Posts Tagged ‘Reece Jackson’

Anatomy of a crash

Friday, October 9th, 2009

Les Amis racer, Jake Strasser, was on hand at the POA Cycling Team Fall Extravaganza last Saturday just in time to get some pictures of the final turn of the race in the Masters 35+ race.  In this sequence of shots you will see my teammate, Reece Jackson, going down.  He demonstrates for us how it happens.

Reece is on third wheel going into the final turn... a little too hot.

Reece is on third wheel going into the final turn... a little too hot.

After the race I talked with Reece and he told me what happened.  He felt he was in a very good position – the third rider back.  This is a good place to be because you are not on the front exploding, but not too far back to make up ground.

He was wanting to accelerate out of the turn to maintain momentum.  Throughout the race he had been able to pedal through this corner.  However, at those times he probably was not quite as aggressive in his lean.  This time his pedal hit the ground.

Its a pedal in the asphalt that lifts the rear wheel for the slide.

Its a pedal in the asphalt that lifts the rear wheel for the slide.

When that happens, you lose grip on your rear tire.  Consider that cyclists basically have a total of three square inches in contact with the tarmac.  That ain’t a lot and it doesn’t take much to make it even less.  When that happens you’re going for a ride!

Down he goes with Bill and Rodney taking evasive action.

Down he goes with Bill and Rodney taking evasive action.

Thankfully, you can see Reece’s momentum was forward.  So his slide continued primarily in that direction rather than out toward the outside of the turn.  In the above picture you can see Bill Short barely avoiding him on the outside while Rodney Dender is having to take an aggressive inside line to avoid the fallen rider.

Ouch, Reece was easily over 20 mph when he went down.

Ouch, Reece was easily over 20 mph when he went down.

Yep, it could have been a lot worse.  Mostly Reece is hating that he didn’t get to see where that third wheel position would take him.  Going down is bad, but knowing you had a good finish in you and not seeing it happen is even worse.

No cyclists or bicycles were permanently damaged in the taking of these photos.  Reece will be up to ride again!  Thanks, Jake, for letting me post the photos here.  Keep up the good work behind the lens and on the bike.

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Punch drunk

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

One of the enduring aspects of the Rocky Balboa character was that he never won with good technique.  The boxer, played by Sylvester Stallone, would basically wear his opponent down and frustrate them by presenting himself as a human punching bag.  Well, last night, I was Rocky the Rider.

Going into the ride I had no plan except to try to stay near the front.  By the end of the first lap of five at Donaldson Center, I was sitting on the front.  The “warm-up” lap went easy until we were past the golf course.  Then things picked up and I’m not even sure exactly how I ended up pulling through.

I moved over to the right to let those behind me go.  I moved over to the  left to allow someone to pull through.  Finally, I just sat up and rode at my own pace.  At last someone moved up in front of me.

The second lap was more of the first.  I was trying to stay near my teammate Reece.  Chances were that if a break formed, he would be in it.  I had delusions of being there with him.  We were behind about four other riders when he said, “You can go with any of these guys.”  What he meant was these were the riders who could start a break and make it stick.  Later he told me they were all pro/1/2 riders.

Toward the end of the lap – just over the railroad tracks – Brian Flinte and I bumped as we were wanting the same piece of real estate behind a particular wheel.  It was no big deal.  Our hips bumped a bit, but we both kept it under control.

Of course, behind us, you would think the world was coming to an end.  “Whoa!” “Watch it!” etc.  I heard Pappy grumbling behind me.  I felt like turning around and saying, “Right, and you guys have never bumped into anyone?”

It never pays to let something like that get to you.  Pappy came around me and pulled in between myself and John James, whose wheel I was trying to stay on.  Then coming out of the dip up the hill to the fire station, he just up and took off after a couple of riders that had broken away.

Jumping on his wheel I made the stupid decision to follow him up.  Why?  I don’t know.  I guess it was because I was going to annoy him.  The two of us actually got a gap on the field and neared the two riders ahead before Glenn moved over.  I pulled the short remaining distance.

When I got there, one of the riders sat up while the other one counter-attacked.  No way was I going to be able to go with that one.  As a matter of fact, my thought to myself was, “Why on earth did I do that?”  It wasn’t long before we were overtaken.

That began my Rocky impression.  I would move into the front riders and mix it up – sometimes pulling and one time attacking in hopes that the field would stretch and Reece with his pals could go off the front.  However, I would expend a bit too much energy and have to slide back to recover.  As I did, invariably I would come near John James.  He said the same thing every time, “Don’t go any further back.”

The good news is that each time I was able to work my way back to the front.  Finally, in the fourth lap, I decided to back off a bit.  I knew I only had about three matches in my matchbook.  Two of them had already gone up in flames.  I needed one for the end.

I settled in behind Paul Mills knowing his wheel would be a safe one and one that could guide me through the crowd.  The end came and I was pretty far back – probably thirty riders were in front of me.  However, I was feeling pretty good as we started into the dip.  Coming around on the left side I was making up ground quickly.

By the time we reached the buildings, the line was strung out and there were only fifteen or so riders ahead of me.  I was joined by my teammate Matt Tebbetts.  Once we reached the fire station, I determined I was not going to take the first position and I sat up.

It was a fun night!  A couple times I was encouraged by the reaction of riders around me.  The first time was as we were finishing the first lap.  I was kind of staggered out to the side of a line.  From behind me I heard the voice of a local pro saying, “Come on in the line, Jonathan.”

Later in the evening I got pinched over to the side of the road.  I had to move over and then over and finally I went in the grass.  It was tricky getting back on because the asphalt was several inches high at that point.  Once again, I heard a voice, “Come back in, Jonathan.”  Someone was opening a spot for me to get back in.

If you ever ride in a competitive group, you will understand why it meant a lot to me to have the guys do that.  I try my best to be courteous and not over react when someone does something stupid around me.  I’d like to think that those feelings are reciprocated when I do something immature.

The State Road Race is the next thing on my agenda.  I’ll be taking it easy in the next POA crit (is that possible?).  If I’m riding as well then as I was last night, I think that I will have a pretty good chance at a nice finish in Fork Shoals.  Well, that is unless I go and pull a Rocky Balboa!

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It was the worst of times. It was the best of times.

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

I rushed out of work to throw my bike into the back seat of the convertible and head out to Donaldson Center for the Tuesday Night World Championships. The big question of the night was whether I would have the legs to hang with the A group for the six laps planned for the evening. What happened was I learned some valuable lessons.

The first lap seemed to be slower than normal.  This made me happy because I didn’t have time to warm up.  However, I determined it wouldn’t matter anyway.  Even if some riders attempted a break on the first lap, I was going to do nothing about it.

That first lap was just under 19 minutes, but things picked up in the second one.  We knocked two minutes off the first lap time.  It was on this lap that I started to learn my first lesson of the night and experienced the “worst of times.”

A break had formed and I was sitting about fifth wheel in a chase group.  My teammate, Reece, was up there with about six other riders.  My group crossed the tracks and slowed.  It was at that point I made the mistake of becoming a strategist.

I looked at the riders around me and determined that if the opportunity presented itself, I could attack, create a gap, and then bridge over to the break to join Reece.  The pace line fell apart and I was near the front.  I accelerated and the rider next to me responded but miss shifted.  I then sprinted and got the gap I was wanting.

The problem was 1) I got caught out in no man’s land.  I got a gap on the riders behind me, but could not seem to close the deal with the break ahead of me.  What to do?  Do I continue fighting to join them or do I back off and go back to the chasers? 2) I created a gap on the riders that were around me.  However, there were some stronger riders sitting behind them.  They were able to come around and then get on my wheel.

By the time I got within 10 yards or so of the break, these stronger riders started to come around me.  As they passed, almost to a man they looked over at me.  My mind interpreted their glances as saying, “Why did you do that?”  I had just pulled the field up to the break and shut down the chances of my teammate.

This was confirmed when on the third lap Reece came by me and looking back said, “I buried myself to get up in that break and then I look back and see you bringing the field.  What’s up with that?”  I could tell he was not happy.  I didn’t blame him and spent the next several minutes with my tail between my legs.

It obviously got into my head because a little over half way through that lap my teammate John came up and put an arm around my shoulder.  “Relax,” he said.  “You are tense. It is making you weave.  Take it easy.” It was just what I needed.  I relaxed my shoulders and arms and tried to focus on putting the energy into my legs.

I was praying by this point that Reece would get into another break.  Finally, in the fourth and fifth laps a break formed.  Not only was Reece there, but John had also pulled himself into the group.

That left Mark, Louis, Randy, and me in the main field.  There was no way I was going to try to bridge to the break!  It was then that I started to experience the “best of times.”  We four riders started to mix in with any chase attempts to confuse their rhythm.  The first concerted effort came from the Spinx riders.  Mark and I slipped into their pace line and tried to slow them without actually blocking them.

It is harder than it sounds.  You want to slow any attacks, but you don’t want to just get in front of them and stop.  I tried to get into a rotation and when I pulled through hold a controlled pace that was slightly slower than the chasers.  At other times, I would hang back off the back of their rotation and just let them do the work.

This continued with various individual riders and teams as we completed lap five and continued into lap six. It was funny, but I didn’t even think about how I was feeling.  It was so much fun working with my teammates to help extend the gap for Reece and John.

Of course, going into the sixth lap I started arguing with myself, “Ok, you’ve done your work, just go ahead and sit up.”  That was the wimpy side of me.  “Don’t quit.  You’ve been doing that a lot lately. Suffer to the end.” That was the competitive part of me.  The later won out.

That sixth lap was tough at the beginning.  Knowing the break was safe and we were now racing amongst ourselves, it was taking a bit more effort.  However, the farther I got into the lap, the better I started to feel. By the time we started the climb toward the finish, I was moving right along with the leaders.

Overall, it was a great night.  Even in my mistakes, I learned some valuable lessons. I do fear that I might be getting the reputation for being the idiot that chases down all the breaks.  Several times I would be in a group and a rider or two would look over at me with a look of expectation on their faces.  It was as though they were expecting me to start an attack.

Thankfully, I learned my lesson and was able to disappoint them while Reece brought home a third place.

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Am I ever thankful for my helmet!

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

I’m writing this late Tuesday evening because I’m not certain if I’ll be able to get out of the bed in the morning.

Things started out very well. After arriving at Donaldson Center for the Tuesday Night World Championships, I met up with some of my teammates. A group of them were about to go out on the country route. This is a route that does not follow the normal Perimeter Road circuit. They called to me to join them.

I started to follow, but then remembered that Reece was in the house and I was feeling pretty good. It would be very hard to pass up mixing it up in the A Group tonight. Finally, I decided to turn around and head back to the main group. Part of me is glad I did. Another part of me wishes I hadn’t.

Several of us POA guys were on the front to begin. I figured that if we were up there, we could pedal as slow as we wanted! That didn’t last long as some others came around and picked up the pace. By the time we were over the railroad tracks and headed for the start/finish there was an organized move to get away.

I worked to help bring that group back after a short time and tried to stay up near the front of any chase group. Most times one of my guys – normally Randy or Reece would be up in the break. As soon as one break would get caught another POA rider would attack with the next group to go off the front. During the evening, I only went off on one of those.

The rest of the time I was sitting on riders who were trying to chase back my teammates. It was in the process of this that I learned something about cycling I did not know. It was a good thing to file away for the future.

I have learned that when you have a teammate up the road, you don’t do anything to help close the gap. At the same time, you have to be aware of riders who are dangerous to your teammate. Say, if a Spinx guy starts to bridge across and he already has a Spinx rider up in the break, you don’t want him to get up there and turn the odds in their favor.

You handle this by not working with him as he attempts to bridge over. You also want to be in position so that if he does manage to bridge over, you are there to help even the odds. There really aren’t any written rules about this, but there are some unspoken rules of etiquette. That is what I learned tonight.

I had Hank up in a break about halfway around the circuit. A Barley rider and Steve Baker (Hincapie) were working hard to get across the gap. I was not wanting to help in any way. However, I knew if either of them made it up there, I would need to be there to help Hank. So, I sat on them.

This was the right tactic. However, I what I didn’t realize was I was violating the unspoken rule of etiquette. I was getting in the middle of their rotation. As the Barley rider came by me once he yelled, “Pull through! Don’t be afraid of the wind!” I yelled back, “I’m not going to help you pull my man back.” I wanted to come back with the fact that I had already done my time in the wind. “Well, if you are going to sit on then at least go back and sit on fifth,” he replied.

Here is were race awareness comes to play. As far as I knew, it was only the three of us. They were the only two I was aware of around me. I didn’t realize there was a fifth rider! Even if it was only the three of us, I should have hung back in third place and let them know I wasn’t going to help them.

Hey, I’m still learning. One thing is for sure, I don’t want to be one of those guys no one wants to ride around because he is either dangerous or a jerk. I learned a lesson and I’ll try to follow it next time. I do have to add though that I won’t be intimidated.

Speaking of being a dangerous rider. On the fifth lap I slipped back a bit as I had Hank, Matt, and Reece up ahead of me. I was tired from covering all those moves through the race. However, I was satisfied that my team had good numbers. I got on the tail end of a string of riders to recover some for the last lap. Unfortunately, I realized too late and I had latched onto a slowing group!

A gap formed and I tried to come around and catch them. Soon I was stuck in no-mans land with one other rider. I don’t know who she was, but she was stout! The two of us kept digging to see what might happen. I kept hoping that the group might slow as a break will sometimes do when it is larger.

As we went through the dip at the bottom of the hill leading up to the start/finish I could see the group nearing the top. I decided to just put my head down and put out a good cadence and if I had them in sight as we began the final lap, I would give it one more push. I started off taking the lead.

As we began the climb, I heard the rider following me let out a gasp of air. It distracted me for a moment and I started thinking that soon, I might be all alone. I looked down at my computer to see if I was to far into the red zone. It was at that moment I heard her say, “Watch ou…!” She didn’t even get the “out” out when I slammed into a cyclist in front of me.

I was going 20 mph at the moment I hit him. My wheel rode up the left side of his rear wheel. It flipped my bike up over it and I was slammed down on my right shoulder. My head followed and I felt the pain in my neck as it whipped to the ground and my head bounced off the asphalt. For a moment everything was spinning, but I never blacked out.

Before long there were riders around me. They asked me if I was okay. I told them to grab my leg. The only thing that was hurting right at that moment was my right calf that was seizing with a cramp! We got that under control and I stood. Wow! No blood. I think the reason why is because I didn’t slide at all. It was just a body slam into the pavement.

My helmet was busted in the back. Looking inside, I could see where the material had a crack across the inside. My jersey was just a little roughed up on the right shoulder. My left brake lever was broken – though the shifter still worked. Only thing I can figure is when I went down, I grabbed the shifter and broke it. Besides that the bar was askew. I’m really hoping my steer tube was not bent. As for the carbon frame and fork? Not a bit of damage. Not even a scratch. I was amazed.

I apologized to the guy I ran into and helped him make sure his bike was okay. Again, amazingly, it was just fine. Most thankfully, so was he!

Another lesson learned. No matter how hard you are digging. Don’t assume you know what is happening ahead of you. Always look out at least 10 feet in front. What happened to me was I looked up and saw the group. What I didn’t realize was that it was made up of two groups – the A Group breakaway and some C Group riders returning from the country route. I took off after the faster group and didn’t look up again thinking they were the only ones ahead of me. I found out otherwise.

I made my way to my car and just sat on the back staring at the ground. I felt like I had been beat up and I was very embarrassed by my accident. I was about to mist up, I felt so bad. Then Reece came by and told me that the POA guys had pulled off the win! There were enough guys up front to help get Reece to the line.

What is it they say? All’s well the ends well.

Good night.

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Great teammates and a dangerous Volvo

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009

Yesterday I posted the race report for the weekend.  Still there was more to the weekend than just riding bikes.  There was time to spend with friends — both old and new.

Some of my mates at SC State Criterium Championships

Some of my mates at SC State Criterium Championships

This was the first opportunity for me to spend any amount of time with my new teammates.  My first race with the POA Cycling Team was a quick up and back to the River Falls road race.  Since I was a late comer to the team, I also missed the early training times.

Because of my kids’ activities on Saturday, I was unable to be there with the team for the Saturday races.  I headed down later that day with plans to join them for the afternoon races on Sunday.  So at 6 PM I rolled onto Kiawah Island to join a number of the crew.

Matt and Reece met me as I was driving onto the island.  I followed them in my car to the Kiawah Island Club where I unloaded my bike for a ride.  I just wanted to go out for a quick 30 minutes to loosen up a bit.

As I headed down the road back toward Charleston I was moving along 25 and 30 mph along the four lane divided highway through a mixed residential and commercial area.  I had spun for awhile and was now opening things up a bit.  My plan was to do several of these accelerations before heading back in.

About this time I noticed a car to my left in my peripheral vision.  It was flying up in the inside lane beside me and I could see the flashing of the right turn signal.  The car suddenly slowed and I could see the driver about to turn right – across the two lanes of traffic – and at the same time I saw the passenger grab the armrest.  The driver made a move on the wheel and I saw the car swerve toward me and then brake.

Thinking back, I tried to figure out what I might have done wrong as I continued along my way with the driver’s horn blaring behind me.  I was traveling along the white line with the flow of traffic.  I made no motions to indicate any turn or change in speed.

What I think happened was the driver was wanting to make a right turn into a street off the road.  He completely misjudged the speed at which I was traveling.  He thought he could get past me and then turn into the street before I got there.  However, because I was going much faster than he thought, he didn’t make it around me soon enough.

So, why the horn?  Frankly, I think he was scared and embarrassed.  Of course, he wasn’t going to take that out on himself.  He had to aim it at the stupid cyclist – who was obeying the rules of the road.

I returned to connect with Matt and Reece before heading to the place where we would be staying the night.  There I found a good number of the crew.  Matt was working on some sort of pasta dish and Samantha was loading garlic into another one.  I had stopped by Chic-fil-a on the way down, but this looked like a worthy second dinner.

As we ate we talked about the races that day and various other topics from social media to our favorite dog chase stories. It was nice to get to know everyone a little better. Later several of the guys and gals actually sat down and watched NASCAR with me.  Now that is the beginning of a great relationship!

Cycling is a team sport.  The POA Cycling Team showed how it can work in the 35+ Masters race the next day.  Not only is it important for strategy, it is also good to have trust in the fellow riders around you.  When things get dicey, it is nice to see that teammate beside you.  Building that trust happens both on and off the bike.

Thanks for a great weekend, POA Cycling.  I appreciate you all letting me come onboard.  Here’s hoping I can get a couple of good results for the team this year.  Even if I don’t, I’ve got your back – that is unless I get taken out by a baby boomer in a Volvo.

Oh, and a huge thank you to the Petersons for opening their homes to us.

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