March Rides: In Like a Lion or a Lamb?

[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.

[azfiddle]

My rides have all been commutes. Saturday was taken up with a professional development meeting and Sunday I flew to California and back in one day to attend a funeral for my 94 year old aunt- mainly to connect with family members I had never met before. Crazy and exhausting.

Commuting again today...

[Crankin]

Discouraged. It is 8:45 am and already 54 degrees, but raining, on my day off. It is supposed to clear by 10. I hate riding on wet roads. Later, I have a haircut/color, scheduled at 2. Usually do this later in the day, so I can ride, but I couldn't get in later. Of course, it will be 60 degrees and sunny when I am there. I could ride there, which might end up being 10 miles at the most, and not worth the trouble.
If I go to yoga now, I know I won't ride, so I am going to try a wait and see attitude and get at least a short ride in around 11.

[Geonz]

This morning I was up earlyl... so I went to Mass... then to pick up bagels... and was wondering how I was going to work in riding the extra 20 minutes or so I had. Then I saw hi-viz jackets and .... a drone! (circled in pink) I was greeted because I'm on the Bike/Ped Advisory Commission and the one guy had presented to us about this huge major big deal construction project that will take this stretch of road and make it so it can actually handle buses. This pic is of very recently re-done concrete; this whole stretch gets patched up and then broken apart by the buses so parts of it have oh, inch-deep gaps where concrete breaks apart at the cracks... The drone is getting data for the construction planning (so it'll include me ) ...

As I decided to turn around because ... I couldn't take a picture because I didn't have my phone and ... it would take about 20 minutes to go back and get it... I saw the drone come crashing to the ground. I wondered whether their day was pretty much ruined.

On the return trip I got this picture -- they say they're pretty good at fixing the thing