Cyclist vs Car

Sorry for the lame title!  It's been quite a weekend and my creative juices are dried up.

Over the past few years of riding I've heard story after story of cyclist being hit by cars. Each and every time it tugs at my heart.  Even if it is someone I don't know, it still hits close to home.  This weekend, that story hit a little closer than I would have liked.

Several of us headed down to Hill Country for a team cycling camp. On the second day we went out for a nice little 60 mile ride from our hotel.  A few miles from the end of the ride I was passed by a couple of emergency vehicles.  Knowing there were teammates a head of me, I did become a bit concerned.  Minutes later I rode up to the scene of the accident only  to find my worst nightmare playing out.  I saw bikes on the side of the road. I saw Lisa's bike intact, but it took a moment to recognize the other bike as KC's...it was pretty mangled.  As I jumped off my bike I saw Lisa standing next to KC who was being loaded onto a backboard.  Lisa threw her hand up for me to stay back and a woman came running toward me.  She grabbed me and held me as I screamed.  I finally made my way closer to my teammates and saw KCs blue eyes opened and even her hands moving. She was loaded into an ambulance and taken to local hospital where she would be flown to a military hospital in San Antonio.

A young woman, who I'm speculating was distracted by something (probably a phone), veered on to the shoulder and struck CK while traveling approximately 55 mph.  KC was riding right behind Lisa on the SHOULDER of the rode.  This isn't exactly a rode a cyclist would consider dangerous.  Like I said, there was a shoulder and more than enough room for cars to pass safely.  This wasn't a terribly busy road, nor was their anything to obstruct the view. KC was thrown a good distance from her bike.  Her wheels were knocked off , the frame was cracked, and her boot was about 20 feet from where she landed.  Fortunately, Lisa was not hurt. She's a nurse and I'm so glad she was there. I hate that she had to witness it, but she handled the situation perfectly.

The team rallied together and headed straight to San Antonio.  Fortunately, Lisa knew a neurosurgeon who was on call at the same hospital KC was being taken to.  He checked on our friend and called us while we were in route to let us know that the scans on her head and spine looked good.  During this time, Shawn was in contact with KC's parents to let them know what was going.  I'm not a parent, but I can't imagine what it was like to receive this call about your daughter.

Once we arrived at the hospital, the staff did an amazing job of talking with us and keeping us updated while KC was getting x-rays. We did finally get to see her. Her face was pretty banged up and she was in a lot of pain, but she was talking to us and even made a few jokes.  We learned that her trauma name was spinach because she had a little greenery in her teeth.  KC had angles with her on that ride.  There is no other way to explain that she escaped with no life threatening injuries. She says God must not be done with her, and I'm sure she is right. She does have a chip fracture in her elbow, 3 fractures on  her vertebrae, 22 sutures in her face, and plenty of road rash.  She'll be moving slow for a while, but I'm glad she is moving.

I get that cyclist can be an annoyance. I know first hand that we do some stupid and dangerous things on the road...as do motorist..., but for the most part we practice safety.  I wish people would remember that we are not out to annoy them  We are not trying to delay you a few seconds while you pass us. We are doing what we love.  We are doing something healthy that helps us deal with stress.  Cycling makes us better in all parts of our lives.  KC isn't just a cyclist.  She is a friend and teammate.  She is a vet who served our country.  She's also a vet who performs neurosurgery on people's pets. She is an Ironman and a child of God.  Most importantly, she is some one's daughter. We got to meet her parents this weekend...nice people!  Like any parent, they hopped the first plane to be with her when they heard the news.  I'm so glad they got to hug their daughter.  Not all parents get to do that after an accident like this.

People have asked about the driver.  At this point, we know nothing in regards to citations or charges. At the scenes of the accident our only concern was our friend.  All I know is that the driver is young....probably early 20s.  She said the sun was in her eyes, but the sun was in the opposite direction.  I can only speculate that she was distracted by something to cause her to veer on to the shoulder where cyclists were riding in clear daylight.  It's a hard lesson, but hopefully we will all be more careful when behind the wheel.

KC's Bike

Our hearts and prayers are with KC and her family. On behalf of our team, Bad Kitty Meow Phat Kat racing, I would like to thank the first responders in Kerriville, Tx and the staff at San Antonio Military Medical Center (SAMMC) for taking such great care of our friend. I would also like to thank everyone for the outpouring of love and support for teammate. The team has received so many messages from so many people. The cycling and triathlon community always come together to support one of our own weather we know them personally or not. We love you KC Wolfe!  We are honored to call you our friend and teammate.  You are truly one of the strongest people I know.

Hotter n' Hell...Epic Weekend

This past Saturday I competed in my first ever road race with my Bad Kitty teammates, Lisa and Casey at Hotter n' Hell. This was actually the first road race for all three of us.  Our fearless leader, Shawn, helped us develop a solid race plan for this day.  While we all felt pretty confident in our abilities, the fear of the unknown was still  there.

As we lined up I was scoping out the competition.  Some of these girls looked strong, but I really didn't know what each was capable of.  There were about 25 women racing the cat 4 100K with us.  The race didn't start out as I had expected.  It was SLOWWWW!!! We were cruising along at about 15-16 mph for the first few mile.  It certainly didn't feel like a race.  My team's job was not to ride up front and set the pace, so we sat in and tried to maintain our position peloton.

The pace did eventually pick up, but it wasn't too bad.  When more than one girl tried to break away, we chased, and then the pace settled again! Even though we weren't riding all that hard most of the time, we couldn't let our guard down for a second.  We were constantly watching the girls in front, and of course, we couldn't forget about the girls in the back of us. You never knew when someone was going to make a move. This race was probably more mentally exhausting than physically exhausting.

