For the last 2 years or so I haven't even thought about the White Water Center. The last time I went there was a footrace Chase and I did. For some reason I had it in my head it was just to far to go to ride my bike. I guess I forgot!
Saturday they had the Rumble in the Concrete Jungle there and I went to ride and see it. My bud Kelly was doing it so I thought I would go along for support. First of all it's a good ideal in theory but in reality it was pretty lame. It was billed as a downhill event with a short track race to follow, it kinda was..
The downhill course was routed through the channel in front of the main building. Yes it did go down a hill but it went around the water obstacles and the transitions were terrible. It just looked dangerous. By the ambulance tally I would say I am pretty close with that assumption. Most of the racer boys decided to skip the downhill part and do the short track race.
The only problem with that, it wasn't really a race to the people who where there just for fun. To all the spandex racer boy's it was a full on race! By lap 2 the racer boys where lapping the kids and the really slow people. They needed to have a fun class and a race class. I tried to tell my buddy the whole plan had trouble written all over it!
Well my buddy ended up in the ER till midnight with a severe concussion, he didn't even know who he was when he hit his head and smashed his helmet. He did that trying to get through slow traffic! But overall I think he got away pretty cheap. Our buddy and a really good guy Jason W. ended up in surgery Sunday morning to repair his broken back. Yep I said broken back! He broke two vertebrae and 4 ribs!
Same deal, trying to race through traffic. You can't run the expert's with children, no exceptions! Somebody, who ever was in charge of this, should have had better sense! Anytime you have an event and the ambulance has to pull out 4 times you need to take a good look at what just happened!
In theory it was a good ideal, and a good time for all could have been had. I hope by the time next years event rolls around they have a better plan! People got hurt and that's not good. Of course I know you have to use your own judgement anytime you line up for a race. Yes you except liability when you sign the entry form. I just hate to see people get hurt!
On the flip side I had forgotten how sweet the trails are there. I had a blast riding the trails and in fact I had so much fun I went back and rode again Sunday. From my house it was 40 miles and pretty much all interstate. I will be putting it back in my rotation!
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