Tour de Freak Me Out!

Being the cycling enthusiast that I am, I am smitten to watch all of the uber talented pro's see who can make it to Paris first, in the Tour de France. Part of me also thinks that if I watch enough talented people, with impeccable form, maybe I can start to subconsciously, emulate them (here's hoping)! This year, though, has been more like the Tour de Crash. The weather's been really rainy, there are more teams this year, which also beget more team cars. Crashes come with the territory, unfortunately. This year there just seem to be more crashes with more people involved.

In Stage 9, there were two terrible accidents. One, in particular, was a horrible, avoidable accident that involved the breakaway riders. When I was watching this, I absolutely could not believe my eyes. This. In the Tour de France. Where riders ALWAYS take precedence. I heard that the media car didn't want to slow down to let Thomas Voeckler's team car by to give him more water. So what did the media car do? Well, take a look, but be forewarned, it's not pretty.

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Flecha and Hoogerland both went down, really, really hard. Miraculously, both riders got up, hopped on their bikes and finished the stage. Hoogerland (my new hero), after getting 30+ stitches in his bum and legs, even managed a ride on his day off, yesterday. If it were me, I'd be tempted to have the biggest pity party you could imagine. Then again, it is the Tour de France...maybe I'd find the strength to dust myself off and ride on, too.

Needless to say, all of these crashes are making me really nervous to ride. Also, this weekend was the first time I was involved in an accident with someone else. Usually, I'll fall because my bike goes the wrong way when I clip out of my pedals. That's right, it's the bike's fault, not mine. The result is mostly embarrassment and maybe a scraped knee, but nothing major. On a ride this weekend, someone lost focus for a second, then found themselves hooked to my rear wheel. They went crashing down; luckily, I was able to "ride out of it." There was a split second when I thought I would go down, too. It was a horribly helpless feeling. There was nothing I could do to keep my friend from kissing asphalt.

Apart from some road rash, no one was hurt, but it gave me a proper shaking up. Then, I went home to watch more serious crashes in the Tour de France. Color me a bit freaked out. I'm sure I'll get over it, but at the moment, I can't get it out of my head.

Here we are, pre-crash.



Yes, these are some of the Cycledelic Girl Gang members and brave fella's who rode with us. Hopefully, we'll soon have our jerseys, so we're all official 'n stuff.