We had one on our ride Thurs. evening. Bad one too, three riders involved. What's worse, is that one of the riders wasn't even riding w/ the other two. Also, it happened ~50 yds from the entrance to the parking lot where we all park, at the end of the ride!
The way I understand it, rider X, was riding by himself, to the right of the road. He was finishing up a 25 mile "B" ride. Riders Y and Z, were finishing up a 36 mile A ride, and were apparently sprinting back to the parking lot (very slight downhill leading to the lot entrance). Apparently, riders Y and Z were pretty close to each other, w/ one of them slightly ahead. As the rider in front (let's say it was Y) went to move over to pass rider X, he came in contact w/ rider Z's front wheel. Both rider Y and rider Z were out of the saddle sprinting, probably @ 30+ mph. Rider X was probably somewhere between 15 and 17 mph. Rider's Y and Z go down hard, right in front of rider X. Rider X has no where to go, and ends up doing an endo over either rider Y or rider Z.
Rider X ends up w/ major road rash up his right side, and a tweaked bike. Riders Y and Z both go to the hospital on back boards.
This is an evening club ride!!! That parking lot (which serves a park) is full of people. Many are casual riders, many are runners, many are people playing softball, many are parents there w/ their kids. There's no reason in hell for two guys to be sprinting back to the lot @ 30+ mph in an area that's that crowded.
I hope everyone is ok, but if I were rider X, I'd seriously consider suing rider's Y and Z. They're not on the same ride together, and the club has guidelines about announcing yourself when you're passing a slower rider. Pretty sure no one called out 'on your left'. To me, it's no different than someone that's driving a car irresponsibly that causes an accident.
UPDATE:
Turns out that one of the "A" riders is still in the hospital w/ a broken collar bone, several broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and 'significant' road rash. I ride w/ Morris Area Freewheelers, and the injured rider in question is Tom Talbot. If anyone knows him, keep a good thought for him!
The way I understand it, rider X, was riding by himself, to the right of the road. He was finishing up a 25 mile "B" ride. Riders Y and Z, were finishing up a 36 mile A ride, and were apparently sprinting back to the parking lot (very slight downhill leading to the lot entrance). Apparently, riders Y and Z were pretty close to each other, w/ one of them slightly ahead. As the rider in front (let's say it was Y) went to move over to pass rider X, he came in contact w/ rider Z's front wheel. Both rider Y and rider Z were out of the saddle sprinting, probably @ 30+ mph. Rider X was probably somewhere between 15 and 17 mph. Rider's Y and Z go down hard, right in front of rider X. Rider X has no where to go, and ends up doing an endo over either rider Y or rider Z.
Rider X ends up w/ major road rash up his right side, and a tweaked bike. Riders Y and Z both go to the hospital on back boards.
This is an evening club ride!!! That parking lot (which serves a park) is full of people. Many are casual riders, many are runners, many are people playing softball, many are parents there w/ their kids. There's no reason in hell for two guys to be sprinting back to the lot @ 30+ mph in an area that's that crowded.
I hope everyone is ok, but if I were rider X, I'd seriously consider suing rider's Y and Z. They're not on the same ride together, and the club has guidelines about announcing yourself when you're passing a slower rider. Pretty sure no one called out 'on your left'. To me, it's no different than someone that's driving a car irresponsibly that causes an accident.
UPDATE:
Turns out that one of the "A" riders is still in the hospital w/ a broken collar bone, several broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and 'significant' road rash. I ride w/ Morris Area Freewheelers, and the injured rider in question is Tom Talbot. If anyone knows him, keep a good thought for him!
