On Sunday I did a century ride (stats here) and wife Lena did a 60 mile ride in Chico, CA.



[These three pictures from someone else:]







Unfortunately at mile 70 I had a bad crash. I was the #2 man in a pace line going 20 MPH, and my wheel hit the wheel of the guy in front of me, and I went down as well as the next one or two guys in line. I think it was mostly my fault, but the guy behind me who saw it all, said the #1 guy slowed down unexpectedly.

Anyway, everyone was really lucky to avoid any permanent damage. My helmet cracked slightly, so it probably saved me (I've already purchased a new one). My thigh got the worst, and started blowing up immediately. Left thumb, shoulder, and elbow also bruised. I didn't feel this one at all, or even notice it until I got back:



I remember hitting the wheel, but don't remember actually falling. I'm sure I didn't get a concussion -- it just happened so fast. I fell to the right, but the bruising is on the left.

The bike brake levers were twisted, handlebar stem twisted, seat twisted, rear wheel out of true, seat fabric slightly torn, and the RD was bent. With some help I got everything working, but I couldn't use all the gears.

I was able to finish the ride, but it was torture. My left thigh hurt at the top of each stroke. At first it wasn't feasible to ride, but after a mile or so it wasn't too bad. But if I stopped at all, it would freeze up again. I had to ride slowly, and there was a headwind.

When I got to the end, it turned out that the course was only 95 miles. I would have done an extra five, but I was really hurting at that point.

Now I keep flashing back to those few seconds before our wheels hit, and I find myself using body English to try to prevent it. I hope to get over that soon.

Other than the crash it was a good ride.

I am so glad it does not seem serious.

I consider myself a good rider, I like a good paceline as well as the next guy. I refuse to suck close on a wheel, you just are putting too much faith in the riders in front and there is sometimes little that can be done to aviod a crash.

Glad your okay - congrats on the ride....since you cracked the helmet, you might want to have your MD check you out if you haven't already...concussions are a strange thing - they can happen easier than we think.

Glad you are okay.... Note to self: no pace lines.

How do you get such nice weather for your rides?

The most painful part of that description is the twisted seat. Few things hurt more than doing a bunch of miles on a twisted seat.

Nice job sucking it up, Al, those are the rides that get better with time.

There's no hard and fast rule about drafting w/ strangers (I'm guessing you were all strangers?), but looking down the road a bit if you can and at the guy's (lower) back is preferred to fixating on the wheel immediately in front.

I bet you are more than a little bit sore today. Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation may be the ticket for your leg/thigh.
Rode another 25 miles? Must have been going for a stage win.
Vitamin I is your friend.

I like your license plate. When I do charity rides, I never get in line with people I don't know. I start the ride with the intention of riding alone.

Sorry about your bo-bo. Hopefully nothing is damaged too badly. I used to love riding with strangers at centuries (I rarely go to them anymore, but may ride to the Mendocino Monster). There are risks, but you can usually size up the buffer needed to keep clear of trouble. Just remember, as you get tired you need more buffer. Wasn't 70 miles a typical long training ride for you?

See what happens when you shave your butt!

Glad you were not hurt seriously.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...Shaved-my-Butt!

I wonder if the Wildflower is put on by the same folks who do the Lighthouse Ride up in SLO. Don't get me wrong, they do a wonderful job but what's with calling it a century and making the route 95 miles. Last year I think the LH was something like 98. It's so ridiculous. The year before that (2009), I rode around the community campus parking lot at least a dozen laps just to get to the 100 mile mark. Imagine the NY Marathon was 25 miles.

Different group. I'd cut the organizers some slack on the distances. Sometimes the best route just comes up a bit short or long of the mark. I'd rather ride a nicer route than have the perfect distance. However, there were two riders on the first double century I ever did who probably disagree with me. At mile 200.5 of a 201 mile course they lost their concentration and ran into the back of a parked pick-up. Both their front wheels were doing great imitations of a Pac-Man.

Geez, I hate road rash... even seeing it on other people. Glad you were'nt more seriously injured. Heal quickly and get back on that horse soon (back in a pace line).

Your tough break pointed out that you are a tough guy. Hope you heal quickly and your bike is OK.

Whenever I map a route for an event, I label it with the actual mileage and if I miss the target, I make sure I go over, not under. I know that when I set out to do a metric or a century, I want to do at least 62 or 100 miles. Too much over that can be tedious, but anything under is false advertising by my standards.

I do what John doe's. It looks like a pretty good ride. Sorry to hear about the crash though and glad to hear that your alright.

Glad you are okay.... Take care of the hematoma on your thigh. It will go away but it takes a long time. If it is big, it represents a lot of blood loss so your red blood cell count will be low for quite a while. A male racer crashed at a track race and we taken to the ER with a bad hematoma on his leg. The docs did not want him to race for a couple of days because another blow to the same spot had more serious consequences. Of course, he did not listen, raced and won. Depending how bad the injuries are, you may want to see a doc.

