Former pro loses arm in Boulder crash

[BumbleBeeDave]

Holy crap . . .

http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/...r-crash_398737

http://303cycling.com/Cyclist-Loses-...Flagstaff-Road

I don't care if he WAS a doper. This is awful and best of luck to him. It sounds like he's lucky to be alive. Has anybody here ridden that road and might provide some insight?

BBD

[ultraman6970]

Wow, hope he can get the arm reattached.

[FlashUNC]

Flat bed truck....ugh....

[mgm777]

I ride Flagstaff frequently. As a civilian(non-Pro) rider, I find the Flagstaff descent to be somewhat technical, with tight hairpin turns and steep grades, in some sections. As such, I typically don't accelerate to very high speeds because of the tight turns and traffic. There is nothing inherently dangerous about the accident location curve. I imagine running into a flat-bed trailer at any speed could result in some serious injuries. There is little to no shoulder on that section, and opposing traffic at that point, can be heavy. Good thoughts and prayers to the rider and his family.

[bicycletricycle]

That is a real crap thing to happen on a ride.

[Blown Reek]

Is it too early to talk about eTap?

[Louis]

I think so.

[pdmtong]

Saw him race - the team was on Parlee.

As bad as this is, the guy in RPV bombing Hawthorne died.

Folks without limbs lead amazing sporting lives let alone regular lives. My wife went to the paralympics in Beijing back in 2008. The stories she told upon return - a lot of those competitors would blow your mind.

Not saying will be easy - just saying should this happen to me I know my life isn't over.

[tiretrax]

Very sad news. I hope he can make a full recovery and have a good life in his new situation. You can never be too careful on a ride. The scenario of round a corner and finding a parked car or a car descending a small rise and coming up on riders (which took the life of a friend and his mates) scares the cr@p out of me.

[gdw]

That sucks. I live at the base of Flagstaff and have climbed and descended that road hundreds of times. I always found the climb to be more dangerous. Judging from the photo the area where the collision took place is one of the faster but safer sections.

[ultraman6970]

In that type of roads, one turn not done right and you get caught by a vehicle going up. He could have died...

[witcombusa]

Over the years I have seen some REALLY stupid stuff done on bicycles on that wonderful piece of road. Groups taking up way to much space riding 2 or 3 across on the climbs giving vehicle traffic no where to go in the hairpin turns which are mainly blind going in.
On the descents, it's even worse. Using the 'racing line' puts them directly into oncoming traffic over the center line. And speeds reached are both amazing and stupid at the same time. (gotta beat that Strava time!).

I do love that road EARLY in the morning before the masses head out for work.
Great way to start the day!

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by Blown Reek

Is it too early to talk about eTap?

???too early for any kind of humor..

[nooneline]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

???too early for any kind of humor..

I'm not sure if that's humor, but I didn't read it as such - I know that eTap, along with other electronic shifting, was discussed with gusto by some paracyclists - some of whom have to get creative with shifter setup in order to accommodate a dominant side. And I know that some people were dismayed to learn that in order to execute a front shift one needed to use both hands - it completely ruled out the groupset for them.

[Keith A]

Originally Posted by nooneline

...And I know that some people were dismayed to learn that in order to execute a front shift one needed to use both hands - it completely ruled out the groupset for them.

I haven't read any info about eTap, but why would it take two hands to shift the front derailleur