March Rides: In Like a Lion or a Lamb?

[north woods gal]

Back to riding snow pack out on the roads, but the fresh 2" of snow that caused it is fun to ride, back on my frozen trails where it hasn't been packed. Not a lot of miles, but fun on this blustery, still very much winter, day.

Just saw that we had the second warmest February on record. My best February for miles since my commuting days while in Chicago, mostly because for two February months, there, my bike was my only means of transportation.

[ny biker]

Agree on both counts, Emily -- if I have to ride on a windy day, I try to get the headwind over with in the beginning and maximize the tailwind at the end. And I don't like riding on windy days...

[Crankin]

So, last Thursday we had a weather alert for high winds, up to 65 mph. A man got killed when a tree fell on his moving car, about 30 miles from here. Several clients told me they could barely keep their cars on the road while driving to see me.
So, yesterday I got an email from the invite-only group of cyclists I rode with once. I stay on the list because occasionally I learn some news I wouldn't elsewhere. Most of these people ride with my Wednesday group and I occasionally see one on an AMC ride. A bunch of them also ride with another group, based right in my area, which has a similar, slightly slower type of group like my Wednesday group on Thursdays. Six people came for a ride in those windy conditions. Three ditched it quite quickly. The other 3 went on, when one of the men apparently ran over a twig that got caught in his spoke, which was just part of all the debris in the road from the wind. He did an endo on the road. He needed a spinal fusion in 2 vertebra and a few other cervical things. He fractured a couple of ribs. While he is recovering nicely, he still has not regained all feeling in one of his legs (he had none in the beginning). I know this man in a casual way; he is very friendly and a good ride leader. All I can think of was what was the ride leader thinking when he didn't cancel this ride? There were serious weather alerts being issued. This is why I lead for AMC, where risk assessment is emphasized in the training. It comes from the hiking part of the club, but I am very happy for this. Yes, there's been a couple of times I cancelled and could have gone, but overall, I feel responsible for safety. I know the leader of the ride; he's a strange dude who often rides alongside of me and then gets mad when I drop him on a hill. He seems to ride all of the time, so he's now a little better rider than me, but I've spent a lot of time talking to him.
I just feel really badly for the guy who got hurt, all because of wind.

[north woods gal]

So sorry to hear about anyone who gets hurt while biking, but especially that one. Have done an endo, only once, but fortunately no injuries because it was a case of the front wheel burying itself in soft sand at the bottom of a hill and I was too far forward in my stance. Landed in a pile of sand, so no harm done. That one I could have avoided, though. Totally my fault. Absolutely frightening, though.

Speaking of endos. Read the report, this morning, about the mountain biker that got killed by the grizzly, last year. It was not a case of the bear attacking, as such. The guy was racing to beat his best time, came down a hill at an estimated 20-25 mph, came around a blind curve and actually collided a grizzly that just happened to be on the trail. Did an endo either into the bear or over it, broke both wrists trying to stop his fall, plus one shoulder blade. His companion, traveling behind him, heard the collision and the bear make a noise that sounded like it was hurt. Neither he or his companion, had bear spray or a gun. His companion went for help. The guy was dead when help arrived. His helmet had puncture marks from the bears teeth. By examine DNA from some of the bear hair at the scene, authorities found that the bear had been collared, once, but had no history of attacking humans and had not tried to eat the corpse, so the hunt was called off.

The article also cited other studies that show that mountain bikers have a higher rate of bear encounters than hikers, probably as a result of their faster speed and lack of noise on the trail. Trust me, this article hit home, because I bike in bear country, black bear country, not grizzly, but I can see it happening on some of our local trails which are very hilly and twisty. Not that I would ever do 20 mph on a trail, but I still worry about biking, alone. For sure, I will make it a habit of making more noise, at least. My two Norco fat bikes actually came with a bell, which I thought was cute, but worthless, but now I think I will be adding one to all my trail bikes.

[ny biker]

So, last Thursday we had a weather alert for high winds, up to 65 mph. A man got killed when a tree fell on his moving car, about 30 miles from here. Several clients told me they could barely keep their cars on the road while driving to see me.
So, yesterday I got an email from the invite-only group of cyclists I rode with once. I stay on the list because occasionally I learn some news I wouldn't elsewhere. Most of these people ride with my Wednesday group and I occasionally see one on an AMC ride. A bunch of them also ride with another group, based right in my area, which has a similar, slightly slower type of group like my Wednesday group on Thursdays. Six people came for a ride in those windy conditions. Three ditched it quite quickly. The other 3 went on, when one of the men apparently ran over a twig that got caught in his spoke, which was just part of all the debris in the road from the wind. He did an endo on the road. He needed a spinal fusion in 2 vertebra and a few other cervical things. He fractured a couple of ribs. While he is recovering nicely, he still has not regained all feeling in one of his legs (he had none in the beginning). I know this man in a casual way; he is very friendly and a good ride leader. All I can think of was what was the ride leader thinking when he didn't cancel this ride? There were serious weather alerts being issued. This is why I lead for AMC, where risk assessment is emphasized in the training. It comes from the hiking part of the club, but I am very happy for this. Yes, there's been a couple of times I cancelled and could have gone, but overall, I feel responsible for safety. I know the leader of the ride; he's a strange dude who often rides alongside of me and then gets mad when I drop him on a hill. He seems to ride all of the time, so he's now a little better rider than me, but I've spent a lot of time talking to him.
I just feel really badly for the guy who got hurt, all because of wind.

