Bike Noob

Because I'm Always Learning Something New

Slick Streets – And Not From Rain

by // 8 Comments

images

I got home from work early Wednesday, and made ready to knock out some quick miles on the bike. It was a hot one — 98 degrees (37C) at 3:30. I dressed in my loosest, lightest weight jersey, some old lightweight bike shorts, and filled my water bottle with ice.

When I reached the Veloway, I was the only one on the three-mile track. Not a car in the parking lot. Not another bike to be seen.

I decided this was not a day to do fast laps. Just maintaining a steady cruising speed would be a challenge this day.

After three laps, I decided to head home. That would give me a 15-mile ride — just about one hour on the bike. Plenty for these conditions. I crossed the gravel parking lot and pointed the bike up LaCrosse.

About a mile from the Veloway, I turn off LaCrosse onto Escarpment to make the last stretch home. Would the stoplight be green or red today? It’s usually red. Today, it was red again, but the cross traffic had a left turn arrow, and that meant I could go ahead and make my right turn without interfering with any cars.

I turned — slid — and the next thing I knew, I was on my stomach in the intersection, with my bike clattering over me. WTF?

The drivers around me just kept going. I got to my feet quickly, and picked up my bike and carried it to the curb. I had some road rash on my right shin, and blood trickled down into my sock. I felt a tingle on my right hip where it had hit the pavement. The shorts were still in one piece.

A glance at the intersection showed me the problem. Some oil had thinned out under the bright, hot sun, and spread a small slick right in the intersection. I must have hit that slick just as I applied power to the pedals to turn the corner. Although I could see the slick clearly now, when I walked over to where I had been when I slid, it wasn’t obvious at all. The sun didn’t reflect off its surface from this angle.

My right shifter was bent inwards, and I couldn’t pull it back to its normal position on the handlebar. I would have to ride the last two miles home with my right hand at a funny angle. I could get out an Allen wrench and adjust it later.

And as I was preparing to get back on the bike, I noticed one other casualty. My bike computer, lying in the intersection. I would have to get it, but now cars were turning across my path. I had to wait. I did — and I watched as one car made its right turn, right over the computer. On my way home from work Friday, I’ll stop at Wal-Mart and get a replacement. It’s only $12.

Now that we’re in the hot part of summer, take care on the roads. Rain won’t be a problem, but oil slicks can be.

The Dangers of Cycling

by // 8 Comments

“While I was lamenting my problems with my sore ribcage, something a lot more serious happened to a good friend of mine. It was last Saturday morning, on one of our club rides.

A group had gone out to Kyle, about 23 miles south of town, and made their usual turnaround stop at a gas station/convenience store. The road through Kyle was repaved about a year ago, and is quite smooth, with a generous shoulder. The Line was moving at about 20 mph, according to one of the riders. It had started to rain. The road was slick. The day was chilly. Because of the wind, the group formed a sort of paceline.

Just before reaching a stoplighted intersection, the lead rider saw two obstacles in his path. One was a car bumper, the other something unspecified. The rider pointed out the car bumper on the right, but did not point out the object on the left. He led the way between the two, expecting those behind him to follow in his tire tracks.

Apparently, the rider behind him braked. The third rider in line swerved. The front tire of the fourth rider, Jerry, touched the rear tire of the third bike. Jerry went down in a heap, and the next four riders went down in a pile.

Jerry suffered a broken femur. A passer-by who turned out to be a nurse treated him for shock until paramedics arrived, and he was taken to an emergency room in Austin. On Sunday, he underwent surgery to repair the break, and is getting close to leaving the hospital as this is posted.

The experience triggered a flurry of posts on the club’s Yahoo group. Debra, whom I ride with on B rides out in the country, had some simple, straightforward advice: “Don’t ride in pacelines.”

The second rider in the line posted that no single thing caused the crash, but suggested some lessons to be learned from the mishap:

  1. Avoid riding in the rain if at all possible (not an option in this case)
  2. Provide more buffer space from other riders (in front and laterally)
  3. Ride slower – not a race – especially in inclement weather
  4. Yell out any road debris and signal behind you

To which, the club president reminded everyone that our club rides are not races, although they might assume an “aggressive” pace from time to time.

Others cited communication as being the most important factor. The lead rider called out the road debris, but did not signal. The second rider signaled, but did not call out. Another member pointed out that calls don’t travel very far anyway.

One of our more experienced members advised that the rider in front should stay focused on the road and try to lead the group around the hazard, rather than point it out and miss it by an inch or two.

Still another said the leader shouldn’t be too diligent at pointing out trouble. “Pointing out every gum wrapper will make your little ducklings less likely to notice the massive boulder they’re about to endo over,” he wrote.

The club president noted that there are only a few group riding configurations. Since it’s inevitable that we will line up behind each other at some point in a group ride, it’s important to be able to handle those situations.

He’s going to arrange for a cycling coach to conduct some paceline drills for the club.

I’ve written before of my aversion to pacelines. But if the paceline drills happen, I’ll probably sign up.

Biking Through a Bruise

by // 4 Comments

My fingers next to the bruise give an idea of its size.
My fingers next to the bruise give an idea of its size.

I’m still feeling the effects of that fall I had a week ago. I’ve got the biggest bruise on my hip that I’ve ever had, and it was quite painful to start with. However, one nice aspect of our sport is that it seems to help in recovery from these kinds of injuries.

The crash was odd in that I wasn’t moving all that fast. In fact, I was just slowing to make a turn when the rear wheel slid out from under me. But the full force of the impact fell on my left hip. I must have hit the pavement a lot harder than it first seemed, because two days after the crash, I had trouble rising from a chair. It felt like the whole left torso was bruised as well, although I could find no marks.

How did I treat the big bruise? It turns out that I did everything wrong. The recommended treatment for a bruise is to stretch and ice the affected area after the workout. In my case, I felt so good after riding this week that I did nothing except shower. For pain, acetaminophen is the recommended treatment — not ibuprofen. I gobbled ibuprofen two or three times a day.

Sitting for awhile, while watching TV, exacerbated the pain. Moving eased it. Except for Sunday, the day after the crash, I have been on the bike every day — sometimes pushing myself to climb a small hill a little bit faster, or do some intervals. Without fail, I felt better once I got home.

In one regard, I was lucky. I wasn’t bruised anywhere that came into contact with the bike. So when I ride, I feel like a normal person. It’s only after I’ve been stationary for an hour or more that pain becomes a problem.

Bruises heal themselves in seven to 10 days. My bruise is still impressive, in terms of the area it covers, but I can tell the coloring is already starting to fade. I expect to be back to normal in another couple of days. But in the meantime, I think I’ve healed a little faster by exercising those muscles under the bruise than I would have if I’d done nothing.

Recent Posts

Categories

Archives