Category: 3
Result: Mid-pack

Some of you already know that I was involved in a road accident on the way back from the Morgan Hill Race this afternoon. The good news is that I am pretty much ok, but the bad news is I think the Volvo is a write-off. I also need to get the bike checked out - it was on top of the car when I was hit.

As one of the cops put it, someone "ran a red light and t-boned me". And they didn't get just me, they cannoned off me (it wasn't square on, which was a blessing) and got the guy behind me too. The driver's side doors, door pillar and floor pan are all crushed inwards and there is damage to the driver's seat as a result. On the amusing side, they left their license plate is embedded in my door pillar.

I had time to go limp before the impact and am not badly hurt. There is a small pain in my neck - I will see how I feel tomorrow, but it could have been a lot worse.

Let's go back in time to the race. Got to Morgan Hill in time to see the 4's racing and Chris holding his own well in his new category. Found Ziggy on the home straight and we hatched a plan which spectacularly failed to materialise as we were never in a position to execute it.

The hill is tough, but the feared "race for the bridge" never materialised as the organisers had cunningly kept the course narrow out of the preceeding corner, thereby making the approach to the bridge much safer. Did I say that the hill is tough? I would do ok up the first 3/4, but the final dig required to get to the top was leg-sapping. Early on, I was able to maintain position up the hill, but as the race progressed, I began to slip places towards the top.

Of course, there were the added obstacles of people with mechanical problems. When something goes wrong on that hill, people stop dead. I had a couple of "almost" incidents. The one time I got myself into a good position in the bunch the chain skipped at the rear (I think I was between gears) and it was all I could do to crest the hill without stopping. I became a moving blockage myself which annoyed the guys behind me and lost me around 20 spots in the space of 8 seconds or so.

The final few times up the hill were a matter of survival and I rolled in towards the back of the bunch, happy to have finished, but disappointed that I wasn't stronger.

It was good to see so many folks down there - Biker Bob, Chris, Jason, Ziggy and I were racing, and Jorge came down to watch. I like the ambience of downtown criteriums, and Morgan Hill was no exception. The spectators, the race announcer and the ability to buy a coffee and hang out and watch the other groups race make it a nice day out. From the comments at the beginning of the Pro/1/2 race, the mayor seems determined to make it an annual event - I hope so.

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