I survived Lafayette in two ways. One, I finished a race for the first time since I don't know when. The last one I remember was Carondelet at the Tour of St. Louis. There was a lot of time away because of the trip in May and then getting sick after returning. Regardless, there was Washington, Webster, State Crit, KC, etc. All were miserable races.

Last night I got an average start worked my way to top 10 by the end of lap one and stayed fairly aggressive for the first few laps. Gradually I eased a little deeper into the field but always stayed around mid-pack and never drifted all the way back. I was satisfied.

The second way I survived was by not crashing. The race started squirrelly for about five laps. Maybe guys were pumped up for the weekend but there was some odd braking and swerving going on. The race eventually settled down into some normal riding behavior. There are always crashes in this race, though, and this year was no exception. Like Pavlov's dog, five laps to go was announced and the craziness began.

Lets' count down the carnage
5 laps to go - Inside the barricades just before 4 to go and a couple guys touch. I didn't see much but it looked like a couple guys went down. One guy may have hit the barricades.
4 laps to go - Clean lap
3 laps to go - Crash exiting turn 2. Several riders down. One stayed down in the middle road for the rest of the race and had to be avoided the remainder of the race. He was carted away in an ambulance afterward
2 laps to go - Several more riders down on the 3rd straight. The story I hear was a rider trying to squeeze between a gap that wasn't there and knocking people down. Supposedly, Parker went down and dinged his hip. Didn't see him around after the race so the story may be true.
final lap - Two guys down on the 3rd straight again. One guy (and bike) goes tumbling in a side somersault and lands on his feet.

Crazy race.