"The 33"-Road Bike Racing - Nasty crash in our Tue. night ride

We had a pretty strong group of about 12 riders, 20 miles into a 35 mile ride. We had done 2 climbs with one more to go. We were looking to get in somewhere around a 20.5-21.0 mph average. Then, coming around a left hand bend with me sitting 2nd wheel, we met a motorcyle heading the other way. Even though we were in our lane and he was in his, he panics, hits his brakes, goes down and then mowes right through our group.:mad:

The guy on the front had no chance. We were doing 24-25 mph and I'm guessing the sliding motorcycle hit him dead in his front wheel doing about 35+. His front wheel taco'd and it sheared off both fork blades. He flipped over and landed hard on his left shoulder. He was transported to the ER.

I went left and grabbed as much brake as I had. I somehow manged to stay up, only taking a glancing blow to my rear wheel as the back of the motorcyle went spinning by. My team mate, Stan, was right on my wheel and I have no idea how he didn't hit me or the motorcycle. He must have done something spectacular.

The motorcycle spun on through the group taking out 2 more riders. One of them, another team mate John, took a pretty good shot to the head, cracking his helmet. He stayed awake but seemed a little dazed. They took him in to the ER also. John's bike was destroyed.

The other rider that went down just had minor injuries and was treated at the scene. Also the motorcycle rider was beat up pretty good and was taken in to the ER.

Looks like everyone will recover, but it's still a bummer. I think my hands are still a little shakey. Until the very moment when the motorcycle got past me, I though there was no way I wasn't going down. Hopefully the guy had insurance so these guys can a least get their medical bills paid and their bikes replaced.

Well thats all, no real point to the post, just try and be as careful as you can out there.

Shayne

Any idea if the guy was a new rider? Did he have his motorcycle certification? Glad that it sounds like no one was more seriously injured. A motorcycle is a heavy object and getting hit by one could easily shatter legs, or worse.

I am really sorry to hear about the crash. Best wishes to all involved on a speedy recovery.

f-sake, I'm glad all of you are ok. Too bad for you cyclists, and I wish everyone a speedy recovery, but I'll bet that moto rider feels absolutely horrible about the whole thing, but glad he didn't kill anyone.

I hope everyone gets better soon and no one has any long term injuries. Sorry to hear about this Shayne.

Where was this at? Bellbrook?

Any idea if the guy was a new rider? Did he have his motorcycle certification? Glad that it sounds like no one was more seriously injured. A motorcycle is a heavy object and getting hit by one could easily shatter legs, or worse.

He looked to be about 50 yrs. old and had on a proper riding jacket, gloves and a helmet. His bike was one of those non-faring sport bikes, sort of more like a muscle bike.

I hope everyone gets better soon and no one has any long term injuries. Sorry to hear about this Shayne.

Where was this at? Bellbrook?

It happened out East of Springvalley and we had about 15 miles to go. Once the EMT's showed up, myself and two others attemted to make it back before dark. Then we collected our trucks and headed back out to pick everyone else.

The crazy thing is, we had been riding in a paceline, or I should say attempting to ride in a paceline. The guy in front of me could simply not figure out how to pull through correctly. We kept working with him, trying to explain but he would still open a big gap when he pulled off. Right before the wreck, he pulled through with about a 3 or 4 bike gap between him and the next guy in the slow line. So out of frustration I just pulled in behind him and was ready to throw in the towel on the paceline. If he would have gotten it right that last time then I would have been on the front insteed him and would have taken the big hit.

Shayne

You'd have been so strong on and smooth on the front that you'd have been through the curve before the moto got there :)

You'd have been so strong on and smooth on the front that you'd have been through the curve before the moto got there :)


No, I'd have somehow got my 195 lb. butt to do 30" bunnyhop.:eek:

I hope that all of you have speedy recoveries. While resting and recharging, call a lawyer. That moto rider needs to lose his license, quickly, before he does it to someone else. I assume that the cops ticketed him - that's your first step.

