Close call yesterday....

[mwaldhopkins]

So- I've been riding for a long time now and every year I have a close call or two... sketchy guy clossing wheels, rocks in the road, long tire eating gaps in the pavement, getting buzzed bt RVs, etc. Riding 6 days a week for 9 months out of the year one expects these incidents. But yesterday I just about crapped my pants on a ride and thank whatever entity keeping the universe in order that I'm breathing today.

I cruised up the local ski hill here in Los Alamos, NM just to get a little more time on the bike after work. It's a couple thousand foot steep and twisty climb to the top. It was recently paved (previously, speed checks were absolutely required- less so now) which is likely one of the reasons for my close-call on the way down. I like speed and I like going down hill aggressively. That said, I'm also pretty safe about how I do things. That what I thought at least... I'm reconsidering that notion. On the way down while cruising around a corner at 40 something I come across a mini-van in the middle of the road coming at me fast. I jammed on the brakes hard and did a rear-wheel skid through the corner, while the driver cranked hard right. I narrowly avoided his grill and skirted by. An 80mph combined impact of flesh and bone on metal would have been ugly. I couldn't stop shaking for half an hour and spent much of the evening petting Trish's growing belly with my boy inside.

That was scary! Be safe (and smart(er) than me) out there!

[dougblue]

Thanks for the reminder. I guess it can happen at any time, when your numbers up. We just had two girls nearly wasted here in upstate New York, when an intoxicated, text-messaging driver plowed them down. Both are in "guarded condition" as of this AM.

[Ahneida Ride]

Please ... ride a bit slower. You are a daddy now.

I'm so glad you are fine.

[Ahneida Ride]

Thanks for the reminder. I guess it can happen at any time, when your numbers up. We just had two girls nearly wasted here in upstate New York, when an intoxicated, text-messaging driver plowed them down. Both are in "guarded condition" as of this AM.

Can you post a link. Actually better not. I attened all the Court meeting
in the David Rayn murder. The whole system is very depressing.

[OperaLover]

Please ... ride a bit slower. You are a daddy now.

I'm so glad you are fine.

My last wreck was when my oldest son was just 8 months old. My wife got a call from my cell phone by a stranger to inform her that I had an accident, as we waited for the ambulance. Not a call your wife wants to get with a new baby or pregnant. Be safe and thank your guardian angel.

[Louis]

Good to hear that you had a happy ending.

Fast, blind downhill turns are always tricky. I've seen some folks go past the main center line on those and I always cringe. You never know what's coming around the corner. I try to not go past the center of my lane, but sometimes on an unfamilar road the turns tighten up faster than you expect.

[palincss]

Good to hear that you had a happy ending.

Fast, blind downhill turns are always tricky. I've seen some folks go past the main center line on those and I always cringe. You never know what's coming around the corner. I try to not go past the center of my lane, but sometimes on an unfamilar road the turns tighten up faster than you expect.

Earlier this summer I went on a bicycle ride that crossed Edinburg Gap (Edinburg, VA to Kings Cross, at the Fort Valley Rd juncture). As I was crossing, an accident brought two emergency vehicles and closed the road for around a half hour. (Ever get passed by two ambulances when you're grinding your way up the side of a mountain? I had no idea just how loud the siren on an ambulance can be when it's a car length behind you.)

A motorcycle coming from the direction of Fort Valley Rd. ran wide on a tight right turn just over the crest of the mountain, crossing the double line, and hit the back wheel of a horse trailer coming in the opposite direction. It bounced off the tire and shot across the road to the right, slamming into the side of the mountain. According to the driver of the horse vehicle, "...that didn't do him much good, either."

The motorcycle rider was lucky: he only broke his foot. The bike must have taken most of the impact. Had it been a bicycle, I doubt the rider would have survived.

[Birddog]

I cruised up the local ski hill here in Los Alamos, NM just to get a little more time on the bike after work.


Hmmmm, what are the odds that you carry a PHD behind your name? When your sphincter gets as tight as a knot in a wet cotton rope, it's a sign. Congrats on the upcoming event.

Birddog

[mwaldhopkins]

I'm one of the dumb ones around here without a PhD.

I do; however, have a sense of humor and can carry on a conversation which might be a stretch for many folk in town!

[Birddog]

I do; however, have a sense of humor and can carry on a conversation which might be a stretch for many folk in town!

Too much truth in that statement. You probably know a guy I know that rides there. He's a lunchtimer though, as he lives near Taos. Are you riding in the upcoming Enchanted Circle Century?

Birddog

[mwaldhopkins]

Enchanted Circle a beautiful ride, but the state RR is the next day so I'm not going to do it this year. I know most of the regular riders/racers around here, so chances are I know your friend.

[Steevo]

The most important aspect of any ride is to return home when its over.