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Fiesta Island 2006 Time Trial Series

Sponsored by San Diego Bicycle Club

-           Sunday 2/12/06  -

Number of riders: 150 Sold out!

Conditions: Clear skies, wind 4 to 5 MPH when the event started. The breeze decreased after about a half hour. Temperature in the mid-50's at starting.

Course: This event was held on the short course. Road conditions were excellent.

Prizes: Winners were to receive SockGuy socks a 6-pack of Hydralite. Medals were to be awarded to the top three finishers in each category. A pair of Oakley sunglasses were to raffled between the winners of each category

Next TT: Sunday March 5, 2006. Everyone is welcome.

Photography: No photography today.

EVENT CANCELLED DUE TO CRASH

This page last changed: 03/22/2006

Letter from Michael Willoughby

March 14, 2006

Fellow Riders:

My family and I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone
for the e-mails expressing concern and support regarding the accident.
The recovery process is on-going.  However, I am looking forward to the
day when we will be able to ride together again.  If anyone would like
to contact me in the future, my e-mail address is
dualsport350@earthlink.net.  In closing, I would like to wish you all a
safe riding season.

Thank you,

Michael Willoughby
 

2/15/Update - Refund Instructions 

The following are instructions for all time trialer’s who attended the February 12 B&L Fiesta Island Time Trial.  As stated in previous communications, the event director has made the decision that all entry fees will be refunded due to the cancellation of the event. 

The circumstances leading up to the cancellation of the event were clearly out of the control of the time trial staff. The severity of the injury sustained by the rider and the concern that the rider had been hit by a parks department vehicle forced the city of San Diego employees, including the police department, fire department, accident investigators, and paramedics to take control of the island. The roadway was completely blocked and there was clearly no sense of urgency to clear the road. The entire area of the accident was isolated and taped off.  

The refunding of the entry fees will clearly cause a financial hardship to the event, but because the riders have been incredibly loyal to the Fiesta Island TT series, a refund seems appropriate and fair. Expenses to open each TT event include the following: parks department permit fees, ABR permit fees, professional street sweeping, EMT support, medals, Fiesta Island water bottles, a porta pottie, copies, and miscellaneous equipment. All of these fees approach $1,000 per event. Those fees are not recoverable. All profits from the event go directly to supporting bike racing support for SDBC members. All labor to put on the TT series is voluntary and is free. As you consider whether to request a refund or not, please respect how important the TT series is to SDBC’s fundraising. There has never been much of a contingency for an event cancellation. After 8 years of running the event, the probability of cancellation seemed so small.  

Please email the event director, Todd Willis, by 3/1 if you would like to receive a refund. Your email should include a mailing address. All refunds will be mailed by 3/15. Sorry, the refund will not include active.com registration surcharges. No refunds will be transferred as entries to later events. That is to confusing.  

Thank you for your continued support of the B&L Fiesta Island Time Trials Series. You have all been very thoughtful, patient, and have expressed genuine concern for the injured rider. 

Have a great time. See you March 5. 

Todd Willis

Fiesta Island Event Director

2/14/06 Update

Michael is out of the hospital. He spent the better part of 3 days in ICU. I saw him this afternoon. He is in good hands thanks to his family and grandparents who are all here and at his side. His spirits are up, but he must be in a lot of pain. He is starting to have flashes about the accident, but the cause is still confusing. Michael says he will be back on his bike in a couple of months and can't wait to compete again at Fiesta Island. Michael is a very strong kid. I am confident he will be back to the island to compete in the Junior State Championships in September.

Time Trialist's are such a great group of people. I have received so many positive emails. I can't thank you all enough for your support. You have no idea how hard an accident like this can be on the event director. Thankfully, the time trial is staffed with a group of volunteers that have been with the time trial series almost since the beginning. We do our best to provide for a quality and safe event. We have learned to take extraordinary precautions and have had an EMT on site for several years. All of these things were in our favor when were faced with an accident such as last Sunday's.

Information will be posted tomorrow concerning refunds. At least a dozen riders have already emailed me saying that a refund is not necessary because the event was completely out of our control. The assessment is absolutely true, but I think it is only fair to offer our customers the option. It is a personal decision and I respect that.

In an effort to try and recover significant losses from last Sunday, I am evaluating the addition of another Spring TT event. There will be more on this by Friday.

Have a great time.

Todd Willis

2/13/06

Thanks to everyone for their patience last Sunday during a very difficult situation. This posting will help to update all of you as to what happened, what are the plans going forward, and what is the status of the rider.

 Some of the information is still unclear and we will not attempt to speculate. What we know is that rider #10, Michael Willoughby, a junior boy racing age 17, went down on the backside of the island. He crashed in the ski beach area and right across from the portable toilet that is always at the same location. He crashed near a parks department vehicle.

Michael crashed very hard, lying in the center of the road. We understand that he may have been unconscious as he lay there waiting for assistance. The event ambulance administered medical care to Michael. He was transported to UCSD’s Trauma Care Facility. His bicycle was broken in half, right behind the steerer tube.

 Request for additional help, possibly from both the Parks Department employee and the event ambulance driver, drew 6 to 8 police cars, a fire truck, and an additional ambulance. The island was inundated with emergency vehicles. The location of Michael’s crash was quickly isolated and designated as an accident investigation. To isolate the accident scene, the police department blocked the entire road way using two vehicles. As soon as we heard that the road around the island had been shut down, the event was cancelled. When we left the island at 9:30, the island was still closed with caution tape to everyone.

 We are looking for any eye witness accounts to the accident. Please notify Todd Willis if you witnessed the accident.

Michael’s condition is improving. He was admitted as a critical traffic accident patient to the ICU department. He will be out of ICU today, but will be under care at UCSD Medical Center until Wednesday or Thursday of this week. According to his father, John, Michael has the following injuries: Multiple fractures to the face, a broken nose, several facial lacerations requiring stitches, and a minor chip from a vertebra in the upper back. Michael is responsive and alert, but has no idea what happened in the accident. The doctors are saying that Michael should have a full recovery. His father is saying that Michael is strong and expects him to be back on his bike again.

John Willoughby asked me to thank everyone that was there to help. Michael will be all right.

 As for the rest of the participants at the 2/12 event, we will be refunding your entry fee. The details are not yet worked out, but all riders in attendance at Sunday’s event will receive a refund. I believe that transferring your entry to the next TT may be to complicated. If you wish to guarantee your spot in the March TT, it is suggested that you proceed with registration. More information on the refund will be posted in the next day or two.

 At this point, there is no reason to think that the event or its location have been compromised in any way. Permits are in-hand for the remainder of the 2006 season. We are exploring the addition of an additional event to recover the significant amount of money that will be lost as a result of this event.

 Thanks for reading. Please check back for updates.

 Todd Willis

B&L Fiesta Island TT Director

 Below is the final start list as the event started. This includes same day registrations and the replacement of no-shows.