and land hard on the pavement. My bike was a broken mess. And my head was saved by my helmet. Helmets save lives, people!

As I lay on the pavement, a few other passing motorists rushed to my side. Coincidentally, these people were cyclists as well and knew how to take care of me and ease my mind before the paramedics and police arrived. I felt comforted and protected knowing that these people could relate to me. My coach’s wife was among them, and covered me with her coat as I lay shivering on the ground. One of the witnesses had to explain to the driver why she was in the wrong, which makes me wonder how many other drivers out there are naïve, clueless, or just plain ignorant about sharing the road with cyclists. As the cycling community grows larger, perhaps the education offered to drivers should expand with it.

I was taken to the hospital where I received treatment for road rash and bruising. After the shock faded and adrenaline wore off, my body was examined for internal damage and broken bones. The x-rays came back negative and somehow I managed to walk away from the emergency room with only minor injuries. It should have been a lot worse. Someone was looking out for me… and my family.

The outpouring of support from friends, family, and fellow cyclists in the past 24 hours has reaffirmed my love for this sport and for the community of cyclists I am proud to be part of.

As a cyclist, I try to be very cognizant of the vehicles around me and show respect when a driver acknowledges me on the road. Whether it’s a wave when they drive by and give me extra room for comfort, or a smile when they take the time to wait for me to pass through an intersection. To me, I am just reinforcing those proactive behaviors drivers take to show respect to cyclists. When I am on the other side of the equation as a motorist, I try to act in the same manner and treat cyclists with the respect and equality they deserve. While I don’t believe my accident was anything more than that – an accident – too often I have seen firsthand or heard of drivers acting with malicious intent toward cyclists.

It makes me sad and angry that any motorist would feel the need to threaten or instill fear in cyclists. I witness this all the time during my rides. There is no logical reason, in my mind, for the honking, throwing the middle finger, engine revving, exhaust blast, and reckless swerving, other than to exhibit your own hatred and disrespect for other human beings. In my opinion, this type of behavior is nothing less than another form of road rage and bullying and has no place in an otherwise civilized society.

I’m sure there are drivers that have had a bad encounter or two with a cyclist not obeying the rules of the road, such as riding outside of the bike lane when one exists, riding three abreast on a narrow shoulder, etc. But the actions of a few should not dictate how all cyclists are treated. Some of the most amazing people I know spend hours each week riding their bikes, and do so in a safe, law abiding manner. A cyclist has just as much right to the road as one who is driving a car. Their life is no less important than the life of a passenger in a vehicle. These cyclists are my friends. These cyclists are like family.

Just like drivers maintain a sense of anonymity inside their vehicles, cyclists have a sense of anonymity hidden by their kits, helmets, and sunglasses. But behind all of that clothing and protection is a human being. That is someone’s wife, husband, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, or best friend. It might be your family doctor, the waiter at your favorite restaurant, the person who delivers your mail, or a teacher to your children. And most of them, unfortunately, have a similar story as mine about a close call with a vehicle, an encounter with an angry motorist, or an outright collision with a car or truck.

Life is precious and we should all get to enjoy doing the things we love without fear for our safety or of how we will be treated by others. If this post even reaches one person that has a negative stigma toward cyclists, and makes him or her rethink the actions he or she takes while driving, then my voice has been heard.

My story is one of miracles. I can’t say the same for many others. Please, be courteous toward others, respectful of human life, aware of your surroundings, and patient behind the wheel. And above all, share the road.

As much as I love riding my bike, I have always told myself (and anyone who would listen) that I would never, ever, never, never, never actually do a road race. So, naturally, on Saturday I participated in my first ever road race. If you would have asked me 6 months ago if I ever saw myself racing on a bike with a group of other women, I would have laughed and served you a big fat “no’ on a golden platter. While I really enjoy spectating at road race events, and watching the various Tours all spring and summer, I have never had any desire to be one of those racers.

When my coach suggested I compete in the Bend Don’t Brake race, I completely shrugged it off. Nope, not me, I thought. I had hoped he would just forget about it and I’d be in the clear. But then my husband, who works with a woman who helps coordinate the race, signed me up to volunteer at registration before the race. This earned me a free entry, so naturally I felt compelled to use it. It’s amazing what people will do when something is “free.”

Even after I signed up I felt torn about actually going through with it. Couldn’t I just show up and start pedaling in the other direction? It is a loop course after all and spectating would probably be just as much fun. At the end of the day I thought, “Well, what’s the worst that can happen? I get dropped and turn it into a good workout.” I decided to suck it up and just do it. Good experience, right? I live for those.

