UPDATE: Change in location for Cinderella Training Ride #2

[tomgrrrl]

I'm going to be there....assuming my alarm goes off

[cindysue]

I'm going to be there....assuming my alarm goes off

bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[slinkedog]

Yep, did my Spinervals yesterday. Looking to get a new one today and do it. May be able to get in a short road ride tomorrow afternoon. We'll see.

[slinkedog]

How was the ride? I hope you guys didn't get rained on. It's been nasty here all day. I'll never trust the weather dude again.

[cindysue]

we had over 50 enthusiastic women show up despite the clouds hanging over our head, the wet ground, and the drizzle that some of us woke up to.

We split into two groups, the 20 mile and the 30 mile group. I led the 20 mile group and Bekki led the 30 mile group. The 20 mile riders (there was only a handful of us) enjoyed each other’s company, chatting and getting to know each other along the way. We took it nice and slow and ended the ride just before the 30 mile riders returned.

[cindysue]

Upon my return from the 20 mile ride, I was very sad to hear of an accident that occurred towards the end of the ride (about mile 27).

One of our fellow TE members (you know her as Helga) was coming up on a manhole cover in the road, saw it, pointed it out to the riders behind her, but underestimated the hazardous situation that a slick metal surface can prove to be.

So, what happened? I wasn’t there and can only tell you what I was told, but here’s what I know:

So, even after recognizing the manhole cover and pointing it out to the riders behind her, Frances rode over the cover, her wheels slipped, and she went down, hitting her head on the road. Thank God for her helmet (which by the way was split down the side!).

The fire truck and ambulance came quickly and transported Frances to the hospital. I joined Frances’s husband and fellow TE member, BikerZ (who was right behind her on the bike) at the hospital.

The short story is Frances is doing fine. She has some serious injuries but nothing that requires surgery at this time. She will stay overnight in the ICU for observation and I (or BikerZ) hope to have an update for everyone sometime tomorrow.

Some lessons learned for the day:

ALWAYS wear a helmet!
Don’t underestimate hazardous situations (red lights, metal surfaces, etc.)
Bring your ID and insurance and keep them in an easy to find location.

By the way, Helga is an experienced rider, rides up to 100 miles per week, and has toured Europe on her bike. The point is everyone is vulnerable to accidents, even the most experienced rider. Please don’t be overly confident. Despite warnings at the beginning of the ride not to run red lights, and to avoid slippery surfaces (manhole covers was explicitly listed), I saw a number or riders run red lights. It’s just not worth it ladies! Please put safety first!

EDIT: see BikerZ's post here: http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=4943

[tomgrrrl]

I'm glad Helga is doing alright....it was very scary to see her surrounded my the firefighters and EMTs....but she was well taken care of by them and her fellow riders, and especially pal Ann.

Good wishes for a speedy recovery!!!

Ellen

[carimail]

I was reading about that accident yesterday and it really made me think. I didn't go on the training ride because i didn't want to drive all that way (I know I'm a wimp) and I've been a little intimidated about riding in a group. So I decided to parallel train and did my own 30 mile route (over by Uvas and Calero Resevoirs). I was often in very remote places with not too many people around and although my roads were nice and dry, anything could have happened and I didn't have ID on me. I'm going to make up some laminated ID cards for me and hubby that have a copy of our medical cards on the back and we can just slip them in our jerseys (hopefully whoever is helping us will look!).
Anyway, my best wishes to Frances for a speedy recovery!!

Cari

[cindysue]

I'm going to make up some laminated ID cards for me and hubby that have a copy of our medical cards on the back and we can just slip them in our jerseys

and don't forget an emergency contact #

[BikeMomma]

So sorry to hear about the accident yesterday... But, from what it sounds, it could have been much worse for her (broken bones, etc) and involved more riders. I guess those are positive ways to look at this.

I totally agree with Cindy. No matter how experienced you are, chances are that something will happen, someday. Maybe you can control the chances, or maybe not, in the case of a rider going down right in front of you. But ~ as Cindy said, those factors that we can control, obeying traffic laws, wearing helmets, and I'll throw in bike maintenance, will lessen the chances that anything will happen at all, or in the least-preferred case, will lessen the chances of serious injury.

Let's not let this incident discourage anyone from participating in the group rides or let it affect your confidence (I agree, though -- you can't be over-confident) or even your love for the sport. Let's just learn from it.

Best wishes to Helga and a hearty thanks to those who helped her (and are still). Hope the Cindy rides are incident-free from here on out. Careful gals!
~BikeMomma