Touching Tarmac (or, The Price We Pay)

Yesterday was New Year's Day, ad therefore time for the annual new years ride from The Bike Store in Warner Robins. This was my second year braving the cold temps to take the road bike out with the group. The ride usually draws a good number of people that don't normally ride with the organized groups, and this year was no exception. We had a GREAT turn out, almost 50 riders. There were a lot of new faces, which is exactly what we need.
We had made it about 10 miles out when I had a little...incident. I was hanging at the very back of the pack to keep an eye out for one of our regulars who was having an off day and had fallen a ways back. I felt good and was having a good day, riding mid pack until we took an unexplained lap around a shopping center where I ended up at the back. On the next hill, our guy (we'll call him Roger) started to fall back, so I stayed on the back so he'd have a friendly face nearby. We had turned onto Hwy 96, one of the busiest roads on the ride, and I was riding the white line and drafting behind the next rider to miss some of the cold wind. With no warning, several people ahead of me braked, and the guy directly in front of me (who we'll call Bob) had to lock up his brakes, actually hitting the next rider up. I had no time to react and grabbed a big handfull of brake just as I connected with his back wheel. Looking back, I think he dodged right as I dodged right, sweeping my front wheel. This resulted in a godawful faceplant on the blacktop at around 14 mph. The actual mechanics are only speculation, but the result was fact. It rung my chimes hard.
I immediately got up and started checking for broken bones. The first thing I noticed was that my sunglasses were skewed horribly. I was bummed, thinking I broke my shades, until I felt my face and realized they were skewed because my cheek was swollen to ridiculous size. Then I was scared. I apparently took the brunt of the hit on my left cheekbone and helmet. Luckily, I didn't break anything(like my skull or part thereof), though I'm not sure how I avoided it. Drink your milk, kiddies, calcium is good for you.
A quick shakedown revealed no broken bones or gaping wounds, just some hardcore bumps and scrapes. A slightly sprained wrist and a case of full body whiplash. The bike was a little less lucky, breaking the left shift lever, shredding the bar tape and bending the handlebar drop slightly.
Bob was nice enough to wait with me while another friend rode back to the store and truck-flighted me back to my car. If the broken lever hadn't left me with out front brakes, I probably would have tried to ride back to the store. It would have been painful, but I probably could have made it if the bike was okay.

Hell of a way to start the new year, but I've had worse.







So, since this was my first time "touching the floor" as the pros say, what have I learned?

1. Don't draft behind people who are not intimately familiar with close pack riding.
The group directly in front of me was fairly inexperienced with group riding. There was no reason for anyone to stop that quickly on flat road without cross streets or stop signs, BUT.... I KNEW they were inexperienced and I NEVER should have been that close. I may have been distracted, or glanced back at Roger, I don't remember, but I should have been further back than I was. Building the skills for riding calmly and safely in close proximity takes a lot of time, and I should have given them the room to learn. Besides that, even in pro groups, sometimes bad things happen for no reason. That's why they're called accidents.

2. Pavement hurts a hell of a lot worse than dirt.
Maybe it's the speed you travel on the road bike that makes it hurt, but I think the hard surface takes most of the blame. The last time I looked at my speedometer, we were cruising a just over 16 mph. If I braked at all, I probably hit the ground going about 13-14mph. I have no concept of how bad the pros hurt when they go down at 35-40.

3. All the gear we ride with is there for a reason.
If I hadn't had on a helmet, I would probably by drinking soup through a straw and getting sponge baths. With a good helmet, I don't even have a concussion (at least, I'm pretty sure I don't.) The helmet is cracked, but after a hit like that, I'd replace it even with no visible damage. The winter tights I had on are shredded a little, but saved me several square inches of skin, I'm sure. The leather palms of my gloves are rashed pretty good, but not torn through. If I hadn't been wearing them, ouch. Gear is expensive, but I will remind myself it's cheaper than a hospital.

4.Everything has a price.
Falling hurts, and it can permanently damage you. Riding on the road is dangerous. Riding on trails is dangerous. Every time one of us gets on a bike, we need to be aware that we are VOLUNTARILY risking injury, maybe death. That's the way it works. Will it keep me from riding? Hell no. If you want to be safe, sit your fat arse on the couch and lift nothing heavier than the remote. I'll take the risk. Pain is temporary.