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10-21-03, 08:46 PM
I've been riding regularly for the past 18 months and had my first serious crash today (I'm not counting the embarrasing slow motion "why can't I unclip" at the traffic light crashes!)
A group of four of us was out doing our regular lunchtime ride. We'd slowed down (in hindsight, not enough) to follow the bike path under an overpass with a blind corner. The underpass has a concrete wall on the right and rocks and the river on the left. It's been raining steadily in Seattle for the past 2 days, so the path was wet. I was number 3 in the group about 1.5 bike lengths from the person immediately in front. At the worst possible point (from a visability standpoint) in the underpass there was an oncoming cyclist ... on the wrong side of the bike path. The first two in my group managed to avoid the collision, however the oncoming cyclist then locked up his wheel and fishedtailed into my path. I braked heavily, also fishtailing, would have avoided the collision except for cyclist number four who had even less time to react, fell, and slid into myself and the oncoming cyclist.
Net result: Oncoming cyclist; unknown, picked himself up, hung around briefly then continued on.
Cyclist Four: Broken collar bone, abrasions, carted away in an ambulance.
Myself: Couple of broken ribs, abrasions and a helmet for the rubbish bin!
Lessons learned: I've ridden this path nearly every work day for the past 18 months, I knew it was a blind corner, I knew there was no "escape routes". I did not slow down enough, or leave enough clearance between myself and the bike infront. However, what on earth was the oncoming cyclist thinking? I've seen him on the path previously so he should KNOW of the blind corner.
My bike's off to the shop in the next couple of days to access the extent of the damage, which is not too serious, I hope. It'll probably be fixed before my ribs are!
A group of four of us was out doing our regular lunchtime ride. We'd slowed down (in hindsight, not enough) to follow the bike path under an overpass with a blind corner. The underpass has a concrete wall on the right and rocks and the river on the left. It's been raining steadily in Seattle for the past 2 days, so the path was wet. I was number 3 in the group about 1.5 bike lengths from the person immediately in front. At the worst possible point (from a visability standpoint) in the underpass there was an oncoming cyclist ... on the wrong side of the bike path. The first two in my group managed to avoid the collision, however the oncoming cyclist then locked up his wheel and fishedtailed into my path. I braked heavily, also fishtailing, would have avoided the collision except for cyclist number four who had even less time to react, fell, and slid into myself and the oncoming cyclist.
Net result: Oncoming cyclist; unknown, picked himself up, hung around briefly then continued on.
Cyclist Four: Broken collar bone, abrasions, carted away in an ambulance.
Myself: Couple of broken ribs, abrasions and a helmet for the rubbish bin!
Lessons learned: I've ridden this path nearly every work day for the past 18 months, I knew it was a blind corner, I knew there was no "escape routes". I did not slow down enough, or leave enough clearance between myself and the bike infront. However, what on earth was the oncoming cyclist thinking? I've seen him on the path previously so he should KNOW of the blind corner.
My bike's off to the shop in the next couple of days to access the extent of the damage, which is not too serious, I hope. It'll probably be fixed before my ribs are!