JeremyZ
My wife and I were out cycling yesterday, at a local forest preserve. It has fine gravel trails, mostly hard. But there are some spots that are quite sandy, and a couple inches deep.
So we were chugging up this hill, a short-but-steep one, probably 30°, and it had a couple of good curves in it.
I was about 2/3 of the way up, and my wife was behind a bit, maybe 1/4 of the way up. These two dudes came flying around the corner (oncoming) at the top of the hill, and bombing down the hill, probably 25 mph. They were buddies, probably in their mid 20s. The front guy navigated the hill, sandy spots, & curves OK. But he laughed at my wife, who was chugging away and having quite a problem with it. Bless her heart, she was in a low gear, trying to climb this hill without standing up. I had just told her to use the granny gear in the front as well as the rear. Quite a heroic effort too, as she is a bit chubby.
The second guy wasn't really looking too far ahead; he was probably focusing on his buddy's rear tire or something. Upon hearing the first guy laugh at my wife, he looked up to stare and have a chuckle, and didn't notice the sandy part. So here's this guy, going 25 mph, laughing at my wife, instead of watching the trail. His front tire washed out and he crashed into the weeds BIG-TIME. When I heard it, I thought: "Oh crap, this guy just killed himself." I looked back, and his bike was on its side about 20' ahead of him, and I could only see his legs sticking out of the weeds & bushes. I went back to check on him, to see if he had any serious injuries or needed help. Miraculously, he only had some minor scrapes & cuts. His bike was pretty messed up. He had to walk from there.
I asked him if my wife was in his "lane", and he admitted that she wasn't. Finally, his buddy came back, and I left and said be careful.
My wife didn't even stop. I didn't see the incident, as I was ahead of her. She was hopping mad, because the first guy laughed at her like a big jerk, and the second guy was about to laugh, but crashed due to his own inattention & stupidity. In her eyes, he got what he deserved.
So we were chugging up this hill, a short-but-steep one, probably 30°, and it had a couple of good curves in it.
I was about 2/3 of the way up, and my wife was behind a bit, maybe 1/4 of the way up. These two dudes came flying around the corner (oncoming) at the top of the hill, and bombing down the hill, probably 25 mph. They were buddies, probably in their mid 20s. The front guy navigated the hill, sandy spots, & curves OK. But he laughed at my wife, who was chugging away and having quite a problem with it. Bless her heart, she was in a low gear, trying to climb this hill without standing up. I had just told her to use the granny gear in the front as well as the rear. Quite a heroic effort too, as she is a bit chubby.
The second guy wasn't really looking too far ahead; he was probably focusing on his buddy's rear tire or something. Upon hearing the first guy laugh at my wife, he looked up to stare and have a chuckle, and didn't notice the sandy part. So here's this guy, going 25 mph, laughing at my wife, instead of watching the trail. His front tire washed out and he crashed into the weeds BIG-TIME. When I heard it, I thought: "Oh crap, this guy just killed himself." I looked back, and his bike was on its side about 20' ahead of him, and I could only see his legs sticking out of the weeds & bushes. I went back to check on him, to see if he had any serious injuries or needed help. Miraculously, he only had some minor scrapes & cuts. His bike was pretty messed up. He had to walk from there.
I asked him if my wife was in his "lane", and he admitted that she wasn't. Finally, his buddy came back, and I left and said be careful.
My wife didn't even stop. I didn't see the incident, as I was ahead of her. She was hopping mad, because the first guy laughed at her like a big jerk, and the second guy was about to laugh, but crashed due to his own inattention & stupidity. In her eyes, he got what he deserved.