Jay68442

Cool all summer and now it gets hot, damn weather.

grahny

Another successful LCBM! Hope everyone enjoyed themselves, I know I did. It was good to see some familiar faces and meet some new ones! Too bad we didn't get to meet up with some of you other folks... maybe next year.

Stats on the day for those that were hanging around grahny:
Miles: 63.06
Total time: 4:31
Moving time: 3:26 (that was a long lunch)
Avg Spd: 18.37mph
Ascent: 2,338ft (I have 3 different elevation #'s depending on what you go by - this was the least - highest was ~2,700)
Corn Field visits: 0
Almost running into corn field while missing a right turn: 1
Buggies passed: 22
Tandem's drafted: 1
Jens Voigt sightings: 1 (yes, he's recovered from his TdF crash, put on a few pounds, wore last year's kit, socks and all )
Sun temperature (actual on the ground): 4,362.9° F

eddiejclayton

That thing was a reality check for me! I am really out of shape.....again!! Took me forever but I finished it.

zoste

Me, too. I was in much better shape for this ride last year, and the heat and humidity really did a number on me. Took nearly 5 hours bike time, but my GF was waiting for me with a cold G-2. If we're still in the area next year I'm gonna get a tandem and she'll ride too.

Good to meet a few new faces on Saturday (though I neglected to get names), and I met up with a couple of BF posters who had done the abandoned turnpike ride, Bau and vXhanz.

RoadToNowhere

Well done, Grahny - sorry to have missed you!

Our group rolled at 7:30; 10 miles past the lunch stop, we were rolling along at an 18.5ish pace... then I eased up and a couple of us slowed it down. Still came in with a 17.5, but dang it was hot!!

Ice cream sure tasted spectacular at the end

RacerMike

Good to meet the small little group which included Grahny, LoneWolf, eddiejclayton, StupidlyBrave and BigRingRide; sorry if I missed anyone, I', horrible with real names let alone screen names. Also, I think my brain was completely fried ~mile 50. Ended up at ~17.5 for the ride, but man I am paying for it: it was H O T!!!

Sad to hear (unconfirmed rumors floating around at lunch) that someone lost their life on this ride. My thoughts to their family.

Mike

wolfpack 

great to meet everyone yesterday and today. it was pretty hot out there today. great ride, very well supported.

i'll do some kind of ride report/picture posting probably when i get home, as the internet gets flakey here at the hotel...

dauphin

ah, so the South invaded the North once again...Hope you had a great ride!

RoadToNowhere

What did you hear? Oh, my.....

There was an area not long before the lunch stop with quite a few emergency vehicles and caution tape... clearly something big going on... but not sure if it had anything to do with the ride

Sorry to miss seeing all of you!

Beth

grahny

That's the spot... the rumor was that someone took that right turn, crossing the yellow line, and was hit head on. I've searched all the local news websites and have come up with nothing so far. Let's hope it was just a rumor.

spinnaker

I heard the same very sad. I tried to do a search of the news but found nothing yet.

Of course we need to get more details on this particular accident (and hopefully it was just a rumor) but it is surprising that there are not a lot more accidents. I found the disregard for basic safety and common courtesy appalling. I don't know how many times, I was passed by huge pace lines coming with inches of me. Just when you thought this had to be the end, another rider would go whizzing by.

The other problem that I noticed from some people the chose to bypass a rest stop and not slowing down. If you want to bypass a rest stop then fine but slow down. It does not take much sense to realize that there will be people pulling into the rest stop and pulling out and might not realize that there may be people bypassing the rest stop.

There are too many people fixated on completed the ride in X number of hours. It is supposed to be a fun ride. It is not going to be much fun if you are hurt or killed or cause some other person to be hurt or killed.


There were also a number of people riding at a very slow pace four or five abreast. One woman was occupying the whole lane herself. She could not keep anything that even approached a line. The only way to pass was to cross the double yellow. Or I guess the safe way to do it would be to slow down and announce you are passing and hope they move aside. But they should not be taking the whole lane in the first place.



All of that said, except for the bad news, I had a great time. It was a lot of fun meeting new BF members and reacquainting with some I have meet before. Lancaster is a great place to ride and I won't keep a few discourteous riders keep me from making the ride again.

RoadToNowhere

I'll keep my eyes and ears open on the local emails and news reports... if you hear anything, please let me know...

So clear to see how it could happen... a crowded ride, people all over the road...

eddiejclayton

I've only done a few of these rides but I was shocked to see people wearing headphones (earbuds) while riding.

HigherGround

Wow... so much to comment on!

I had gotten a late start (more on that later), and had been passing riders on what approximates a "climb" on this course. It was at the spot where a family had set up there "unofficial" rest stop at previous years. If I remember correctly, the following descent goes in to Reamstown, and it's maybe 5 miles from the lunch stop. Any way, I had passed two young women near the top of the climb, and said words of encouragement as I passed. The first lady responded, the second one didn't. I continued on, and said hi to another cyclist who had stopped at the top of the climb.

