Century Ride and Crash Report

[TromboneAl]

On Sunday I did a century ride (stats here) and Lena did a 60 mile ride in Chico, CA.

[These two pictures from someone else:]

Unfortunately at mile 70 I had a bad crash. I was the #2 man in a pace line going 20 MPH, and my wheel hit the wheel of the guy in front of me, and I went down as well as the next one or two guys in line. Everyone was really lucky to avoid any permanent damage. My helmet cracked slightly, so it probably saved me. My thigh got the worst, and started blowing up immediately. Left thumb, shoulder, and elbow also bruised. I didn't notice this (warning: somewhat gory photo) until I got back.

The bike required some first aid, but was ridable with some gears unusable.

I was able to finish the ride, but it was torture. It turned out that the course was only 95 miles. I would have done an extra five, but I was really hurting at that point.

BTW, at a "medical tent" these days, they'll give you ice packs, but nothing else. I asked for tylenol but they said "All we have are morphine and Versed." "OK, I'll take two of each, thanks." Ha ha.

Now I keep flashing back to those few seconds before our wheels hit, and I find myself using body English to try to prevent it. I hope to get over that soon.

 

[W2R]

Ouch! Hope you heal up quickly, Al.

Looked like a great day for a ride.

 

[Meadbh]

I didn't notice this (warning: somewhat gory photo) until I got back.

Your tetanus immunizations are up to date, yes?

Well done!

 

[DblDoc]

Kudos for finishing. Glad you suffered no serious injuries.

DD

PS - in the absence of contraindications (like allergies) Ibuprofen is a much better first line treatment for such musculoskeletal injuries.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Ouch.

 

[LOL!]

Painful!

On a tour of the Northwest, we were coming down Mt Hood on bikes at 35+ mph when a dog ran in front of my friend. He nailed the dog and slid at least 10 yards. The dog's owner took him to the hospital where they cleaned him up ('him' was my friend, dog ran away yelping in pain).

My friend did not realize that his crank arm had been cracked where the pedal was attached. A few days later his scabs had just dried up enough so that he didn't need bandages anymore. After stopping at a traffic light, he started up again and stepped down hard on his pedal which broke away. He racked himself pretty badly and scraped all his scabs off when he hit the concrete. That was the end of the tour.

For next time, here's an old racing trick: When your wheels knock like that, you have to steer forcefully into the backwheel and grind it out. Otherwise you are going down.

I hope you heal up well and thank goodness your helmet did its job.

PS: Nice license plate. (PS stands for Photoshop.)

 

[FinanceDude]

Al:

Did you bonk, or did the guy ahead of you hit the brakes? last time I crashed like that was in a century, and I bonked. I was able to finish the ride, but hurt like hell.......... Heal quick, buddy!

 

[TromboneAl]

For next time, here's an old racing trick: When your wheels knock like that, you have to steer forcefully into the backwheel and grind it out. Otherwise you are going down.)

You know, I knew that and thought of it in that final second, but I
just couldn't make it happen. I've never had the nerve to practice it.

I'll check out cranks, etc. Thanks.

 

[bbbamI]

Lena is lovely as ever.. but I must say Al, you DAH man! Take care of those boo boos now.

 

[Meadbh]

Just noticed the eponymous number plate, T-Al.

So Lena's car is called "Lena", right?

 

[Alan]

Al:

Did you bonk, or did the guy ahead of you hit the brakes? last time I crashed like that was in a century, and I bonked. I was able to finish the ride, but hurt like hell.......... Heal quick, buddy!

Al, I'm glad you came out of it without any major injuries. Well done for getting back up and finishing it.

I'm impressed that you guys can bonk while cycling

 

[HFWR]

Boink?

 

[FinanceDude]

Here's the wiki description of it:

Hitting the wall - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[TromboneAl]

Al:

Did you bonk, or did the guy ahead of you hit the brakes?

I was feeling fine at that point, so it wasn't fatigue. I think it was mostly my fault, but the guy behind me said that the leader slowed down unexpectedly.

