Giro d' Grafton

The moisture laden air from the Gulf of Mexico finally made it's way up the Mississippi River valley in time to settle over Grafton, Wisconsin for the start of the 1st Annual Tour d'Grafton bicycle race. Blue skies early gave way to cumulus clouds that hung heavily overhead as the crowd gathered for a fun day at the race venue. The heat, the humidity and the threatening skies had the riders nervous and sweaty as they toed the starting line. News that two crashes in the race immediately preceding theirs had sent at least one rider to the hospital didn't help with the nerves.

The course was flat with six 90 degree, off-camber corners, making for high speeds and dodgy cornering. The last corner also featured some fresh tar (soft from the heat) and lots of paint thanks to perpendicular crosswalks. Any serious rider will know that soft tar and road paint do not make for proper adhesion at speed (think Jackie Stewart's accent when reading the word "adhesion").

The large crowd was noisy and supportive. Cowbells distributed by one of the sponsors added to the carnival-like atmosphere. Live bands were playing in the town square and the smell of smoked BBQ filled the air. The overly verbose public address announcer kept you smiling and pretty girls were everywhere (Elvis was much too busy with cameras to notice this last item, but someone mentioned it to him and he adds it here for completeness). The Grafton, WI city fathers have been busy the past few years giving the downtown area an overhaul and a face lift, and the Giro d'Grafton bike race was a great way to show off all of their hard work.

The Masters 4/5 race featured 50+ riders and the race progressed smoothly with no significant break-aways. A couple of premiums (mid-race sprints for prizes) kept the pace high but these were won on the long, safe straight-away. Things changed on the final corner of the bell lap, as they often do, when a rider lost control, went down and took Elvis' team-mate, Mike down with him. Mike was able to get back on his bike and death march to the finish where the pain of his freshly fractured collarbone became too much. With family, teammates and medical professionals nearby to assist he was taken to the ambulance where, after confirming the fracture, he decided to forego the expensive ride and opt to let family members take him in. Note: Mike hung around the race site for a long time before heading out. He was holding ice on his collar and was in obvious pain. This is impressive to Elvis as Elvis knows full well that had he been in Mike's spot he would have been crying like a baby, crying to be taken to the hospital and crying for Mommy. Moreover, Mike broke the very same collarbone a year ago and knows better than most of us the pain of a broken collarbone and the torture of being off the bike for weeks at a time.

Darin



Russ



Mike (with fully functioning collarbone)

For some fine photos of the race go HERE. If you sense that the LAPT team is over represented in the photo gallery you are correct. LAPT is Elvis' team. If you want fine photos of you or your team get your own photographer. Or better yet, pay Elvis enormous sums of cash to deliver the goods for you.

For a short video go HERE. Notes; this is a very rough edit. I may clean it up at a later date, so keep checking back. It's a bit bumpy as spectators were bumping Elvis as they crushed in to see the finish. Also, after the finish sprint and after the Elvis Kennedy logo Elvis provides some painful reminders of the dangers of cycling. Elvis was able to zoom-in digitally and slow the video down. You'll see Mike at the back of the pack hitting the ground hard. The other guy is skidding on the ground in front of Mike. Watch how fast Mike is back up. With the little controls on the video page you can stop, go backward, go forward and get a good look. After you do, shake your head, take a moment to be thankful that it wasn't you and say it with me, "Ay, carumba!".

Mike, godspeed on your recovery, my friend!