A few moments later, I heard the screeching of car tires, and smelled burning rubber. When I looked back, there was a woman on the ground, in the middle of the road, with a car virtually on top of her, and several people standing around her in the road. I rode back to the accident, and asked if I should call an ambulance. I was told that wasn't necessary, so I rode further down the road to alert approaching traffic to slow down. Cars had backed up in a spot where there was limited visibility, and I didn't want someone to come over the crest and rear end a stopped car. I think that in the meantime, one of the neighbors may have called an ambulance.

It turns out that one of the ladies had simply fallen over in to the road, and the car was able to stop without hitting her - but it was extremely close. At first glance, it would be easy to think she had been hit. She was shaken but okay, and I believe she finished the ride. It didn't seem like she was suffering from hypoglycemia; I think it was a fluke thing.

I hope the rumor is nothing more than an exaggeration of an accident that wasn't really so bad. When I was at the finish, I didn't hear anything at all about a fatality, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

hally

I just got home after doing this ride today. All in all a good day, sad to hear there was a fatality. I did see all the ambulances at that spot. There were some careless, some inconsiderate and some inexperienced riders but with 4000 people you have to expect that. You really need to be alert and CYA out there. And DANG, us LI'ers who ride in the shade of Old Westbury, Brookville, etc are spoiled! It was HOT and the sun was strong. Thanks LBC!! Great job once again.

HigherGround

At the finish, I noticed a bike with a decal of "9/20/25" on the top tube. I was puzzled, thinking that wasn't a chainring combination for a triple crankset - unless you're planning to scale Everest! I realized that the bike belonged to an older gentleman who was standing nearby, and the numbers referred to his birth date! He was gracious enough to talk with me for a while. Here he is, 83 years old, with two artificial knees and having undergone vascular surgery earlier this year, and he was out riding on one of the hottest days of the year! Very inspirational!

HigherGround

And my story? Well, no good deed goes unpunished. A co-worker needed someone to cover his hours last night, so I took part of his shift. I ended up getting home rather late last night, and over-sleeping this morning. (Edit: The icon is about my own stupidity; I'm not blaming my co-worker.)

Still, I drove out to the ride with the intention of doing the 31 mile route. That would have been the sane, prudent, and logical choice, considering that I'm getting over a hip injury. That was my plan, right up until I got to the split... and then rational thought went out the window, and I went down the road for the metric century. I paced myself, tried to be smooth to conserve energy, and finished comfortably (read: slowly). I was relieved that there was still ice cream at the finish, waiting for a new home. It was a good ride, despite the heat, but I'm kicking myself for missing everyone at the start.

spinnaker

Oh I agree 100% in CYA. But it is hard enough to do for the experienced rider, I don't think it even enters the mind of an inexperienced rider.

And I agree 1000% that LBC always does a fantastic job! Everyone is so helpful and friendly. It is AMAZING how quickly registration is processed and lunch is served. Local and federal governments have a lot to learn from the LBC!


I do have two complaints. I miss the numbered ride tags. I have a collection of them. Though I do admit the wrist bands probably make a lot more sense.


There is a patch of gravel at the intersection, right before the intersection where the accident was supposed to have occurred. You are headed down a slight grade into a T intersection where an officer is stationed. You are moving at a pretty good pace and make a hard left. The gravel was there 2 years ago and it was there again this year. I could see where a rider could easily go down making that turn.

HigherGround

Was it a left or a right turn?

StupidlyBrave 

My recollection is that it was a right turn shortly after a left turn that matches spinnaker's description

grahny

It was a right turn as I remember.... unless there was another spot with fire trucks and an ambulance. when we turned, the responders were on the left side of the road.

spinnaker

The gravel is at the left turn. It is a T with a road to the right and one to the left. You make the left. And, I am not mixing up some intersections, you proceed down another grade. You come to another T intersection where you can go straight or right. The ride goes right. I understand that this is where the supposed accident occurred. There was a fire truck and a number of firefighters urging people to slow down.

mtclifford

I very distinctly remember that right turn. Otherwise great ride, nice meeting all of you!

Jay68442

I saw what could have been a fatality. Not sure of the road names but I came across fire trucks, ambulances and police at an intersection where we were making a right turn after a slight downhill. They were up holding blue tarps around someone so I could see anything other than that but I was thinking this could not be good. The spot looked like it might have been an unofficial water stop. Everyone was in what looked like a parking lot next to the house. This is where they were holding up the blue tarps.

bautieri

I must have rolled by shortly after you. When I passed there were three police cars, an ambulance, and a fire truck. The scene was roped off by yellow "police line" tape. I glanced as I passed and noticed a mangled red bike laying near what appeared to be a white body bag. Mixed in with the vehicles was a black SUV, could have been an unmarked emergency responder, could have been the vehicle involved in the accident. If so there was no apparent damage to the front center or driver side of the vehicle. If this was the vehicle involved in the accident then the impact occurred on the front passenger side. If I had to guess what happened the unfortunate cyclist took the corner too fast and ended up way over in the other lane, hit the black vehicle on the right hand side and was thrown into the parking lot. I did notice some light pea gravel on the apex of the turn. Not much but just enough to break loose if you hit it too hard. Sigh, it’s not a race

I really hope my observations were incorrect. I'll keep an eye on this thread in hopes that someone gets some definitive information on what happened.