This is a big thing for me. We have folks in our club who talks about safety a lot but always in the context of motor vehicle collisions. I strongly believe that there are some weather conditions that are not safe for club rides, because by leading the ride you are implying that you consider the conditions to be safe. It's okay if you personally are willing to take the risk, but in that case you should cancel the group ride and ride on your own, rather than leading others who may not fully understand the risk or how to mitigate it. When it's very windy, very hot, there's a risk of thunderstorms, the roads are wet, etc., a ride leader has an obligation to say no, not today.

I hope the injured man recovers well.

North woods, one of my friends once encountered a bear on a road ride in the mountains in SW Virginia. But she was far enough away that she could stop and watch it go back into the woods without incident.

[north woods gal]

N.Y., the two bears that I did see, last summer, were while road biking and were far enough way that they presented no danger. That's one plus for road biking - you can see for a long distance. On the other hand, while mountain biking, this last summer, I didn't see any bears, but on a couple of occasions I did hear a large animal go crashing off into the brush alongside the trail and it did not sound like a deer. This summer, I will be using a bell - a lot.

Speaking of bears, I did take down the bird feeders, this week, and cleaned cup underneath them, as I do every spring before the bears come out.

As for those high winds, we are under a high wind warning today and tomorrow, with gusts over 40 mph. We did a little road riding around the area on the paved roads with our fat bikes, this afternoon, so no issues with getting blown around. Did have a lot of branches and a small tree down on my trails around the house, though.

Yup, spring is on its way.

[emily_in_nc]

That's really sad about the cyclist who did the endo, Crankin. Wind is nothing to mess around with when it gets high enough to cause safety issues. Yesterday there was a lot of debris blowing around on the path, and I did pick up a couple small sticks, but just noisemakers. Still, it does give you pause. My DH doesn't mind riding in wind and thinks I'm wimpy when I complain about it, but after reading your story, I am not going to worry about what he says!

Thanks for the details of the MTBer killed when he collided with a grizzly, NWG. I read about it when it happened, but not to that level of detail. I heard he came upon a grizzly on the trail but not that he was going that fast or collided with the bear. That must have been so terrifying -- for him and probably the bear as well! I remember being freaked out about it because we were traveling towards Montana at the time. It is something that gives you pause when you're riding or hiking in bear country. One of my biggest fears, really. Of course, I am scared of cougars and other wildlife as well. Spending time in North Dakota and Wyoming last summer/fall kind of cured me of much fear of bison, though. They were so tranquil, at least the ones we encountered, but we never approached them. Just had to ride through them on either side of the road occasionally, or watch them walk across our campsite! Was glad to have a motorhome and not a tent.

Rode 36 miles yesterday and 40 today -- my first 40-miler since we've been here in Florida. Windy yesterday, breezy today, but nice -- low humidity. My nose has been running like crazy on rides, though, so I know there is pollen in the air.

[north woods gal]

Emily, fortunately, the odds of an animal attacking you, either when hiking or biking, are very, very remote. I know that, of course, but I still get nervous. Just my nature, I guess. This year, I do plan to take more precautions, such as using a bell to make noise back in the heavy brush. Also have educated myself on recent studies about black bear attacks, specifically, which, believe it or not, are quite different than grizzly attacks.

Enough of the scary stuff. Nice going on the 40 miler. If the wind would die down a bit and we don't get any snow, this week, I might be able to get out and do some road miles on my Warbird 700x40 bike. Roads are dry and clean, right now, but this is March and still a winter month for us, so we typically go back and forth on road conditions. Our resident pair of Canadas are back, though, getting ready to make a nest. Spring is coming.

