Dumb

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Dumb - Garbage

The last lap of 35+ 4 Wente Criterium.

I went to the front for too long, got gapped, then managed to work up to twentieth? The headwind was so strong that the pack just stalled there, no one on the front able or willing to advance much.

Then there's an accident and I slow and move to the right a little bit, make it past the rolling bicycles and feel like I won - www.flickr.com/photos/swoo/3417798725/, but then someone comes sprinting from about 70th, rubbernecks the accident and manages to hook his handlebars into mine.

Dumb is

a.) Not looking towards the front or where you're headed during the final sprint
b.) looking only about ten feet ahead instead of adjusting the sight range with speed (I'm guessing by the way he's swerving )
c.) riding in a crowd on the tops? - about a sixth of the field favors this position...

One is not safe until one has gotten off the bike and into the car! This happened so quick I just got flipped onto my shoulders and my legs didn't get scraped up at all.

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Comments

Steve.Anderson says:

Two things.
1. I hope you and your shoulder are ok.
2. that rear mounted camera is the best. I would love to see some track footage with it.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

Garrett Lau says:

Yeah, the rear view is great!
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

kwc says:

ouch, hope you're ok
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

Phil Aaronson says:

Wow, I stand corrected, that which is behind you does matter :)
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

richardmasoner says:

Glad you're okay (apparently?), but awesome video. What's your camera?
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

richardmasoner says:

Never mind -- I see it in the tags. GoPro wide angle hero cam.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

aeng says:

Ouch. The 4 race wasn't much better. 4 crashes in that one, but I only saw one. Did hear another behind me with a couple laps to go. Freaked me out and jumped to the front and starting pulling to try to get it safe. Used my matches, but stayed upright at the end.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

teamwelliver says:

Oh man Steve! Hope you're okay! Cool footage, but I don't like knowing the folks who go down. Heal fast.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

samomichel says:

Super bummer, Steve =(
I can't believe that the initial crash could have been completely avoided if the guy leaning had kept pedaling!

And I'm glad we don't have eyes in the back of our heads. That back-cam is totally freaky with the guy coming up on you so fast!
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

cornerstonelife says:

That just sucks. What a jerk!
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

otbphoto says:

A+, way to take one for the team Woo! Great footage. I rewound it a couple times before I saw the rear view, I thought you flatted and imploded.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

plattyjo says:

Is it terrible to admit that we giggled when we saw your ankle kick up into the frame after your crash? It totally was a Crit Cartoon with that yardsale happening in the last lap! We hope you're all right and thanks for sharing your awesome footage, as always. The rear vantage point is fantastic.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

jelway_1997 says:

I'm trying to figure out exactly how the crash started in the first place. Certainly the two guys on the left are bumping but the guy on the right - what caused him to go down (and start the dominos falling...)
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

kh-photos - Kurt says:

major mayhem, glad you avoided major injury !
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

mnorri says:

Wow. I've always wanted to see what my crashes looked like. Yours will have to do! Thanks, I hope you and your bike recover fully and quickly!
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

djconnel says:

It seems White Shorts tried to move into a small gap. The guy to his right was moving slightly left (watch his trajectory relative to the Bott's dots) and there was contact. So the guy to the left leans into the contact (as we're all taught to do. White Shorts, instead of returning the lean, moves left with the pressure, into the guy to his left. At this point, it's all over.

But what surprises me is the sheer magnitude of the ensuing carnage. How many guys went down?

I wonder if you'd have been better off not slowing so much. But whether or not this is true, there's no excuse for the guy behind you to have plowed into like that. That's totally insane. It's like he forgot where his brakes were.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

phoebemum says:

I thought it looked like the guy from behind wasn't looking at SWoo, rather did the classic blunder and was too busy looking at the crash. By the time he looked up, he was flying up SWoo's arse and couldn't move aside fast enough?

I'm just cracking up that you had both front and rear view cameras going on. Is that a regular occurrence?
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

axellrose00 says:

Glad you're okay Steve... total garbage with that guy that side swiped you post crash - get better soon!
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )