Glendale Grand Prix

The things people do for attention...

This weekend I went to the local "Glendale Grand Prix". I think it's called a circuit bike race where they blocked off a few streets and riders do laps for 45 minutes. There were divisions for men, women, kids and little old ladies.

Jon, Brian and Rudy all entered the "Category 5" division. This is for people who are new to circuit racing (or trying to get their wheels back in it). But as Brian pointed out, it was odd hearing the race director refer to them as "beginner riders". Trust me, you did NOT want to be a beginner rider in this group! They were zooming around corners inches away from eachother just like you see on TV. Scary and cool.

Jon (in front)


Brian (left)


Rudy



Leah was in the group right after the men. Here she is looking strong early in the race:


And here she is shortly after:


Yes, she had a crash. And a pretty bad one at that. As one witness described, there was another cyclist in the group who was "riding squirrelly" who cut Leah off on the inside of a turn and Leah went down. It was a bad enough crash that somehow her rear wheel dismounted. She also blew the front tire and smashed up the handlebars. The paramedics were there very quickly but left her on the street for a few minutes until they were sure she hadn't injured her head or neck. But then Firefighter Studs McHunky came over and everything seemed to be OK. She even got a firehat for being such a good patient.





Husband Brian took her to an Urgent Care Center where she had X-rays done and she has a 100% clean bill of health. Well, with a few painful nasty bruises to have to deal with. The important thing is she's looking forward to getting back on the bike. Go Leah!