KG
I have to thank you for your post. I'm one of the feared novice riders that bought a road bike and thought I'd 'walk on' into bike racing. Usually the worst thing one can do as a newbie is embarrass themselves. The thought that my beginner status could contribute to crippling someone sends chills down my back. Even though the below incident appears to be more of an enthusiasm issue it's really brought to light how much other riders must trust you not to screw up. After reading all these posts I realize I have much to learn. I guess all I can ask is that you constructively help the new guys. You were all beginners once...
----- Original Message ----
From: Mike Ruff
To: obra@list.obra.org
Sent: Wednesday, February 22, 2006 2:08:13 PM
Subject: [OBRA Chat] Crash Cat 4 Cherry Pie
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.
_______________________________________________
OBRA mailing list
obra@list.obra.org
http://list.obra.org/mailman/listinfo/obra
Unsubscribe: obra-unsubscribe@list.obra.org