As far as touching wheel of the person in front, we do a drill in skills class called "do you have a plan". Two riders go off in a grass field with one behind the other. The rider in front says, do you have a plan? The rider in back says yes. The rider in fronts says are you ready?. The rider in back says, yes. The rider in front stops quickly and the rider behind uses his plan to safely go around without braking. The verbal cues are eliminated one by one until the rider in front stops quickly without notice and the rider behind goes safely around.

I was a Los Angeles Velodrome and in a paceline (this is all trackies do is ride in pacelines). It was moving about 22 mph and I was about a foot behind the women in front. All of a sudden the paceline slowed and I instinctively went around her and was then riding next to her. I asked her what happened and she did not know. We talked after and she back pedaled when the line slowed a little and it was her 3rd time on the track.

I read the paceline ahead and do not look at the wheel in front. I think constantly what would I do if there were a crash or the line slows. The drill "do you have a plan" and constant mental images of what would I do if something goes wrong becomes engrained in the reflexes.

Pace lines and you have to have faith in others in front and behind you. But I take it you had been riding with them for quite a few miles so you could reasonably well have trusted them. I am prepared to believe that the rider in front slowed and that is not a good tactic in a pace line. As you have just found out.

Sadist coming out in me now. Abrasions like you have sting. They may be healing and they have to be kept open to the air unless an old style Gauze and Bandage can be wrapped round them. But they sting- even if you are sitting comfortably and doing nothing. An old remedy that was taught in the Marines and that is Surgical Spirit. It will clean the wound- sting like hell for a couple of minutes but then give you a couple of hours of painless time. It is alcholol based and the other way of getting the pain to ease is a bottle of Brandy- But taken internally.

Sorry about the Cuts and bruises and I think it will warrant a couple of days off work so some good has come out of it. Give you enough time to check over the bike and sort the repairs.

Ouch! That looks painful. You were an awesome sport to keep going with those injuries and damage to your bike.

Yes, the ride is a few miles short of a century. If you do it again, continue past Pine Street to the incredibly beautiful Bidwell Park, make a loop, and you'll have your century.

I was at the ride, too, for I think my ninth time. My blog, with pictures (but not any of blood) and a story about the ride, and some other events that happened on my trip to Northern California and the Wildflower ride, are here.

sygyzy wrote: "I wonder if the Wildflower is put on by the same folks who do the Lighthouse Ride up in SLO."

It's not.

"What's with calling it a century and making the route 95 miles."

It's close enough, and not particularly difficult to add a few miles by riding around town, the college or best of all, nearby Bidwell Park (where, this year, any number of beautiful bodies were sitting out in the sun).

Several years ago, two of us rode both the SLO Wildflower Century (which that year I logged at a little over 100 miles) – on a Saturday – and then, after driving 360 miles, rode the Chico Wildflower Century. The hardest part of the two rides was the drive from SLO to Chico.

My friend and I are the only people who can claim to have ridden the Wildflower Double Century.

These two products are supposed to be the things to use for road rash. I didn't know about them before my last crash, and haven't gotten them yet, because I figure if I do, I am betting on crashing. But they are what I found when I did some research. Tegaderm is a "breathable bandage" that is also supposed to minimize the scarring:

Tegaderm: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...sc_sfl_title_8

Povidone/Iodine: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...=AQK11O1HS2GGC

Heal fast!

Al, congratulations on finishing your ride under significantly adverse conditions - heal fast. Most of our riding is tandem and pacelines with singles are exhausting, but I'll ride in a paceline with the guys at my LBS when I can keep up. Most of the time on the tandem I'm on the lookout for potholes and other foreign objects so there's little enough time to look around, but on a paceline I find it impossible to smell the wildflowers. We're doing Wine Country 100K this year, but we'll be back in Chico next year for sure to try the Century.

Good call AzTallRider on the Tegaderm and the Tegaderm-like products out there that breathe and allow the wound to be moist while healing. Last time I had road rash I slapped some on my upper thigh, left it on for a couple weeks or whenever it decided to come off by itself, and the skin was nice and pink underneath with hardly a hint of scarring. Very different from when I was younger and let it scab.

+1 to breathable transparent dressings - lots of brands on the market. There are also some wet wound dressings available at your favorite drugstore that can be helpful, depending on the wound.

Heal fast!

I don't look for friends (pacelines) on cents unless I'm tired, would rather pull my own wind and enjoy the sights, although I'll pull others for a while if'n they speak up and/or, if looking to like they need some help, accept the offer. The silent suckers get shook, period.

Those who I'll pace with look steady and responsible, communicate, and take turns.

Racin' is another story entirely.