Caused an accident this weekend on a club ride!!!

[FreshNewbie]

This weekend I went for a club ride again with a local bike club. The ride was 30 miles and it was going awsome and smooth. At about 18 miles we decided to make a stop for breakfast. To get to the bagel places we were supposed to wait at the stop sign then turn left and immediate right. There was 7 of us on the ride. Everybody took off and started turning left, and then immediate right. The road was horrible and there were pot holes everywhere and sand patches. So some people were having a struggle handling their bikes. Before it was my turn to turn to the right i see this guy in front of me turning left instead of right because of the all the confusion going on in front of us so i had to turn to the left too because if i turned right i would most likely tipped someones wheel. So i follow him ( stupid me- i needed to stop at that instant) to the left, he starts to have a problem with handling his bike and unintentionally cut him off :-( and there he goes, he tips my rear wheel and down we go. Of course he had to be around 70 years old, and when i see him sitting on the ground my heart just jumps out because i felt so horrible. And then he starts blaming me, and that just makes me feel even worse In about few minutes he got up and we went to get bagels, after that he was fine, he even talked to me. People who saw what happened told me its not my fault, but i sort of feel like it is, i should have stopped. But then he should have not confused me and start turning left... Well i guess accidents like that are always possible on the club ride. We finished the ride and it was great, i still feel good about just feel bad for the poor man.

[Melody]

Fresh, I'm sorry you had the accident. They unfortunately happen and it sounded like that corner was particularly tricky. I know if I see something difficult like that I try to make a little more room in the event something happens so I have time to react to it.

In these situations no one is really ultimately at fault but instead it's a culmination of minor mistakes that together cause the fall. Don't beat yourself up because of it. Instead, think of what you can do in the future to help prevent them from happening in the event something outside of your control occurs.

Keep riding.

Mel

[FreshNewbie]

thank you so much Melody! I will definately be more careful when riding in a group. The turn was very tricky, plus the road condition did not help either. Oh, well it was too unfortunate the man was in his 70's makes it only that much hard to see someone fall/

[Nanci]

I'm sorry...I had my first almost crash today, too, but luckily I saw it coming, and had my left foot unclipped, so when the guy bashed into my right shoulder, I was ready for him, and neither of us went down.

I think maillotpois' practice racing/crashing classes are a good idea...

Nancib

[doc]

Everybody makes mistakes. Don't worry about it. Especially if it all ended well. I was once near the front of a large group going 17-20 mph when I dropped my water bottle. I heard alot of the riders behind me hit it, and of course were weaving and dodging and everything else. No one fell (a very experienced group of riders). They made fun of me for a while (well deserved) and all was forgotten. Except by me. I will never make that mistake again.

I'll make a new and different mistake next time!

[FreshNewbie]

I am so glad that even on sunday night there are people who are ready to hear my whining and cheer me up Thank you everyone!!! It makes a difference to read your comments.

[susanm8048]

That reminds me of my first group ride.

There were only about 5 or 6 of us: a few experienced and a few newbies.

We had ridden for a while and then were just cruising and chatting in groups of 2, stretched out quite a bit. I was having a drink, and went to put my waterbottle back and then I heard a CRASH behind me.

One of the other newbies must have clipped my wheel as I deviated from my line.

The worst thing is that she really injured her knee badly. Last time I heard from a friend of hers she was muttering "MRI" and "knee reconstruction". I haven;t been back to hear the end of the story

I feel sick just thinking about.

The moral of the story: don't ever come riding with me!!

[KSH]

That reminds me of my first group ride.

There were only about 5 or 6 of us: a few experienced and a few newbies.

We had ridden for a while and then were just cruising and chatting in groups of 2, stretched out quite a bit. I was having a drink, and went to put my waterbottle back and then I heard a CRASH behind me.

One of the other newbies must have clipped my wheel as I deviated from my line.

The worst thing is that she really injured her knee badly. Last time I heard from a friend of hers she was muttering "MRI" and "knee reconstruction". I haven;t been back to hear the end of the story

I feel sick just thinking about.

The moral of the story: don't ever come riding with me!!

It sounds like her front wheel was overlapping your back wheel... and when you didn't keep your line... well, down she went.

Honestly, that's her fault. If that is what happened. This is why we are taught when we ride in groups to NEVER overlap wheels.

It sucks that she got hurt so badly though. I fear something like this happening, and I always end up at the back of the pack in a group ride, so I can avoid stuff like that.

[KSH]

And then he starts blaming me, and that just makes me feel even worse In about few minutes he got up and we went to get bagels, after that he was fine, he even talked to me. People who saw what happened told me its not my fault, but i sort of feel like it is, i should have stopped. But then he should have not confused me and start turning left... Well i guess accidents like that are always possible on the club ride. We finished the ride and it was great, i still feel good about just feel bad for the poor man.

Well, thank goodness he was OK!

And... he is 70... so yea... he's grumpy.

Happy to hear you were both fine and well.

[Jo-n-NY]

I am so sorry to hear about your crash on your ride. But, no one got hurt thank goodness and it sounds like even the bikes were ok.

That is the one thing that scares me about riding with a club or group of riders. To me it also did not sound like it was your fault. It was a confusing situation.

I am sure future rides will be better. It is hard to anticipate what other riders will do.

~ JoAnn

[susanm8048]

Thanks KSH.

It was probably a combination of inexperienced riders both doing the wrong thing. I didn't even realize that she was behind me.

It really taught me that you have to be obsessively predictable, even when you don't think anyone is around.

I have done a lot of solo riding or with a few others, but never in a bunch. I suppose it is a skill and like any other you have to concentrate and practise and hope for the best until you get good at it.

I must confess, I haven't done any group riding since.

[FreshNewbie]

Susan,

In every article i read so far it says that if a person is overlapping your rear wheel its their fault, well not in my case though. But if she was riding so close to you and was overlapping your wheel she should have been more careful.
It's true that riding in group is dangerous at times, but unfortunatelly that's how we learn. And as for me, it was a great lesson

Thanks everyone for replies!

[Nanci]

Maybe people would be more careful about overlapping wheels if they all knew THEY were going to be the one to fall!

Nanci

[Geonz]

SHe might *not* have been overlapping until that deviation from the line (especially if going for the bottle meant slowing down a tad). OUr guys always tell us "if you're the one behind, you're the one going to go down - so ride accordingly!"

I have brought the whole line down behind me, including pretty serious injuries (nothing requiring surgery, but people not back on their bikes for a month or two... some of them foregoing group rides/ pacelines for a *long* time). I *had* been happily cruising pretty much by myself, but then we regrouped.
LIttle bit after we started, somehow I was fourth in the group, and we weren't going very fast... and the light came off of the bike in front of me. It wasn't even actually near me... but objects in flight caused me to flick that brake with my left hand. Metal on metal, curses and scrapes, and about fifteen bikes all over the road. It looked like a battlefield scene from a movie... interestingly, not a single car went by, though some turned at the corner before us so they didn't have to.
This was about six years ago... I've had a couple of sort of close calls since (nudged wheels once, successfully dodged water bottle another time - yea, people drop 'em!) but mainly I consider pacelines an act of extreme intimacy (y'all have seen my drafting story, you know that's true :-)) and don't do it with strangers (well, unless the chemistry is *just* right!) Experience really does go a long way.
The *next* summer, when I was Saturday level 1 ride leader, two people told me on different occasions that they were getting back in to group riding but were nervous... that they'd been in a bad crash the summer before... my crash.