Didn't "bonk" today . . . crashed instead!

So, I really prepped myself well (nutrition- and hydration-wise) for today's 50 miler (see http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=15814 for more on that).

I'm so glad I got up at 5am to eat breakfast as I had to hit the bathroom for that TWICE before leaving for our 8am ride. And I had to hit the bathroom THREE times before 8am to relieve myself of the approx. 32 oz. of water I drank. Also had to hit the toilets twice on the ride. This is why I hate to eat or drink before going out to do anything athletic - I don't want to have to bother with the bathroom!

But, enough of my toilet troubles . . . my energy stayed high and I was able to keep up! Yay! :D Probably helped that I adjusted my rear break so tha it would spin more than one revolution . . . turns out that when I tipped over on the last ride I knocked the brake out of whack and it was rubbing, so I'm sure that slowed me down immensely in addition to my poor nutrition/hydration that day.

We were on the American River Trail and there were lots of joggers/walkers/kids/dogs, etc. I felt like I was becoming slightly more comfortable with riding in a paceline (only second time doing so). Note, I say "slightly." I have A LOT of trouble judging distances. I can't tell you how many times I've parked my car and gotten out only to realize I am several feet away from the end of the parking space . . . have to get back in and move up . . . get out and look again . . . get back in and move up. We did an experiment in middle school or high school where we had to set up two chairs back to back at the distance we thought we needed to walk through without more than an inch on either side, but not so close that we touched the chairs - I was off (chairs too wide) by several inches.

All that to say, I kept to the back of the group. They kept saying, "Come on Michele, tuck in here. You need to practice this." This group is all about building a base and working on the basics of group riding. Well, you can probably guess what happened. About a mile from our end point in Folsom, we came around a very sharp turn and I caught the back wheel of the guy at the front left of me. I landed on my left shoulder and slid across the asphalt and into the dirt. Didn't hit my head or anything, but my shoulder is very skinned up and sore, outside elbow bruised, and I think I'll have a bruise on my left out thight by tomorrow. They weren't questioning my choice of long sleeve jersey, full-length tights, and full-finger gloves after that! I can't imagine how much worse of a case of road rash I'd have! I have a very slight hole on top of the shoulder of the jersey, and a small hole in the palm of the left glove (pi gel-lites, go figure!), and the outside left of my shoe is gouged, but nothing some darning won't fix.

I was able to ride the rest of the way to our start/end point (only about a mile left). Got home, ate lunch and then took a shower - OWCH!!!

So, that's the story of today's ride and my first real crash (besides tipping over because of shoelaces getting caught in the chain or same during learning curve of clipping in and out). At least I didn't "bonk" this time, right? :rolleyes:

{{{{michelem}}}}
is the bike OK?:rolleyes:
Seriously sorry to hear about your crash, but take your time, and you'll hopefully be more confident next time. I know about wheel touches, I wound up with a broken humerus the last time....

Bike is no big deal - scraped left handlebar and scraped wheel skewer, but that's it.

Thanks for the response and kind encouragement. :)

so sorry about the crash!!! Hope the shoulder heals up fast!
I can totally feel for you with the distance judgement, I have the same problem!!(except that I am always walking into things like walls,bookshelfs,dressers,etc. because I think I am farther away). But yeah, I feel for you!
Get better soon!!{{HUGS}}

Thanks Emily. I appreciate it. I think I'm going to need to get back on the bike sooner rather than later, just so I don't let fear get the best of me. Part of me says I might not be so lucky next time . . . but, the other part of me doesn't want fear of what might happen in the future keep me from living life (and having fun on my bike!) in the present. Sigh . . .

I wish you a speedy recovery from the road rash and I hope this won't discourage you from doing this again.

Something similar happened in the Horsey Hundred yesterday at mile 8. A woman went down with cuts to her knee, shoulder, and eye (from her glasses...). I was amazed that she finished the remaining 92 miles! Personally, I would have said "call the SAG wagon...I'm going home"

Wow, Michelem, I'm glad you're ok! Well, pretty much ok at least! I hope your road rash and bruises aren't feeling too much worse today. It's such a beautiful weekend around here...too bad your crash had to happen on the first day of the weekend :(

I almost crashed the last time I was riding the trail...a lady on a mountain bike decided to turn left across the path just as I was about to pass her. "On your left" was just about ready to come out of my mouth when she suddenly turned. I was about 1/2" from clipping her back wheel. Scared the you-know-what out of me. And the two guys behind me had some choice words for her as well.

