UPDATE: Change in location for Cinderella Training Ride #2

[bikerz]

The roads were wet, but not extremely slick - the manhole covers, painted lines, etc were slippery - we had been warned about them, and we were very cautious. We were riding with a large group of riders, many of whom it seemed were not really experienced in pointing out hazards, not calling out when stopping (too busy chatting!), not riding well to the right, not making the appropriate decisions about when it was ok to ride 2 abreast, and when single file was better. (This is all my opinion - I'm not an experienced rider - only one year really, but I think I'm pretty cautious).

Francie and I were both a little uncomfortable in a group like this, and by this point in the ride (27 miles into the full 30), we had gotten pretty good at positioning ourselves in front of riders we thought were a little unpredictable, and behind riders we thought signalled well. I would say we were riding in a very defensive mode, more so than when it's just us riding (we ride together at least once or twice a week in general).

When Francie went down, we were spread out from each other and the group -we were about a block's distance behind the larger group ahead of us, and I was about 20-30 feet behind Francie. I'd say the riders behind me were at least that far behind me, if not farther. So we were not in a pack or anything like that. As for speed - I haven't uploaded my ride data yet, but I'd be surprised if we were going much, if any, faster than 15 mph. The section of road was well-paved with a wide bike lane, with these dratted manhole covers every 50 or so yards.

Francie had just pointed out the umpteenth manhole cover to me with her right hand and was moving to the left to go around it on the outside. I was pointing it out to the person behind me (although I don't think anyone was near enough for it to make a difference) and was planning on going around it on the inside. It seemed to me she was well around it - I had no sense that she wasn't going to clear it when she suddenly went down - I mean it was instant - no wobble, no tumble or slide - just straight down on her right side. I managed not to hit her (amazingly) and got stopped and off my bike about 20 feet past her and ran back - her feet were still near her pedals but not clipped in (she uses half-toe cages, not clips), and she wasn't moving.

All I can think happened was her tire caught the smooth outer rim of the cover - she was almost around it but not quite, perhaps. Maybe she still only had one hand on the handlebars from signaling? I can't remember. Maybe she realized she wasn't quite around it, and turned her tire just a little too sharply to clear it at the last second? I really don't know. It's strange - we saw the hazard, we signalled it, we were avoiding it, we weren't riding too fast, or too close, or reckessly in any way. It was near the end of the ride, but it hadn't been a really hard ride, and we were not particularly fatigued. Maybe just one of those things...

Here's are some questions I have from that experience after thinking about it for a few days -

- Francie did have ID and insurance info - I knew she had it but I didn't know where it was - it turns out it was in her jersey pocket, under her jacket - there was no way we were going to get her jacket off and go though her pockets given her injuries - so what's the best place to keep that stuff? You're supposed to keep ID on your person, not the bike, because you might be separated from the bike. Even if she had a road ID around her neck, like I do, it would be hard if not impossible to get at it without moving her. (Since I was there and relatively coherent, I could provide all that info to the emergency people there, but it might not have been that way.) It's almost like you need to tell your buddy where your ID is (and hope your buddy is near you if there is an accident - what if I had dropped way back, or worse, gone up ahead, and not been nearby - there was no one else on the ride who even knew Francie's name.

- Signalling hazards - as I mentioned, were were pretty religious about signalling hazards out with our hands - but I few times I've noticed this myself - I often find myself signalling the hazard with one hand as I'm passing though or very near it - and there I am - one hand off the bars, the other waving around (not wildly, but you know what I mean) - right when I really should have both hands on the bars. And, if I ride the distance behind other riders that I am comfortable, I almost always see the hazard before they even signal it.

- distance between riders - as I said this was a large group, and I haven't done too many rides like that - I tried to keep myself a good distance behind people, and keep a steady pace, with an eye on my cadence and speed to do so. But I would suddenly find myself well up on someone - maybe my speed was not as constant as I thought, or theirs wasn't constant - but it would be hard to slow up without feeling like I was backing into the riders behind me. I know I need more experience riding in a groups of strangers since that's what the AIDS Lifecycle ride will be like, but I found it difficult.

Any of you more experienced riders have any thoughts on these questions?