gman
04-26-2009, 10:52 AM
I was out on a long ride this morning and about halfway in, I clipped in to take off from a stop and there was a "pop" sound in my pedal. I stopped to check it out and noticed the pedal axle seemed a bit tight and was binding a bit. Note to self was to pull it and check it over when I got back home.
A few miles later, I am descending a long gradual hill that rolls into another climb and at the top of that second climb, I see two dogs off to the side of the road. As I climbed, they stayed on the side and didn't see me coming. As I approached one of them turned and took interest by coming out into the road and barking. I let out a primal scream at the dog just as I stood up to accelerate. Next thing I know I am on the ground sliding on my hip and elbow. I watched the body of my driveside Look PP-396 pedal flying across the road.
I have a bruised hip, a couple of deep abraisions on my elbow/fore arm and muscle soreness in my lower back and hip. I have just done a web-check in with the local Care-Now facility to have it checked out just to be sure. I am awaiting them to call me as I write this.
What is really odd about all this is that over the last couple of days some interesting conversations have transpired between friends at different times.
1. My wife is spinning instructor and she taught yesterday at the grand opening of a new 24-Hour Fitness in Keller, Texas. They had some technical issues with some of the bikes, the worst being that a womans pedal spun off the bike during a sprint.
2. Last night at a neighborhood cookout, we were discussing the above and some stories were told about similar events involving other people having various cleat and pedal failures.
3. Today, as we left for the ride, it was looking like it might rain and my friend said he'd just have his wife bring the truck if we got caught out in a storm and I commented that the reason I keep a rack on one of the cars is so if there is a need, my wife can pick me up. I retold a story of having a mechanical failure a few years back and that was the last time and only time I ever had to do that, but it was an insurance policy that is nice to have.
4. During the ride we talked about how at our ages and with our responsibles we are more aware of the dangers and risks of cycling and that a simple fall could impact your ability to work.
5. When I called my wife, I told my friend that she will have no idea of where we are and I asked him to get a house number off the closest mailbox so she could put into the GPS. As he was doing that, I got her on the phone and I said we were on "Borland Road" (which is nowhere near where we live). She said that oddly enough she knew exactly where it was because for some reason she looked up on her way home from 24-Hour Fitness in Keller (same day as the pedal incident on the spinner bike). She thought at first glance it was her Dad's name, which is Burland.
Very strange that all those discussion topics were relevant to this incident in some way.
The thing that really pissed me off is that I did not follow my own intuition. The way it felt when it was binding gave me cause to think that perhaps the axle was cracked after the "pop" sound I heard. I even said to my friend, "I wonder if my axle is cracked".
Wierd morning altogether, but I will live to ride another day.
Check your bike out before every ride and be careful out there.
A few miles later, I am descending a long gradual hill that rolls into another climb and at the top of that second climb, I see two dogs off to the side of the road. As I climbed, they stayed on the side and didn't see me coming. As I approached one of them turned and took interest by coming out into the road and barking. I let out a primal scream at the dog just as I stood up to accelerate. Next thing I know I am on the ground sliding on my hip and elbow. I watched the body of my driveside Look PP-396 pedal flying across the road.
I have a bruised hip, a couple of deep abraisions on my elbow/fore arm and muscle soreness in my lower back and hip. I have just done a web-check in with the local Care-Now facility to have it checked out just to be sure. I am awaiting them to call me as I write this.
What is really odd about all this is that over the last couple of days some interesting conversations have transpired between friends at different times.
1. My wife is spinning instructor and she taught yesterday at the grand opening of a new 24-Hour Fitness in Keller, Texas. They had some technical issues with some of the bikes, the worst being that a womans pedal spun off the bike during a sprint.
2. Last night at a neighborhood cookout, we were discussing the above and some stories were told about similar events involving other people having various cleat and pedal failures.
3. Today, as we left for the ride, it was looking like it might rain and my friend said he'd just have his wife bring the truck if we got caught out in a storm and I commented that the reason I keep a rack on one of the cars is so if there is a need, my wife can pick me up. I retold a story of having a mechanical failure a few years back and that was the last time and only time I ever had to do that, but it was an insurance policy that is nice to have.
4. During the ride we talked about how at our ages and with our responsibles we are more aware of the dangers and risks of cycling and that a simple fall could impact your ability to work.
5. When I called my wife, I told my friend that she will have no idea of where we are and I asked him to get a house number off the closest mailbox so she could put into the GPS. As he was doing that, I got her on the phone and I said we were on "Borland Road" (which is nowhere near where we live). She said that oddly enough she knew exactly where it was because for some reason she looked up on her way home from 24-Hour Fitness in Keller (same day as the pedal incident on the spinner bike). She thought at first glance it was her Dad's name, which is Burland.
Very strange that all those discussion topics were relevant to this incident in some way.
The thing that really pissed me off is that I did not follow my own intuition. The way it felt when it was binding gave me cause to think that perhaps the axle was cracked after the "pop" sound I heard. I even said to my friend, "I wonder if my axle is cracked".
Wierd morning altogether, but I will live to ride another day.
Check your bike out before every ride and be careful out there.