The only setback in the race came around mile 40 when Casey broke a couple of spokes on her front wheel.  I'm not sure exactly what happened, but during a turn I felt something on the heel of my shoe and wheel.  When I looked back Casey was getting off her bike.  Man, I sure hated leaving her behind, but that was part of the plan. We couldn't stop for her...we just had to keep riding.  The wheel truck was right behind us so she could get a new wheel and continue.  Unfortunately, she never made it back to the pack.  She described it as an individual 20 mile time trial.  It wasn't a complete loss for Casey.  She's competing in a triathlon in a few days, so it turned into a good training day.  At that point it was just Lisa and me.  I knew I had to keep her in a good position to sprint it in at the end of the race even if it meant burning every last one of my matches. Fortunately, I was still feeling great, and so was Lisa.

The last few miles was really where the race picked up.  A few of the girls were trying to separate the pack, but we worked together and managed to stay in.  Lisa began making her way away from me and got closer to the front so that she was in the best possible position for the final sprint.  The girl was looking strong!!  We really started pushing hard during that last couple of kilometer. During the final sprint, Lisa got far enough a head of me that I could no longer see her. I was pushing as hard as I could.  It felt like my heart was going to explode. I heard another racer screaming at me to keep pushing.  It turns out that it was a girl who beat me at a crit weeks earlier named Missy.  I can't tell you how much I appreciated the push. Thanks Missy!!

After I crossed the finish line I found Lisa. SHE GOT THIRD PLACE!!!  I was so excited!!!! We did it!  Our goal was to get her on the podium and we succeeded! We executed our plan and it worked!  I was more than pleased with my own results as well.  I was only 6 seconds off Lisa and 8 seconds off the first place winner.  It turns out that all three women who made it on the podium were first time road racers. We completed our race in just under 3 hours.  The wind can be an ugly factor at this race, but this year it really wasn't an issue.

Casey came just a few minutes later with a big smile on her face.  She didn't have the luxury of other rider to draft and work with during the last 20 or so miles, so she actually worked harder than any one else.  I saw her heart rate files...impressive! We hung out at the finish line for a bit before pedaling 3 miles back to town to the podium.  Words cannot explain how proud I was watching Lisa on the podium stage.  I was proud to see my friend up there, and I was proud to see Bad Kitty Meow Phat Kat Racing representing in our first big race.  The cold beer that we bought using prize money right after was truly the best tasting beer EVER.

The entire Hotter n' Hell experience was amazing. We had a great time and made a lot of new friends. For the most part, the women we raced with were encouraging and displayed great sportsmanship. I learned a quite a bit from these very strong riders.  I'll spend the next few weeks working on a few things in preparation for Texas State Road Races at the end of September.

We couldn't have done what we did without so many people helping and encouraging us along the way.  A big shout out goes to Shawn Jantzen for preparing us for this race.  He has taught us so much about racing and is truly our biggest supporter. He made me get on my bike on days I didn't want to ride, and he pushed me to ride harder when I didn't think I could. Our kit sponsor, Jakroo, made sure we looked good in the peloton. Lots of people commented on how awesome our kits looked! It is seriously the most comfortable kit I've ever worn. Our good friends at Gnar Lube  provided us with some sweet smelling chain lube.  We all know that a happy chain means a happy bike.  And of course, a big thanks goes out to Marinara Pizza in Plano, TX for fueling us up the weekend before our big race.

"I have always struggled to achieve excellence.  One thing that cycling has taught me is that if you can achieve something without a struggle it's not going to be satisfying." ~ Greg LeMond

        Me, Casey, and Lisa

Busy!! Busy!! Fun!! Fun!!

This summer is certainly shaping  up to be a an exciting one.  I recently began working on a few projects with my friend Shawn who is an avid cyclist and professional photographer. For a long time he has talked about starting a cycling team, and I'm excited to announce that Bad Kitty Meow Phat Kat Racing is officially up and running.  It's pretty excited to be a part of something new.  Earlier this week we got the first shipment of team kits.  They look amazing...lots of fun details!  It felt like Christmas when the FedEx truck pulled up with the goods. 

Last night was our first night to race under the new team name.  We headed out to the Thursday night crits at Fair Park.  The new kits did get some attention.  Lots of people commented on how good they looked, and we even got a few "Meows" as we rolled by.  

Just before the race started, big dark clouds began moving in and the temperatures dropped a bit.  It was nice to get a break from the blazing 100+ degree temperatures.  I felt better in last night's race than I have at any other crit.  I was able to stay with the pack a little longer than I have in the past. I was one of only 3 women in my race, so I don't feel so bad that most of the other cyclist were riding circles around me.  My friend and teammate, Lisa, was one of the other women, and she kicked butt! Go Lisa!! I'm getting more comfortable riding in the pack.  The turns still make me a little nervous, but I have to admit that I feel little bit like a bad ass when I'm able to take corners with riders only inches away from from me. 

I still have a lot of work to do, but I'm excited about this new adventure.  In August I'm racing...yes RACING... the 100 K at Hotter n' Hell.  I did the 100 mile rally there a few years ago, but this will be different.  I won't get to cruise into the rest stops to eat snow cones and take pictures. 

Feel free to contact me if you are interested in being a part of Bad Kitty Meow Phat Kat Racing.  We welcome men and women at all levels of cycling.  All you need to do to be part of club right  now is purchase a kit.  We have several options to choose from. Visit www.badkittymeow.com to order yours. 





If constellations had been named in the 20th century, I suppose we would see bicycles. ~ Professor Carl Sagan