she's been riding since she was a kid. even did a light tour with a group as a teen staying in hostels. but at 60 she is pretty casual now. she hit a bollard sitting in the middle of a quiet bike trail. we just passed a sunny beach which was a distraction. in the bright sun w/ dark sunglasses, when she turned her head back toward the trail, she didn't see the bollard which was in the shade until she got closer to it. I think because she was going so slowly she had some difficulty avoiding it. meaning if she had more momentum she could have steered better. she screamed well in advance of hitting it & I was able to turn & see her strike it & fall. the whole event seemed to take a long time to unfold. or maybe it's my memory. her wrist broke when she put her hand out on the way down. (classic mistake). so it was a combination of distraction, environmental conditions such as sun/shade/dark sun glasses & that darn bollard hiding in the shade. we found out at the scene from a town employee that that particular unit has been the site of many very serious crashes. it really should be removed