Crashing is not fun. I’ve been there and done that. Once you’ve experienced it, you never look at a crash the same way again. It is impossible not to empathize with those involved.
As I was leaving the race Sunday afternoon, I talked with a fellow racer. He was limping up to his vehicle pushing his bike. I had heard that there was a crash, but didn’t know all the details because I was having to leave immediately following the race. So, as I was changing my shoes he explained that he had run into the fallen riders and went over the handlebars.
I asked him if he was okay and the condition of the other riders. He said he was okay and that he thought the others were as well except someones bike got really messed up and the first rider who went down got run over. However, I didn’t realize just how the crash went down until I saw the following photo sent to me by Jake Strasser of Team Metro.
A wide view of the final sprint - and crash (click to enlarge)
As I began to piece the story together this is what I discovered. Soon after Wade Greene and I launched the sprint a rider went down. “For no apparent reason,” I was told by one racer. That caused a chain reaction as riders scattered across the width of the road to avoid getting caught up in the mess.
Closer view of the lead and the crash
Unfortunately, not everyone was able to avoid it. Ryan Newman, of Velosports Racing out of Hendersonville, got the worse of it. He hit the riders at speed and flipped over coming down to separate his shoulder and break two fingers. The rider who initially went down broke the frame of his bike.
Ryan Newman flips after running into fallen riders
In the photo above, you can see Ryan still attached to his pedals getting ready to basically body slam into the ground. His rear wheel is up higher than the riders’ heads around him. Others narrowly escaped sharing his fate. Michael Trivette, from Concord, commented, “The guy flipping hit my back while he was in the air. I was so close to hitting the deck!”
Of course, the best place to be in all of this was up front. Though I do believe it is misleading to say that it is always safer up front. Crashes happen there as well.
Photo by Eddie Helton - http://picasaweb.google.com/Eddie.Helton
How do you avoid crashes? Well, I can hear some of my friends snickering as they think of me trying to answer that question. However, I think these suggestions are reasonable.
- Realize that the field is like an organism. Everyone is interconnected and the slightest move you make can be magnified several riders away from you. Racing while aware of the people around you for the purpose of keeping them out of a crash is one of the best ways to avoid one yourself.
- Learn who you are riding with! As soon as the race starts, begin cataloging the behaviors of the riders around you. Some you won’t even notice because they will be smooth as silk. Others will stick out like a sore thumb because of their brake checks, switching lines without clearing, and crossing wheels. STAY AWAY – WAY AWAY!
- Practice your skills. One of the things that has helped me has been learning how to take contact in a race. You cannot be afraid of being touched. Invariably someone is going to bump into you. Do not over react. “Receive” the contact – don’t react away from it.
Also, don’t get verbal. I know it is hard to keep our mouths shut, but when someone makes a mistake, it does not help at all to berate them verbally. All you do is raise the intensity and level of frustration — ultimately raising the probability of an accident! - Know the terrain and conditions. Donaldson Center is a great example of this danger. First, there are several potholes and the famous train tracks. Second, there is the wind that is always a crosswind – then a headwind – then a tailwind. Third, there are the hills.Immediately after gathering speed down a hill, it is time to start climbing the next one. That guy that just went flying past you suddenly begins to fade on the climb. Another rider tries to go around him on the edge of the road and ends up riding in the grass just as a crosswind pushes him back toward the field. You get the idea!
If everyone rode with these ideas in mind, that would take care of many of the crashes that happen in amateur racing. Of course, even professionals crash and 60+ people on bicycles riding inches away from each other at 25 – 40 mph are bound to have some problems.
I’m empathizing with Ryan and the other guys that went down. Hopefully, they will all be back on the bike soon. Me? I’m staying close to the front!