 

[TromboneAl]

Two other things:

WORRYING

I had been realizing that I was doing too much worrying on this trip: Worried I'd forget something, worried I'd get off course, worried the hotel wouldn't have the reservation, worried I wouldn't get an early enough start, worried I'd bonk.

But as so often happens, none of those worries were warranted, but I hadn't worried about crashing, which is what happened.

ABSTRACT and CONCRETE

One often thinks "Bicycling can be dangerous. I could be hit by a car or have a bad crash, but, hey, you can't just sit on the couch all the time!"

But the concept of a crash is abstract until it happens. As soon as it's concrete, the balance between doing something somewhat dangerous and just sitting at home is viewed a little differently.

 

[Retch The Grate]

Grats on finishing the ride after that!

 

[haha]

One often thinks "Bicycling can be dangerous. I could be hit by a car or have a bad crash, but, hey, you can't just sit on the couch all the time!"

This is an excellent illustration of a fallacious dichotomy. We all do it. As if bicycling on public roads were the only alternative to sitting on the couch all the time, or that anyone who was energetic enough to bicycle would choose to sit on a couch all the time if he decided that cycling were in fact too dangerous for him.

But this is the way our brains frame it.

Ha

 

[Nords]

ABSTRACT and CONCRETE
One often thinks "Bicycling can be dangerous. I could be hit by a car or have a bad crash, but, hey, you can't just sit on the couch all the time!"
But the concept of a crash is abstract until [-]it happens. As soon as it's[/-] you hit the concrete, the balance between doing something somewhat dangerous and just sitting at home is viewed a little differently.

Or, phrased another way...

 

[BunsGettingFirm]

Is this the Chico something something flower century? I still have the commemorative clothe from 1996. There were some pretty treacherous downhills around the table mountain. Glad you are OK, T-Al though the road rash will mean brutal showers and bad sleep for the next week.

As for rationalizing the dangers of cycling, let's just say it's about the only form of exercise I can do for 2 to 12 hours at a time without shooting myself. Of course, as I got older, the need to be in super, duper, crazy tip top shape also became less of an obsession, so these days I am satisfied with 40 minutes on the ski machine followed by 30 minutes of weights.

 

[TromboneAl]

Is this the Chico something something flower century? I still have the commemorative clothe from 1996. There were some pretty treacherous downhills around the table mountain. Glad you are OK, T-Al though the road rash will mean brutal showers and bad sleep for the next week.

As for rationalizing the dangers of cycling, let's just say it's about the only form of exercise I can do for 2 to 12 hours at a time without shooting myself. Of course, as I got older, the need to be in super, duper, crazy tip top shape also became less of an obsession, so these days I am satisfied with 40 minutes on the ski machine followed by 30 minutes of weights.

Yes, the Wildflower Century. Indeed, the table mountain downhill had a lot of curves and some bad pavement.

 

[ERD50]

This is an excellent illustration of a fallacious dichotomy. We all do it. As if bicycling on public roads were the only alternative to sitting on the couch all the time, or that anyone who was energetic enough to bicycle would choose to sit on a couch all the time if he decided that cycling were in fact too dangerous for him.

But this is the way our brains frame it.

Ha

Good observation. I have some friends who are masters of this. They seem to have a huge need to re-enforce their decisions (which may not really be in need of re-enforcement).

Maybe I'll spend the day trying to identify where I do this myself - it's probably tough to self-identify.

-ERD50

 

[Fireup2020]

Congrats on the century - was this your first? My Dad really enjoyed that century a few years ago - I think he has downgraded his distance rides these days. Hope you and your bike heal properly soon!

 

[TromboneAl]

Congrats on the century - was this your first?

I did a few in the 70s, and one around 1999.

The healing is going well; today I got dressed all by myself (couldn't do pants or socks for a few days).

 

[omni550]

today I got dressed all by myself (couldn't do pants or socks for a few days).

So all you wore was a t-shirt?

 

[TromboneAl]

Want pics?