HalfAussie

Awful wind in Tucson, AZ on the same day, about 30mph gusts. The worst was the debris that found it's way into my eyes even though I was wearing sunglasses. All in all, I still enjoyed the bike ride home.

Mr_quadzilla

Not a chance, I know that road, and it's very good. Also right in front of an elementary school, across the street and a quarter mile from a high school in a residential area, a rich one. Good roads, flat ground, straight and wide.

thenomad

Nice and windy here in the IE too.
Uphill against the wind on the way in today. I also made a wrong turn for a "shortcut" so I had to ride another mile or so out of my way in the wind. Rear tire was soft too so rolling resistance was high. All in all, better workout today.

And to the OP - Great use for a Cal jersey.

CB HI

Ouch, you are so cruel.

looie

From another Cal alum who's spent some time in Silicon Valley, what the heck did you expect wearing that jersey down there? Go Bears!

ryandood

I was at my school, CSUF (Cal State Uni. Fullerton). I was just riding back to my apartment from the library late at night but luckily I fell in front of the one guy I saw on my ride home, hahah. Oh well, I had a good laugh.

JoeyBike

You kept your face and hands apparently. A few scrapes and some shoulder rehab (maybe). Not too shabby for a broken fork. A miracle you hit your chest like that and not your chin.

Glad you are (relatively) OK. You should alert the fork mfg in case they have a defect in that fork model. Could save someone else from crashing with a fork recall (it happens).

Hope you are riding soon.

Mr_quadzilla

I expected to be treated with the dignity and respect that a real student, one that didn't go to a farm fer all that book larnin' deserves . I do really enjoy rolling by Furd every day, I don't often wear Cal, though sometimes I do. I'll share some of my favorite experiences:
1) In 2006 when I first moved to Redwood City and was riding home from work on Middlefield coming from Mountain View (MIPS). I was waiting at a light in Palo Alto, and a UPS driver rolls up next to me and says to me, "Don't you think you should be a little frightened? Don't you know this is Cardinal Country."
To which I respond, "The way I hear it, the only thing to be scared of up here are Bears"Then he gets a quick laugh and the light turns and we drag race out of the intersection. I beat him across the road. but he can go faster than me (I was on a MTB w/ slicks). So we were going 45 and 35 respectively where the Speed limit is either 25 or 30.

2) When I am riding home I usually keep it at a mellow pace but occasionally throw down a TT effort and try to break an hour coming home. Never with aero bars though, that's cheating (commuting). When I am screaming home. Half my ride is to get to foothill the other half is foothill to Alameda to Roosevelt. When I am TT'ing like that sometimes I can get to my magic place where my cadence and HR stabilize and I feel like I can hold it forever (115/190 respectively) Usually holding 27mph or so.
I also drink a bunch of espresso and listen to Happy Hardcore for the extra oomph I need.
One glorious day the Stanford B's (I'm asuuming) were out there practicing and I destroyed them. They were in full TTT form and working hard, (On foothill between Artastadero and Page Mill) I rolled by them at least 3-4 mph faster and dropped em quickly enough they couldn't catch me, though not for lack of trying. The womens A's were out there too, though not as fast as the Mens B's.

3) This one is the most frequent nad most fun. As I mentioned before I often will drink espresso before I go home. Sometimes it's too much on top of the day's gatorade and I have to pee. The only place that is on my route and doesn't require a detour is on Junipero Sierra between Alpine and Campus on the gold course where there is that little bike path thingy so you aren't on the road. I stop and piss on a tree. You know, since the Furd mascot is a tree and bears piss on them. Good times.

4) Occasionally Cardinals will roll down their windows and yell at me or honk at me.

Mr_quadzilla

If you noticed this thread; https://www.bikeforums.net/road-cycling/597689-sweet-ride.html this has happened to someone else a day or two before me. Also bought his Cannondale in May like me and the bike also has the same number of miles on it.... suspicious don't ya think.

a1penguin

Glad to hear you are OK, hope you can get the frame replaced without a lot of hassle and forking over a ton of money. The wind was terrible. I never worked so hard to go so slow. Going over the train tracks was somewhat terrifying. The wind was strong, the bike lane narrow and there was traffic. I was afraid I was going to get blown into the car lane. The ride home at night was fine except for the tree that was down on the pitch black Stevens Creek Trail. Good lights are a must.

Mr_quadzilla

The ride home can be brutal on a normal day I can only imagine (or remember per se) how bad Tuesday must have been. The only winds that I recall that were worse were earlier this year on April 14. That was ridiculously windy, worst I've ever seen up here. Super fun riding though
I've been riding against it long enough though that I'm pretty used to it. If anything I think of it as a training tool. At least there are brief periods of tail wind like moving along the San Thomas Aqueduct trail or along Bowers. I'm gonna be pretty upset if they make me pay for a new fork and I sure as hell won't buy another Cannondale. That's not cool, my luck is too poor to have to pay for another frame every time it breaks.

looie

Nice!

njkayaker

I'm going to guess that the handle bars turned and, when the front wheel set down, it was across the direction of motion. That is, the fork failed sideways.

kuan

Not relevant. LHT fork would not have lifted.

AlmostTrick

Why not? Just because it weighs a pound or so more? There's no way that would be enough to make a difference.

Either the wind is strong enough to pick up the weight of the rider + bike or it isn't. Thinking that the fork alone could cause/prevent it seems silly.

Mr_quadzilla

In thinking about my crash more I don't think I was lifted... that was my explanation before discovering that Drizzits fork had broken in exactly the same way. I think the fork failed and I went down. I think the lifting sensation I felt was the wheel and fork fighting and they crashed me.
My hand were on the bars when I went down, I didn't hit anything and I didn't pull the bars sideways, I was riding along and then I was sliding along.

Metricoclock

i think my cross-check's would have too

Praise Steel.

NABRXX

That's why I ride with lead plates in my backpack....