Today was nervous- you could feel it in the air among the riders. There was an anticipation among them. Team HPKCHC was well in the yellow- a good thing for a team. It would be up to them to set the pace today. It was hard to believe that their team was on the leader board. TKJ found that the spotlight had been thrust upon her- and she was terrified of that. It made her jumpy, and that was never good. The rain the day before had made them all wet and miserable and cold. Now- it was sunny, with high winds today. She was reminded of this several times. "Watch your tires" her more experienced teammates said. TriGirlJ spent extra time talking to them before they lined up. "Watch your tires, and waterbottles and things," she warned them. She nodded her head. "Its a tough thing, and it hurts. We're going fast- looks to be about 35 mph is the set." she said with a frown. KJ nodded. As they started, she set off. Keep to the front, watch your wheels, make sure to stay vigilant- and she was nervous. Very very nervous. She ended up in a group of some other riders from her team. CraftyGryphon was right behind her, and Andryl was to her right. She stayed constant. Then, the wind changed. It caught them in a cross, and she watched as the bike diagonal to her blew in from the left. Stuck in the pack, the wheel clipped her tire. With a CRUNCH, she flipped over the bike, and felt CG slam into her. Luckily, Andryl had been spared the crash. They sat, and she looked at CG, who was looking at her, concerned. Her ears were ringing, and she noticed that her helmet wasnt on her head. She looked up. "What?" she asked, dazed. She tried to stand, but the school nurse managed to catch them. "KJ- keep a seat," BoppingBeth said. KJ shook her head and stood. "I'm fine, I'm fine." she repeated. She knew she was bloody and her uniform was in shreds, but she had to keep going. 'I'm fine," she added. She wasn't, she was sore and hurting. Her shoulder burned. She had to finish today. If she was hurt, she'd drop out that night. But for now, she'd push through. With a disapproving nod, Beth let her go through. She knew what KJ was like. All young and rash. best to let her do it and fix her later. She got on a new bike and started going, with CG. SarahTheEntwife dropped back, and she noticed Andryl did too. This was their team. They stuck together, no matter what. CG and TKJ- both slightly bloodied and bruised, weren't giving up without a fight.
Yes- Day Five of the tour is full of crashes, and two of the real racers had to fall out today already. Its been a bloody affair with ambulances and plenty of bruises, cuts, and abrasions. Don't worry, I'm not really hurt, but I had to just capture the idea that in the tour, you could be half dead, but you still dont want to give up. Wishing a speedy recovery for the dropped riders.
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