Okay, I know it’s a bit presumptuous to call myself a hero, but I did take a little fall and I was wearing a Wonder Woman inspired jersey. I think that counts, but more on that later.

Today was the much anticipated Red Dress Day–a day when all of the riders dress up in red, most of them in red dresses, to commemorate those lost to AIDS. This practice got started years ago when somebody noticed that there were a number of switchbacks on the route. They thought that it would be great to have all of the riders dress in red so that they would create a flowing ribbon of cyclist on the climbs. Given the population, it didn’t take long for them to turn dress red day into Red Dress Day and a tradition was born.

This year there were all kinds of brides, call girls, and Dollys (as in Dolly Parton) replete with DD size knockers. There were even a few Waldos thrown in there–assuming you could find him.

I went with a rather simple ballerina inspired outfit because if I’m going to do drag, I don’t want a lot of extra drag while I’m cycling.

Overall, the ride was a very modest ride. About 44 miles with a few good climbs. We quickly made our way into Rest Stop 1 where I got to hangout with all of the Cal team riders. Because the route was so short, it was a really great opportunity for us to actually ride together for the first time. We stayed at Rest Stop 1 for quite some time even though it was extremely chilly. Fortunately, there were some great coffee and an opportunity for some awesome selfie’s of the entire Cal team huddling together to stay warm.

After leaving Rest Stop 1, we made our way down the road to Rest Stop 2 and through some awesome climbs behind Vandenberg Air Force Base. Just like Rest Stop 1, Rest Stop 2 was incredibly cold. In fact, it got quite misty and damp. I mention this because majority of the Cal riders chose to carry on a certain tradition–wearing as little red as possible (aka a speedo or bikini). Those guys were freezing cold. We quickly had our fun and began making our way down the road again. 

We had another awesome climb to make our way to Hwy 1. It was a really nice way to stay warm given the day’s cool temperatures. 

About 2 miles outside of our lunch stop it happened–I was on a 2 lane road making my way to a stop sign where I was planning on making a left turn. As I crossed the lane of traffic to get to the left-hand turn lane, I rode up next to a concrete median that had about an inch rise from the pavement. My wheels tracked right into the edge of that concrete rise, flipped my bike, and sent me head first over my handle bars and onto the concrete. I was probably going somewhere between 15 and 20 miles an hour and managed to catch most of the force on my hands and arms. However, my forehead did hit the ground causing a deep inch-long laceration just above my left eyebrow. I literally saw stars.

I immediately jumped up to see blood covering my hands and the pavement below. There was a lot of blood and it wasn’t stopping. Fortunately, this all happened right in front of a sweep vehicle who swept me to lunch to be seen by medical who sent me on to camp for a medical examination. 

I arrived at camp and was immediately seen by a dear friend (and the person in charge of the medical operations for the ride) Alisa C. She made sure I was okay. She quickly had me under a doctors care who put four stitches in and took care of me. I can’t believe how awesome they were and how lucky I was that it wasn’t worse.

I’ll be waiting to see if they give me clearance to ride tomorrow (hopefully). While I’m sure that I’ll have a pretty good headache and a nice black and blue eye tomorrow, I really hope I can ride tomorrow!!

Finally, a big thanks to Alisa C, the entire medical team and the rockin’ sweep roadies who took such great care of me!!