ccrnnr9

I was racing on Tuesday night and was coming around the 2nd to last corner (crit) on the final lap in 2nd feeling strong and confident about my ability to win the race when my rear wheel hit a patch of sand and my race was over before I knew it. I have some really bad road rash on my right leg, hip, and calf. After all of this I am wondering why I race . I honestly feel like a wimp posting this, but I feel a little scared to jump into another crit. This was not my first and I had never before felt like there was much of a risk when riding. Anybody else experienced this? I am almost thinking of switching to cyclocross and doing triathlons in the summer season. Like I said before, I feel bad about having the urge to give up the road side of cycling. Maybe if I just stay away from crits I will be fine...better yet, maybe I should just get over it. Just wanted to hear the croud's thoughts.
~Nick

bigskymacadam

Here's some tips on Wound Care:
https://www.obra.org/wound_care.html

Crashing sucks. I know. But here's to your next race. You'll bounce back.

Chucklehead

yeah, i know exactly how you feel. pretty-much the same thing happened to me, except i was taken out by some jackhole. my first crash in almost 20 years.
i had to get out and race three days later, but luckily it was a road race. i was still sore, but i made it through ok.
i had to race at the scene of the crime three weeks later. i felt fine before the race, but once it started, my nerves really got to me! i rode DFL most of the time, and it seemed like everytime i tried to move up i had a close call. i sucked it up with a lap to go and managed to eek out a good 6th place in the end(50 rider field).

just get out there and do it again. try not to think about it too much.

ccrnnr9

Again I feel like a p*ss posting but its good to get encouragement from fellow racers. I feel bad for the two riders behind me (one ran over me and the other hit a curb trying to avoid me) but at least I can rest assured that it was not a matter of me not holding a line but rather hitting a bad patch of gravel. We do these practice crits every tuesday and I know once I go back to the course its going to cross my mind everytime I pass that corner for awhile. On another note, do any of you participate in cx races? I have been looking at getting into that but am having a hard time to find an internet forum with an active group of members (the cx forum here is kinda dead).
~Nick

filtersweep

A few years ago I was caught just behind two riders who went down. I was fourth in a line- guy #2 hit the front guys wheel, he went down as did the guy behind him- a friend of mine. As things happened in slow motion, I was able to thread the needle as one of them became detached from his bike. I had seen countless crashes in races, but for some reason, this affected me more than anything else. I had trouble drafting for quite awhile (fortunately it was toward the end of the season).

There are a lot of mental elements with racing. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Wait until you feel like racing again. At least it was sand. It offers some encouragement in that you know if you stay out of sand, you will be fine. It is the truly random events that freak me out the most--- like a guy ahead of me touching wheels and going down. There is nothing I can do about it.

AtlAllez

what cat do u race in?

Bobby Lex

I don't think that any words you read here will get you past your crash-phobia. It is something you'll find you can overcome yourself.....or maybe not. It's up to you.

The reality is, though, that what happened to you (the crash) was not some once-in-a-lifetime event. Crashing is an everyday occurence in racing. Even time-trialers crash. If you can't accept that fact, mentally, you need to take up another sport, like golf.

Not trying to sound harsh. But if a guy with a mental block about crashing is in a race, he's not only a danger to himself, but also to everyone else in the pack.

Bob

ccrnnr9

I race in cat5. I am close to catting up but I have to complete 6 mass-start races before submitting my application to USAcycling. I have 4 under my belt and a half dozen unofficial races that a local race organizer puts on on a weekly basis. I have no doubt that I will be racing again but it does put a little apprehension in my head.
~Nick

damage24

Just a newb here, but a month or so ago I narrowly avoided a big pileup when a car decided to pull out in front of my group of eight. Three guys went down, two with some nasty road rash and the other with a cracked pelvis-he hasn't been back in the saddle yet and probably has another month or so before he can.

Ever since then, I get nervous when drafting, especially with someone on my left or behind me. Any time I see a car pull up to an intersection, I just know they're going to pull out in front. It definitely messes with your head.

merlinextraligh

A degree of apprehension is a good thing. Bike racing is dangerous. You can be permanenty injured or kill yourself. In objective terms, the risk of hurting yourself worse than a little road rash is pretty low, but its not deminimis. You shouldn't race scared because that is more dangerous, but you need to race smart, and understand actions have consequences, and also be prepared to accept that **** happens, and rarely that **** is really bad.

Granny

Could be worse. I have a friend who went down on a motorcycle at 60 mph wearing shorts and a tank top.

Skin is overrated anyway.

curiouskid55

Dont race in the sand. What were you doing out there in a turn? Inside man, inside. I should talk I got lapped by the field last Sunday. Had a very bad crash in March, what the first aid guy alled "Dude,classic face plant." I am almost all the way back but racing with a llitle more knowledge about what can happen what is at stake. Give yourself plenty of time and you will be back stronger , faster , and a little wiser.

ccrnnr9

First of all, the race was not in the sand, there was a patch of sand/gravel that was not visible on the asphalt. Secondly, it is always best to take a turn from the outside and cut down the angle of the turn. You never want to take as tight a corner as possible. The less "turning" you have to do, the less speed you will lose and the more stability you can gain.

hollow

Don't feel bad. There is nothing you could have done. You were holding your line just fine and hit a tiny patch of dirt or gravel.

By the way, I'm the guy who hit the curb at about 30mph. I was right behind you and saw your wheel go. I couldn't go inside at that speed and didn't want to go over you so the curb was my best option. The grass felt a heck of a lot better than the pavement.

I crashed 10 days before in a road race when the guy in front of me hit a cone and took out my wheel. I finished the race and just took one day off. Just come back out in two weeks and see what happens. If you don't want to push it, then don't. I'm sure you'll be fine. You seem like a strong rider with some good experience.

curiouskid55

What ,do you guys race in a line? Socal crits are always in a bunch at least 4 wide going into a turn . i prefer the inside position in that situation

hollow

There were six of us going in to the second last corner. Pretty well lined up. You could only take this corner about 2 wide anyway, even if it wasn't 400m from the finish.

OC Roadie

Not if it's strung out and you're in the first few positions. That's when it's fun

hollow

Yeah, it would have been fun, or at least more fun than what happened. Nick was in third position and I was fourth when it happened. Set up pretty well for the final sprint.

ccrnnr9

Ya I was in 2nd/3rd with only 3-4 riders behind me. The rest of the riders had dropped out for one reason or another. It would have been a fun finish had it not been for that.
~Nick