Maybe I'll see you down there on the bike trail sometime. I was coming down there to ride at least once a week, but now that it's warming up, I'll probably stay up here on the hill more. I'm not a morning person so it's hard for me to get there early. But I like riding down there where I can get 40-50 miles in. I'm not able to do that up here yet...my limit 'round these parts seems to be about 20-25 miles. If you ever feel like riding in the foothills, let me know. I'd love to have a riding partner sometime.

Feel better and heal quickly! :)

Thanks so much Mr. Silver and sara. I'm pretty sore today, but it's not unbearable. I keep thanking God that it wasn't worse! I'm trying to psych myself up to go back out and do an easy solo ride just to get myself back out there. My mind keeps messing with me ("See, I told you so . . . you're not coordinated enough to to do this . . . you are too old to do this . . . you are really going to hurt yourself next time . . . you are a hazard to yourself and others . . . blah, blah, blah). I really appreciate all the encouragement.

Sara, here's the link to the group I've just started going with (I'm with the "C" beginner-type group). You are welcome to join in anytime - it's an open group. :) www.cyclefolsom.com

This wasn't the scene of the accident, was it?

Picture #4 on::)
http://news.yahoo.com/page/week_in_p...E?fid=20070524

I'm sorry, I read your first post right before I saw this picture and I thought it was ironic.

This picture is how it would look if I ever tried a group ride. My lack of coordination and response time scares me.:eek:

Glad you're feeling better...but keep trying...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by michelem

Sara, here's the link to the group I've just started going with (I'm with the "C" beginner-type group). You are welcome to join in anytime - it's an open group. :) www.cyclefolsom.com

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Thanks! I just checked out the link...I'd never even heard of this group before! One of these Saturday mornings, I'll try and get myself up early enough to get down there. It sounds like fun!

I am with you on the depth perception; it's a *good* thing when a car buzzes me and I think "oh! judging from the speed of the breeze, that must have been a close shave!" and don't startle, but that's about the only advantage.
Whether it's cycling, or perhaps the yoga classes I've taken, I have gotten notably better at knowing where my bike and I are in space and time... get back out there and get into groups where you can leave enough room to be comfortable... you can tell 'em you're coming back from a crash. It's what I did when I was the rider in *front* whose misjudgement brought down others :( ... and I'll only do pacelines when I am at 100%, with people that I know well (tho' sometimes I can tell they've got a skill level I"m comfortable with), and it took me a long time to work back into even ever doing it. And still, I like to be in front or in back, so I don't mind doing a lot of pulling, or riding with slower riders, and people think I"m nice... nope, just don't like crashing.

Thanks Geonz. It's helpful to hear that I'm not alone in this - thanks for sharing!

Got back on the bike yesterday and rode the area where I crashed. Went alone and SLOW. Lots of pedestrians, kids with training wheels, etc., dogwalkers, etc. out so had to be extra extra cautious. It's tough because coming around a corner it is impossible to know where these people/dogs will be - some will be on the right, and others on the left. Sigh . . . Coming down from Beals Point I was PANICKED! I feathered the back brake the whole way, but still felt as if I was going way to fast. Each corner I came to I just said Oh sh*%, Oh sh*% the whole way through. Give me climbing over descending any day. At least coming back there was hardly anyone on the trail because by that time it was getting close to 90 degrees out. When I got closer to home I practiced cornering in an empty parking lot. Amazing how well I do when I can actually SEE the exit point!

I've read the posts on cornering - choosing a line (outside, inside, outside, or reverse), but I'm having a tough time figuring out how that applies when one is on multi-use trail with foot/cyclist/skateboard/rollerblade traffic flowing in both directions. Maybe I just need to stay off the trail until summer's over . . .