Edward Kendrick Sr
Thank you, Mike, for telling us about this. I am not fully recovered from my accident last June. The worst part of being seriously injured, for me, was the huge change in lifestyle and mindset. After being off the bike so long, you have to start over with a base, and by that time its too late to match the training of the other guys.
Those of us, who want to be in this sport for another 50 yrs, or who have equivalent dedication, should play it safer in racing and training. If your position is lousy, for whatever reason, remember that there's always another race. (If your not that dedicated, try good sportsmanship.)
Sometimes lack of nerve or safety is the reason for dropping back. Since few of us are Greg Lemond, it's OK to trade placings for longevity.
Placing can be more related to racing frequently, than to taking higher risks in individual races.
Thanks again, Mike. I hope your recovery is smooth.
Ed
Mike Ruff wrote:
I was not going to post any info about my crash because at first I was worried that someone might think I was looking for sympathy. After some thought I reconsidered with the belief that someone might learn something from my accident.
Coming in to the finish line I was bumped pretty hard on the left side by someone that was trying to move up by squeezing between the yellow line and myself. There was NO room for this. Is this a tactic that we want to continue to use?
The bump sent me off my line (that I was following very diligently) and into the rider next to me. I leaned very hard on that rider (sorry I was in survival mode). I then overcorrected back to the left where my front wheel got tangled up causing me to go down. Yes it hurt badly.
My first visit to the emergency room they took x rays of my hip and said everthing was fine. They sent me home after cleaning my road rash. Got a call the next day and said I needed to come in for a CT scan. After the doctor reviewed it he was highly upset because there was a very obvious break in the hip socket.
Long story short according to the Ortho: If the fracture were 2mm higher I would need plates and screws. If the fractured part had been separated I would require a hip replacement. I am to be off the bike for 8 weeks.
There is another scenario: The person trying to squeeze through on the center line could get bumped into the oncomming lane into a car.
Hope someone can learn something from this. I would not recommend trying to get into the front by riding on the yellow. If you are not in front, you won't be contesting the sprint. There is just not enough room.
Ride safe, see you in Mid April.
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