The rest of the group followed suit 15 minutes later and after some nice riding came upon a bicycle accident scene. There was ambulances, firetrucks and a big group of rider surrounding the injured rider.
One of our men somehow noticed that perhaps it was one of our own but he wasn't sure. We later found out it was one of our own. They were riding in a pack going about 26mph. It was warm and humid. Our man was riding without gloves as he usually does.
At 40+ he has over 20+ years of road riding and racing experience. He is a seasoned mechanic, salesperson, manager and is currently a Rep for one of the largest Rep companies in the midwest. The careless group did not signal or call out a huge crevass in the road. Our man hit the crevass, his hands came flying off the bars and he landed with his chest on his handlebars. He raised up again and tried to regain control.
The front Vittoria tire had exploded from the impact with the sharp edge. His front wheel wandered all over the road until it decided to T-bone and throw him over the bars.
He landed on his right temple area. The hinge in his prescription glasses tore a gash 15 stitches long. His arms got deep road rash, his hands never lost grip of the bars and got skinned deep. His elbow and forearm ended up breaking 4 of his ribs.
This situation really pissed me off. Our man is in a lot of pain, will not be able to ride for a long time and is unable to work. Why don't riders call out hazards? Why don't we care?? What happened to riding etiquette??
Let's slow down and keep our riding partners safe.
Otherwise we won't have anyone to ride with.
Sorry Chris. I am sorry you must hurt.
Ari
Sorry to hear of this, Ari. We were just discussing this at work, as my boss had a similar accident on RAGBRAI when he hit a crack or some other road anomaly in a pace line that wasn't called out at 23mph and he also broke 4 ribs and has a large hematoma on his hip.
ReplyDeleteI agree about road etiquette, but I wonder how many younger riders even know what it is, much less insist on it being used during group rides. I remember when I came up that it was considered to be very bad form if you did not call out road hazards or indicate your movements. People would not ride with you if you did not follow road etiquette.
Again, My best to Chris for a speedy recovery and complete healing. I am sorry this happened.