Reports from Martinez claim that Masters racer, Winder, caught bad luck in the race on Saturday and he would like to know which rider brought him down. We’re on a search to find out who has some extra skin on him…
Its time to pay the piper, com’on out!
11 responses so far ↓
1 mhernandez // Apr 6, 2008 at 5:57 pm
shyte!
is it really a snapped wing?
2 Allison Krasnow // Apr 6, 2008 at 8:30 pm
does the cherry-mint do anything to ease the pain? so sorry to hear about your crash. argh!!
3 Kimberly Turner // Apr 7, 2008 at 6:27 am
Bummer–I know these shoulder injuries all too well…hang in there!
4 MerkeleyB // Apr 7, 2008 at 9:27 am
Sorry to hear about the crash. The last three laps seemed particularly dicey. I didn’t realize you were caught in one of the crashes until Ali got home and told me Saturday night. Heal up quickly!
5 Dr X // Apr 7, 2008 at 11:44 am
Aw man; really sorry to hear this. Is that your actual break? looks nasty. I only lasted 15 minutes in that race, so it wasn’t me…
6 AHunter // Apr 7, 2008 at 1:57 pm
I was in the unenviable position of seeing the crash close up and personal-like. From my perspective, that is to say, right in front of you, an anonymous rider (not to protect the innocent, but because I didn’t recognize him) unexpectedly swerved into Kyle Glerum taking himself and Kyle out. I had nowhere to go. I am luckier than you, though, I only look like I am channeling the droogs from A Clockwork Orange and am missing a few brain cells from trying to break the pavement with my helmet. I apparently didn’t have that many to begin with racing in a full field mixing one of the slower less experienced categories with one of the faster cats.
Hope you heal quckly.
Aaron
7 Dr X // Apr 7, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Hmmmm, I may be slow, but I’ve doing this way to long to get lumped in with the ‘inexperienced’ comment - Merkeley too… why blame one of us cat 4s so quickly? I only saw a few I knew on the reg list. And by 1/2 way, Merkeley was the only 4 I recognized still in the race. Maybe the unidentified rider screamed ‘cat 4′ or maybe he just simply is a cat4… not really offended, but felt I had to say something. Ya know, back east they run master’s together often and I don’t know think they crash more or blame the lower cats.
8 Robert // Apr 7, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Yep, thats my snapped wing… another X-Ray today for good measure - actually I had to stand up for this one ahead of the appt with Dr Jensen on Wednesday.
Thanks for filling me in Aaron, useful insights and thank you for all the support and comments - and for not taking offense - I prefer to have the open discussion and come to a meeting of the minds.
Sadly, my race was over after about 15 minutes or so, whilst many of the 4’s were going backwards through the field - I was already in the back of an ambulance before the last lap frenzy. Whilst I have no problem with the 4s, many of them can’t ride the smooth lines or hold the wheel or even keep pace with the regular M123 racers. Mistakes happen when riders are on the rivet. Someone else’s mistake brought me down. I know this can happen in any race, but racing with inexperienced and weaker riders increases the odds, IMO.
Maybe the stats don’t add up, but I’ve raced many times this year in P12 & M123 fields and this is my first time with the 4’s and my first crash.
Maybe it is the bang on the head that I took - my helmet cracked in 5 places - but I join the dots this way.
9 AHunter // Apr 7, 2008 at 10:52 pm
DrX–I am not necessarily blaming a Cat4 rider for my wreck. I don’t who he was or what category he rides–and I certainly don’t know why he swerved in the road, regardless of category.
I do question the wisdom of the promoters for combing two categories that are each big enough for their own field. Especially when the two categories are at the opposite ends of the speed spectrum.
It could very well be that the field was simply too large for the course. After all, long after most cat4’s had dropped out there were still two more crashes in the race.
10 Dr X // Apr 8, 2008 at 11:39 am
Agreed gentleman - as 4’s that’s the drill, 10 starts or ten years, it is a wide range. in my case I simply don’t have the time to train to even want to upgrade - I can corner better than most given my obscene amount of time in the sport, but I would hope a brand new master’s 4 would know to stay out of that race or at least out of the way. If you didn’t know the course though I can see why you might get the urge to try out a race with the big boys. I do think the course was a big factor - narrow & the surface was a crazy combo of textures and the crashes just kept coming. Hope you heal fast… indeed a nasty break.
11 Margaret // Apr 11, 2008 at 11:44 am
I have been pondering over this for a few days now and I think it is very similar in the women’s cat 4 field. We have total novices and old timers (even though they may be young). Some women will always remain Cat 4 and some women will always remain cat 3.
Take this last weekend in Martinez. The cat 3 women had the choice of racing in the 3/4 race or the 1/2/3 race. Some of cat 3 women that chose to race in the 3/4 still complained about the danger of having to ride with the ’sketchy cat 4’s’. My reply would be that the cat 4’s had no choice as to when they could race but the cat 3’s did. So if we cat 4’s are too sketchy for you then please race in the 1/2/3.
On the flip side last summer at Davis I was quite horrified when the official, in her wisdom, decided to ask who in the W cat 3/4 race was racing for the first time. Several women raised their hands and I was totally guilty of thinking the worst thoughts about those women and wanting to be as far away from them as possible.
As it happens two of the women that I thought made dangerous maneuvers are now cat 2’s.
There are many other crits that I would recommend for a first timer and Davis, Burlingame and Martinez are not among them.
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