Portland Twilight Criterium 2010 Epic Moments in Bike Racing

A hot August night on Friday the 13th; with my cheap camera in tote, I captured some epic moments in what I like to call: What the Grand Prix is to auto racing in downtown Long Beach, California is the Portland Twilight Criterium to bike racing in the streets in the heart of downtown Portland, Oregon. Fast, exciting street bike racing.
I went to my first Criterium last summer and got hooked on the sport. Just to witness the sheer athleticism and courage these men have and to ride on thin rubber tires, racing as fast as they can and sustain it for 40 plus minutes was impressive enough to capture moments with my camera, by editing clips, and streams of video (a hobby of mine) to produce an amateur production. Next year, I hopefully will have a better camera, until then this will have to do. Enjoy!
This is dedicated to Neil Gregory, cyclist. A man whom I admired for his strength to overcome challenges and taught me the definition of unyielding COURAGE: FEAR UNDER CONTROL in the face of personal hardship.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Portland
• Twilight
• Criterium
• Bike race
• cycling
• bike crash
• Friday the 13th
• epic cycling

[seguinbbb]

Thanks for your concen Kiwi. My right hand and tailbone were throbbing when I gathered my wits. It took a while for me to be able to move because my lower back was seized up from smacking the curb with my tailbone at 30 mph. I really thought I had broken my back. I finally ended up meeting a dermatologist friend at his clinic not far away where he and an ER surgeon worked on me. They numbed me up, scrubbed my road rash and then stitched me up. Then we had some beers. Overall, a decent night.

[kiwicolada57]

@seguinbbb Well you definitely have bragging rights and the video to prove it! I saw other videographers footage of that same race and other nasty crashes, but I think in my opinion yours was the worst. I guess the fellow that crashed into the fence looked ok after, but he was probably sore the next day too. Nothing a good brewsky can cure the aches and pains, eh?

[seguinbbb]

That's me crashing about 4:00 minutes in. Yeah, it hurt. Just wanted to say I didn't slide out on my own like it looks. You can just hear my back tire blow before I hit the pavement. I was just telling my teammate before the race that I thought I had one more race left in those tires; guess not. Got 5 stitches in my hand and some beautiful road rash.

Thanks for the video. You were in the right place an the right time.

[kiwicolada57]

@seguinbbb I was glad to see that you were ok. I went to assist, and didn't realize my camera was still rolling while I tried to help until the medics got to you. I just remember you were asking for water, someone gave me your helmet to hold for you and I felt real bad for you because you looked like you were in a lot of pain and I felt helpless. I was off duty at the time, (I am an RN) but I knew the medics there would make sure you were taken care off. Take care, ride safe my friend!

[ChockFullOfWin]

Fantastic video!

[kiwicolada57]

@ChockFullOfWin Thank you very much!

[mjbofthenorth]

nice work everyone!!!

[kiwicolada57]

I apologize the footage appears grainy. On my computer it is pretty clear.