6/28/03 by Russell Stapleton
For those outside the sport of cycling, it must be strange to watch these cyclist perform their hobby. One is simply curious about these cyclists, with unusual 5% body fat, rail thin tires, boldly colored skin tight uniforms, and equipment of wild complexity. They even have teams, where their colors match and they remain huddled together before, during, and after the race. And oddly during the race, the cyclists appear to have a robotic like mental focus, only concerned with speed and precision. Were it not for the easily read pain on their faces, you would think these cyclists were cyborgs, cogs of a most efficient process.
In the Perrysburg town center, on Saturday the 28th, despite the deteriorating weather, a large crowd came out to watch the events. While the main even was clearly the kids race, the category 2-3, womens-5, and 3-4 races were also quite exciting. Unlike other sporting events, the spectators didn't tote beer helmets, hotdogs, or body paint; they adorned their curiosity of these cyclists; it's hard not to cheer for such obvious intense suffering. Anyway, without much in the way of safety, crashes at such speeds are also very dramatic, knowing any fraction of a second a rider could go down breaking bones and ripping flesh. Luckily for the people of Perrysburg, we put on quite a show.
The first race of the day was the 3-4 race, this was the largest field of the day. The Allied Decals team (Denis, Jim G., Jim M., Ted, and myself) had a good showing. The local Maumee Vally club was there in large numbers, and the ever present Tri-Tech was similarly well represented. The race was hectic, with inexperienced riders not keeping their lines and 6-8 riders abreast heading into corners. Among the seasoned riders, nerves were getting short, having to deal with potentially dangerous situations in every corner. Right off the starting line, there was a crash, nothing too serious, our favorite Orville rider taking to worst of it. Later, one of the more experienced riders rolled off the coarse into the crowd, luckily without injury. In the early part of the race, I captured the prime and formed a 3 man break which stayed off the front for about a lap. With the laps being so flat, the high pace prevented any breaks from succeeding. In the latter half of the race, Denis and Jim G. worked to keep up front in good strategic position, while Jim M. and I rested in the tormented pack. With the pack together, it was going to be an exciting finish. Into the last lap, as one would have predicted, there was a serious crash. A rider in the front of the field went down, causing a catastrophic chain reaction. About 8 riders hit the pavement, including myself. I was about the third/forth guy down, I did the best to dodge the bullet, but it was too fast. I hit the first rider down, ran clean over him, sling shotting my body, coming to rest on the metal barricade. By some miracle, my body and bike took no damage. So I untwisted my bike from the pile, got back on and finished the last lap. Of the riders who when down, 2 went to the hospital with serious injury, likely broken bones. Although I wasn't there to see the finish, apparently Denis took to the front and lead Jim G. for the sprint. While Jim hesitated for a split second and lost some spots in the sprint, he did manage to make a top ten finish. Jim M. and Ted were slowed by the carnage, and were unable to make the sprint effort.
The Womens/5 race followed the 3-4 race, and lucky for them, it rained. Just enough to get things super slick. Chris skidded out of a corner and took some road rash, perforating his team shorts. Catherine, again was riding strong. Nathan rode to a very respectable 7th place. The 2-3 race was only represented by Jim G. and Denis. With a smoother fast pace, Jim and Denis worked hard to keep the fresh legs for the 2 riders from breaking up the field. They finished in the field, a good accomplishment, and honorable to risk your life twice in the same day.
For the crowd, it was an exciting race. It was very entertaining with the almost TV like race commentator rambling on about race mechanics and rider profiles. When I crossed the line for the prime, and again with the break, hearing my name called on the loudspeaker, and crowd cheering (Trish), I couldn't help but feel somewhat recognized for all that toiling I've done in those long winter/spring months. I sure felt good. But I won't let my few seconds of glory go to my head. Don't think I'm slowing down because of the crash either, I'm still in search of that win.
Russell Stapleton