Vinokurtov

Def: Pulling out of the last lap of a 3/4 crit that you were racing for the mileage to avoid possible carnage only to be plowed into by a rider who is swerving to avoid a photographer who was told a few minutes prior that she was standing on the course and should get her a$$ off of it and ignored said advice.

Also see: A dozen bits of road rash, cracked rib, and a bunch of destroyed gear.

RatherBeBiking

I guess there isn't much you can do besides fill out an incident report , but damn, that blows. Let's see what we can do about that bonehead photographer.... Mend well!

Bobby Lex

see also: "freak accident". (Kinda like what's-his-name getting his arm sliced open in a sprint finish at the TDF last year by a sign-wielding fan).

Heal fast.

Bob

key

shame the rided swerved, i would of just ran into the b!tch!!!

DrWJODonnell

I know the pain of a cracke rib, and I know the frustration of coming to form and having it taken away. How much was the gear damage?

jrennie

glad you saved the bike, oh and you to.

MDcatV

Sorry to hear you got banged up and some of your gear is trashed. BUT, I'd be remiss if I didnt ask what someone with a 248% Cat-2-O-Meter is doing in a Cat 3/4 crit. My man, ya probably shouldnt have been there in the 1st place.

Namenda

Sports photographers should be required to carry insurance for when they hurt people through acts of ineptitude. I bet they have their gear insured.

waterrockets 

omfg, that blows

Lithuania

wow! Heal fast man.

How are you feeling?

merlinextraligh

Sorry to hear that. Hope you heal fast.

Representing defendants the vast majority of the time (and therfore having a defense perspective), I generally counsel people about all the reasons not to sue, and all the personal costs. Moreover, in this situation it would inevitably bring in the promoters, and litigation like that tends to b ebad for the sport.

All that being said, from your post, you might very well have a legitimate cause of action against the photographer. You could at least send her your medical bills, and the cost of replacement of your equipment, and suggest she turn it over to her insurance carrier.

Vinokurtov

I entered the race so I could ride with my Cat 4 friend who drove us down, and a couple of Cat 3 teammates. I did the 45 open which was the race prior, the 3/4 was back to back with my first race so it was going to be a training ride (I also raced hard Saturday), nothing more, hence my pulling over and not contesting the final lap. I was actually coasting down in the parking lane that was blocked by the officials scoring stand when I got hit.

Bike looks surprisingly good, the impact sheared the front tire off the rim (tubulars), but other than some bar tape scuff it appears to have ridden it's rider to a stop for the most part. I took the brunt of the impact. Skin suit is trashed, I'm pretty battered, managed a few hours sleep last night and might see what a ride feels like today. I've got 3 weeks until Mt. Hood, I entered the 3's earlier in the year when the meter was at zero, I figured I'd upgrade after that.

Been a hard week. I had to put my 11 year old lab down on Thursday. I was hoping that racing would take my mind off things.

Bacciagalupe

And out of curiosity, why were the officials unable to remove said photographer from the course? Seems to me like saying "don't stand here," then turning around and walking away, is not exactly an effective strategy....

GuitarWizard

Bikes can be replaced, and skin heals...but I'm really sorry to hear about your dog

MDcatV

Gotcha.

I did similar last year when my Cat 3 o meter was over 100% in late May, but my target race was in late July, which I signed up for as a Cat 4, so I kept that upgrade request in my pocket until after.

Sorry on the dog. That's really tough. Heal well, emotionally and physically, then unleash the beast at Mt. Hood!

dl613

Damn Vino, sorry about all of that-the bones, bike, bruises and the buddy. (dog)

Heal up and crush 'em at Mt. Hood. Good luck.

cmh

Man, that is just horrible luck, Vino. I can sympathize. I have had a bike frame trashed when another racer decided to turn around and head back to the start line about 100 yards after the final sprint. When that kind of thing happens during a race you can deal with it, but when it is after the race while you are essentially off the course and it is directly attributable to someone else's stupidity it makes you pretty angry. I sure hope you heal quickly and manage to keep your fitness for Mt. Hood.

I'm very sorry to hear about your dog as well.

Keep your chin up and get well.

cyclezen

sorry to hear of both the mishap and losin family.
it was very hard for us all when our labbie moved on...

a couple of 'smell the roses' rides always helps me 'readjust' after a hard spell.

here's to a fast heal

waterrockets 

Sorry for your loss. We had to put our dog down this year as well. Very sad.

recneps

We had a crash happen in our cat 4/5 race saturday when a dumb racer looks at his friend with a camera going into a turn to pose with a hand off the bars.

Heal up man.

celticfrost

Def:

Woman wins frivolous lawsuit and/or divorces rich hubby and is awarded enough $$ for her to retire early and pursue her passion for photography, soy lattes, SUVs and manicures. Causes bicycle crash and carnage (while pursuing photography passion) and is successfully sued for enough $$ to send her ass back to work.

sverrefehn

Dang, sorry to hear that news Vino, on all accounts. Heal up and take out your frustrations at Mt. Hood.

Vinokurtov

Thanks all.

So the women came forward after she got called out on our local race website:

https://www.ncncaracing.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=776

Kind of a really half a$$ed apology. Near as I can tell she's on the hook for several grand but I'm really not interested in jacking anyone up, though I'm legally entitled. So I made an offer.

And I rode today though any bumps, hards efforts, or (Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh) out of the saddle stuff was pretty eye watering awful. Beautiful day up here. Warm, Spring weather when the air smells like the forest and I could putt along with the mountains providing a background to big thoughts about medium sized labradors. I pick up her ashes tomorrow.

reef58

Sorry to hear about the dog Vino. I had two that were 13 and 15 years old I had to put down in the last two years. It is a tough deal. I have a young one now. She can't replace the others, but time does heal all wounds.

Take care,
Richard

Lithuania

sorry about your loss vino. I too picked up ashes of a loved pet just today. Both my races this weekend were with a heavy heart too. Its a tough thing. I feel that part of your pain.