So thankful for these two. Could not have done it without them.

The day started with a 4:15am wake-up cry from Axel’s room. Lately he has been going through an early morning phase. Justin and I are both morning people, but Axel takes it to the next level of EARLY! Justin was able to get him to go back to bed, but by that time my brain was firing a billion neurons a second thinking about the race. Sleep was simply impossible, so I made my way to the coffee maker and sat in silence for a few minutes.

Because my race with the cat 4/5 women and 40+ masters did not start until 1:20pm, I was scheduled to volunteer checking in racers from other categories from 7:30am-noon. It made for a long morning of playing the “waiting game”, but at least I got to meet and connect with other cyclists during that time. It was a good distraction for me as well…. until….

There was a bad crash in the men’s masters race and the directors had to stop (and eventually cancel) the remaining morning races due to the crash taking place right before the finish line. There was a sprint finish and a bunch of riders ended up crashing and going to the hospital in ambulances. When you are a newbie rider getting ready to start your first race, this is the LAST news you want to hear. But, it’s also part of bike racing and accidents happen. My heart went out to those who were injured – I can’t imagine.

The encouragement from my coach, husband, and fellow riders kept me pointed in the direction of the start line. I warmed up with some friends who were racing in the Cat 1/2 women’s group and then made my way to the start. My coach was there to offer me a few pointers and before I knew it we were off.

The race was 2 ½ loops (each 10 miles) on easy rolling hills. This area is notorious for wind, which definitely factors into strategy, as you don’t want to be the one doing all the work and pulling the group into a headwind. I stayed clear of the front when battling against the wind.

The first lap was pretty easy and uneventful. I was definitely nervous and could feel adrenaline surging through me as we rounded each corner and sprinted each hill. Halfway into the first lap I got bored, so I took a turn at the front. My coach told me that it’s okay to be in front at times, so everyone can share some of the work, but you don’t want to spend too much time in the front. Well, guess who spent too much time in the front? Not by choice, I can assure you, but every time I slowed down or looked back at the group and waved someone else on I got no response. My thinking at that point was “fine, I’ll pull, but I’m not going to waste watts.” You can actually see all of the areas of the race where I pulled, just looking at my data. This looks like the data of a triathlete. Haha.

I finally got sucked back into the group as we entered the second lap. This is also where the headwind would rip into us, so I did a good job shielding myself from the wind. My coach can give me an A for effort in the “avoid headwind” category. Again, halfway into the second lap (once we had a tailwind) I pedaled myself to the front of the group and took over. This time I added a few more bursts and hard efforts, just for fun, but found myself spending too much time pulling once again. You would have thought I learned my lesson the first time around. ☺

Once we entered into the final lap, I knew I was going to have to make a move. Why not make the first move in my first race? So I did. With about 1.5 miles to go I gave it all I had and powered up the road. One of the girls who was stronger than me followed, and we ended up working together (kind of) as we made our way to the 200m sprint to the finish. At this point, a couple other girls had bridged up behind us and it was every woman for herself.

Here is where I let myself down – I completely forgot that during the final 200m, the road opens up to both lanes and riders can use the entire width of the road. Because I was settled just to the right of the center line, I was only paying attention to the riders on my right and was oblivious to the woman who sneaked up on my left. Rookie mistake. She ended up taking second while I took third, by literally an inch. It was that close.

Road racing could not be more opposite from riding a bike during a triathlon. The goal in triathlon is to set a steady pace and power, not going out too easy or too hard. There is a steady sweet spot for triathlon determined by the distance.

The goal in road racing is to conserve energy by drafting in the group and to initiate breakaways and bursts when going up a hill or after rounding a corner. The effort was all over the place as you can see with my power distribution.

There is definitely a learning curve with road racing. Once the race was over I was frustrated with how I performed. Looking back, I would have done things a little differently. I would have broke away earlier and turned it into a time trial. But again, it’s hard to know what others are going to do.

I was really surprised with how nice the other girls in the race were. A good handful of them came up and talked to me after the race. As someone who is intimidated by other female cyclists (some are nicer than others), this surprised me and completely debunked the stereotype I had conjured up in my head.

Am I glad I did it? Of course. I survived and was successful doing something that I said I would NEVER do. Am I going to do more? Maybe. If I do, I want to train differently so I can be better prepared. Right now I am training with a triathlete’s focus and mentality. If I did more road races, I would want to do more group rides, practice sprinting and surging, and get more comfortable with having my head on a swivel. Plus, now that I know what to expect, I can hopefully bring a little more confidence to the starting line next time.

Archives for June 2016

Too Close For Comfort

Thoughts On My First Road Race