| Tough Times |
Sunday started like any other, wake up, eat, go for a quick hour long pre-race ride on the canal. The race would be the longest one I'll experience on my short stay, about 133km. It took place in Laare (another small town in West Flanders) These are called Kermisse races which means "Carnival" Because they usually are accompanied by a circus or fair in the area. It sure brings out the spectators and I found out really quickly today, the riders! The race numbers started out at number 1 and upon lining up to start I couldn't believe the size of the field, buddy next to me was wearing number 160! so there were minimum 160 riders in this field. More riders means a faster race and we flew down the home stretch at close to 54km/h most of the time. This was 19 laps of about a 6.5km loop. The first few went by fast and I was moving up with the help of a little sidewalk riding and smart cornering.
To keep your place in a field of riders who all want to be at the front is nerve racking. This race was just plain nervous, bumping and shouting. Really not a good feeling and I was trying to find a positive vibe today. Usually getting to the front and flowing through the corners single file is enough to enjoy the race for me. But I was fighting off feeling under the weather all day and I should of listened to my body and took the day off cause what happened next was bad.
It was about 1km from the finish line, a long finishing straight. I was midpack on the right side when a rider bumped another one. He quickly went down and in a split second I was over my handlebars and sliding on the ground. My head and right shoulder took most of the impact. I got up immediately and looked behind, sheltering myself from any other riders running me over.
One of the first things that came to mind was that I'm not going to finish the race now, then my arm started to hurt... I sat on the curb waiting for help when someone from the Red Cross came to check me out. He saw I could move my arm and didn't think it was broken. I was still so out of it and before I knew it I was left alone on the sidewalk so I grabbed my bike and walked back to the start finish.
There was definitely something wrong with my shoulder, I could feel my collarbone wasn't right. Spectators kept coming up to me talking in Flemish then a spectator pulled up in his car and gave me a ride to the start finish line. I was taken to first aid and then to the hospital via ambulance. The x-ray showed that my right collarbone had been fractured. So my racing in Belgium is over for now. As you can imagine I was pretty upset that day but things are progressing well.
With Belgium being a such a hard cycling country, there are lots of specialists in the province. So today I had the fortunate experience of seeing Radioshack's team doctor, then onto the doctor who treated Geert Steegman's of QuickStep for a collarbone injury.
So it looks like I'll be hitting the stationary trainer tomorrow and then back on the road in June. For those who have wished me a speedy recovery already, thanks. I'm hoping with all this down time I can go and watch the races...
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To keep your place in a field of riders who all want to be at the front is nerve racking. This race was just plain nervous, bumping and shouting. Really not a good feeling and I was trying to find a positive vibe today. Usually getting to the front and flowing through the corners single file is enough to enjoy the race for me. But I was fighting off feeling under the weather all day and I should of listened to my body and took the day off cause what happened next was bad.
It was about 1km from the finish line, a long finishing straight. I was midpack on the right side when a rider bumped another one. He quickly went down and in a split second I was over my handlebars and sliding on the ground. My head and right shoulder took most of the impact. I got up immediately and looked behind, sheltering myself from any other riders running me over.
One of the first things that came to mind was that I'm not going to finish the race now, then my arm started to hurt... I sat on the curb waiting for help when someone from the Red Cross came to check me out. He saw I could move my arm and didn't think it was broken. I was still so out of it and before I knew it I was left alone on the sidewalk so I grabbed my bike and walked back to the start finish.
There was definitely something wrong with my shoulder, I could feel my collarbone wasn't right. Spectators kept coming up to me talking in Flemish then a spectator pulled up in his car and gave me a ride to the start finish line. I was taken to first aid and then to the hospital via ambulance. The x-ray showed that my right collarbone had been fractured. So my racing in Belgium is over for now. As you can imagine I was pretty upset that day but things are progressing well.
With Belgium being a such a hard cycling country, there are lots of specialists in the province. So today I had the fortunate experience of seeing Radioshack's team doctor, then onto the doctor who treated Geert Steegman's of QuickStep for a collarbone injury.
So it looks like I'll be hitting the stationary trainer tomorrow and then back on the road in June. For those who have wished me a speedy recovery already, thanks. I'm hoping with all this down time I can go and watch the races...
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