Bronchitis + flu = No Paskenta

Well, I didn't get to participate in my first big ride of the year.

My office is a veritable life-sized Petri dish. On a daily basis I am bombarded by coworkers with all the filthy germs, bugs, nasties, snots and other no-see-ums that are transmitted in public places. One could say I'm paranoid at work. Everyone I work with has been sick for months. I wash my hands no less than eight times a day. I never touch my face. I ride my bike to work in a effort to cleanse my lungs before and after. I generally eat alone, away from said disease transmitters. And still, I'm not a match for the seasonal bout of bronchitis, or flu, or whatever it is that I get every winter.

Come Saturday I started feeling a little bad, and by Sunday morning I was full blown bed ridden and wondering how my team mate, Jeff, was faring on his maiden 'Skenta voyage. Wondering if the other half of Team JuG (Jeff und Gino) was pulling his own amidst the cycling elitists that are drawn to the Paskenta Century. I wondered if he had said his pre-ride prayer and whether or not it had helped.

Turns out he did quite well, and even made it back in time to host his own Super Bowl party without falling asleep.

It also turns out there were several crashes, including one moron that ran a red light and was hit by a car. Another included a broken ankle. I hope that everyone is doing well post-crash and has a speedy recovery. Always obey traffic rules guys.

So here I sit in the Silicon Valley the day after Skenta, nursing another cup of TheraFlu and nibbling vitamin C tablets, dreaming of punishing myself again soon.

FEB 7 Update: I just got this first hand report of a crash on the gravel section via the Chico Bike Rides list. Pretty gnarly.

I had a first row seat in on this one. There were three of us pushing
moderately hard (25-30mph) through the gravel. The two (A cat 4 rider
from SF and a rider from the Fit one team)in front of me opened a gap
of about fifty yards mid-way through the four mile section. At the
side of the road was another 'Fit one' team member who was fixing a flat.

It looked as though the front rider hit the brakes for his team member
and the following ride plowed right into him. What I saw was two bikes
up in the air and then two guys down. Both ended up being picked up by
support vehicles. The extent of injuries from there is unknown.

The take home lessons were these:
-Don't hit your brakes at 30mph without signalling or moving to the
side. Don't hit them in a pack unless absolutely necessary.
-Use a large dose of caution out there. In my estimation, both of
these guys were lucky to walk away from this accident.

Ride safely,
James