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