River Trail Jinx ??
 

I'm beginning to think we should change the location of the Monday night ride we currently do along the river trail. Last week we ran into the ambulance and this week one of our riders had an accident.

I was riding with one of the men in the group along a flat stretch of the trail that had recently been under water from flooding. We were approaching an area with a little debris on his side of the trail so I pulled ahead to allow him to fall in behind me. I didn't see what happened but I heard this loud grunt, terrible thud and I knew he had gone down. After I stopped and turned around I saw him laying face down, arms at his sides and a growing pool of blood around his head. I grabbed the cell phone and dialed 911.

By the time the ambulance arrived we had determined he had no broken bones, had lost a tooth, his glasses were mangled and the right side of his face had taken the brunt of the fall. He was up and walking when they arrived but after cleaning the wounds they took him to the hospital. One of the cuts appeared to need a stitch or two and the whole right side of his face had terrible road rash. I called his wife to meet him at the hospital and then assured him I would take care of his bike.

His beautiful older Cannondale now has a bent front fork but doesn't seem to have any other damage. Of course his helmet is toast.

The few people who came along as we were waiting for the ambulance were fantastic. One young boy on a BMX bike was nearby when it happened and he went back to the parking lot to direct the EMTs to our location. He then stayed with me until the ambulance was gone and the other riders in my group retrieved my van. His mother was walking on another section of the trail and returned to her car as we were waiting. After learning about the accident she told her son there would be no more excuses for not wearing his helmet. He told her seeing the accident had already convinced him he would be wearing it at all times:)

Everyone have a safe ride today!

Odd, but the only crash I ever had was almost thirty years ago--on a MUP. I tried to avoid some joggers, hit some debris, and went got scraped up pretty good. But I still ride the MUP all the time.

The only work I can think of is coincedence... You can say that things happen but you stll wonder why. Sounds like you had a goo bunch of helpers though, that can make a not so good situation not so bad. ... ... ... ...peace

I think there are a lot of accidents on group rides (it is true here in SFBA) independent of speed and trails can be bad because cyclists let their guard down. For what it is worth, I do not talk with other cyclists on group rides and do not ride side by side. When my wife and I ride our road bikes together, it is single file and we never talk during the ride (even on the tandem) and that is independent of speed. It is total focus on the terrain, traffic and other cyclists and the pace line leader points out debris on the road. Socializing occurs at stops and finishes. I know it is not social but I think it is a lot safer.

I ride on occasion with a group (very nice people and great conversationalists), and they chat constantly during the ride and ride double on the road. I ride by myself or lead the pace line and I do not draft them when they are chatting side by side. I socialize after the ride.

Wow Beverly, sorry to hear about that accident. Does not sound pleasant at all. Good to be wearing the helmet when that happens.

I went down last year on a bike path that had also recently been underwater. There was a thin layer of mud on the asphalt that was about the same slickness as I imagine greased glass might be. I was lucky enough to land in the grass and was not hurt at all. Recently flooded areas are due special respect. There are also a couple of places on some of the bike paths here that have been wet long enough to get a good growth of really slick algae on them too. I nearly went down again on one of them the other day, just pedaling along and the rear wheel started going sideways. I was close enough to the dry pavement to recover.

Be CAREFUL around wet spots on the MUPS!