[Geonz]

So, last Thursday we had a weather alert for high winds, up to 65 mph. A man got killed when a tree fell on his moving car, about 30 miles from here. Several clients told me they could barely keep their cars on the road while driving to see me.
So, yesterday I got an email from the invite-only group of cyclists I rode with once. I stay on the list because occasionally I learn some news I wouldn't elsewhere. Most of these people ride with my Wednesday group and I occasionally see one on an AMC ride. A bunch of them also ride with another group, based right in my area, which has a similar, slightly slower type of group like my Wednesday group on Thursdays. Six people came for a ride in those windy conditions. Three ditched it quite quickly. The other 3 went on, when one of the men apparently ran over a twig that got caught in his spoke, which was just part of all the debris in the road from the wind. He did an endo on the road. He needed a spinal fusion in 2 vertebra and a few other cervical things. He fractured a couple of ribs. While he is recovering nicely, he still has not regained all feeling in one of his legs (he had none in the beginning). I know this man in a casual way; he is very friendly and a good ride leader. All I can think of was what was the ride leader thinking when he didn't cancel this ride? There were serious weather alerts being issued. This is why I lead for AMC, where risk assessment is emphasized in the training. It comes from the hiking part of the club, but I am very happy for this. Yes, there's been a couple of times I cancelled and could have gone, but overall, I feel responsible for safety. I know the leader of the ride; he's a strange dude who often rides alongside of me and then gets mad when I drop him on a hill. He seems to ride all of the time, so he's now a little better rider than me, but I've spent a lot of time talking to him.
I just feel really badly for the guy who got hurt, all because of wind.

The leader sounds like he could use a little training in leadership at several levels I wonder if/hope he learns from this. Hoping for full recovery for the rider!

When I find myself really wanting to ride... in questionable weather... I ask myself how stupid I would feel in the ER for *any* reason, with people saying "why were you out riding in this????" and justified. Now, reading this helps me nudge towards taking the bus if our winds are as predicted and gusting to 45 for the commute home...

[Pax]

Be careful, Sue, I've out behind Meijer in Urbana and it's already gusting big time.

[Crankin]

Sue, the leader is, ah, a bit socially challenged. His whole life is going on group rides, and not in a good way. He shows up in very weird garb, with a bike that is classic, but not maintained. I love old bikes, but his has broken things that look almost dangerous. The groups he leads for (as opposed to the group I lead for) do not provide any training. He looks decidedly unhealthy, in many ways. I know this sounds horrible, but, I don't have a lot of faith in someone who doesn't maintain his/her bike, wears clothing inappropriate for the conditions, and is gasping so loudly on climbs, I have asked more than once if he was OK. I am sure the club he was leading for that day will review this. The president is actually the dad of one of my former students and he is a very upstanding person in the local cycling community.

[emily_in_nc]

Took yesterday off to do chores and errands, but had a nice solo ride today. DH was in the middle of a project so sent me off on my own. I always enjoy my rare solo rides because I do a lot more photo stops than he likes to do. Great bird life along the trail today, a couple of Monarch butterflies, lots of flowers, and I stopped at a park by the lake to check out more birds. I would upload some photos, but our internet cnx is being super slow today, so I am not going to push it.

31 miles in warm (74-82 degree) sunshine with light winds.

[Geonz]

Be careful, Sue, I've out behind Meijer in Urbana and it's already gusting big time.

I got there Can't remember if Wednesday was "okay, if it's any nastier than this tomorrow, I"m on the bus!" or ... the tomorrow part where it was down to 13 by the time I left.

SO today I rode out to work even though it's Saturday because my phone is AWOL. SO Monday a.m. I will send an email to that company I've sent my resume to with my work phone since I forgot to add it to my resume... and figure out getting a new one which is long overdue... because no, I couldn't find it.

Except I'd had to swap bikes because I had topped off the tires on the Transport, then headed to friend's house... then headed back and had a flat tire. Oh, well, I wanted to swap out anyway since the Xtra's an easier ride... but this is two flats in two successive Saturdays and A: I don't get flats! and B: they happend right after topping off the tire, as if inflation had caused the flat ??@?

Oh, and yea, I wanted to swap out bikes so I had tried to get that car thing out of the garage and... nope. No juice. It hasn't been that cold and the thing started right up earlier in the week when I drove it the 20 feet from driveway to garage in case of hail...

So AWOL phone, flat tire, dead car... but it's a "first world problem" and on the weekend so ... found a friend to jump the car (okay, that was actually a little tough because ... the person who would have been my go-to died suddenly in December; that's why I'm at friend's - his wife's - house so much...) ... and I could take my cute credit card and go down and buy a new battery (I adopted this 2008 Avalon car January and don't know its battery history) ... and yes, the Xtracycle is still rolling and I can pay the credit card off right now and actually entertain getting another bicycle since gosh! I was down to one since the 7500 FX had a flat last week and I haven't fixed it yet...

[Pax]

Good lord Sue! Hope you catch a break soon, that sounds exhausting.