I know a lot of people avoid litigation but please understand that most states can't take away a dirver's right to drive unless they kill someone or drive drunk two or three times. We all have a responsibility to do what we can to keep the road safe... sometimes that means getting some people off the road.

Damn Shayne. Glad you guys are alright. Your wife is going to really hate this sport by the end of the year!

That moto rider needs to lose his license, quickly, before he does it to someone else.

He made a mistake, I don't think he's a major threat to society. A moving violation is in order, but he's not like death on wheels or anything.

Even though we were in our lane and he was in his, he panics, hits his brakes, goes down and then mowes right through our group.:mad:


Sounds like "target fixation" on the part of the motorcyclist.
Right before he panicked, he fixated on you and lost his line in turn.
It only takes an instant to lose it.

Other motorcyclists will check my on this, but it's just bad motorcycling.

Glad no one was catastrophically injured. This could have been much worse.

You guys need to put your own insurance carriers on notice. It may well be that the Motorcycle rider will not have adequate insurance to cover all your property damage. (A few destroyed bikes and your easily above $10,000, which is often minimum limits coverage in some states.) You may well have an uninsured motorist, or under insured motorist claim against your own auto policy if the motorcyclist turned out to lack adequate insurance.

You also need to get copies of the police report, and the EMT records.

I'm really adverse to recommending people go to lawyers, or sue, but it sounds like several of you deserve some compensation for this. I'd work with the insurance companies first, and see if you can get a reasonable resolution, and only lawyer up if you can't work out something reasonable first.

Glad your alright Shayne. Who got taken out in front of you?

Glad your alright Shayne. Who got taken out in front of you?


His name is Dave. Rides a black and yellow Felt, he's just strong enough to ride with the faster guys as long as it doesn't get crazy fast. Pretty much like me.:)

Wow.

Wow.

+1
best wishes for speedy recoveries

Talk about scary. Glad to hear most of you will be ok. Talk about a freaky accident.

Just because the motorcyclist was in his 50's and wearing the "proper gear" doesn't mean he knows how to ride. That's like assuming that pcad knows how to ride a bicycle because he has grey hair and has a few nice bikes.

:D

The first time you overcook a turn on a motorcycle, you either quickly learn to trust your tires more than you ever have before, or you're going off-roading (or in his case, tarmac surfing). The ONLY time you go hard on the brakes in a turn is if you're attempting a panic stop, and ONLY after righting the bike so you're not leaning. Anything else is asking for trouble, as it is very easy to wash out a front or rear wheel. This is why taking the MSF course is so important - they drill this stuff into you until it becomes second nature. I remember during my course, we all HATED our instructors.....they were like Marine DI's....but, they were only looking out for our own good.

Ok, enough preaching - glad to hear nobody was killed or seriously injured, and hopefully everything gets settled amicably.

Just because the motorcyclist was in his 50's and wearing the "proper gear" doesn't mean he knows how to ride. That's like assuming that pcad knows how to ride a bicycle because he has grey hair and has a few nice bikes.

:D

The first time you overcook a turn on a motorcycle, you either quickly learn to trust your tires more than you ever have before, or you're going off-roading (or in his case, tarmac surfing). The ONLY time you go hard on the brakes in a turn is if you're attempting a panic stop, and ONLY after righting the bike so you're not leaning. Anything else is asking for trouble, as it is very easy to wash out a front or rear wheel. This is why taking the MSF course is so important - they drill this stuff into you until it becomes second nature. I remember during my course, we all HATED our instructors.....they were like Marine DI's....but, they were only looking out for our own good.

Ok, enough preaching - glad to hear nobody was killed or seriously injured, and hopefully everything gets settled amicably.

One of mine was a former drill instructor. The first time you enter a corner with more speed than you meant to on a motorcycle is intimidating. The idea of more countersteer and trusting your rubber takes time to drill in.