Crash

This morning on the Sunday group ride that I typically join, a rider crashed. I have been on my road bike for well over 3000 mile this year and witness one accident where the rider fell down and got back on after adjusting her brakes and this accident.

A group of about twenty of us were riding down Jenks Road in a double pace line approaching an intersection about two miles into the ride. This group typically averages 18-19.5 mpg and the group was still taking it easy -- averaging 15 mph. The light was coming through the trees and we got to a small downhill section where we moved from light to shadow. Right at this point, the road had some wide cracks in in. The rider apparently lifted her hand off the handle bars to point out the hole in the road and hit the pothole just wrong. She went flying, apparently landing on her right shoulder/arm.

From where I was in the group, about two-thirds of the way back toward the center of the road, I saw riders scrambling here and there. No cars were within sight and I steered toward the yellow line. I heard someone moaning in pain behind me.

The group gathered around the downed rider. She was crumbled on the ground. It was determined that we did not have to call for an emergency vehicle and one of the group leaders went back to the start to get his car and came back for her. Two guys worked on her bike and determined that it was not very ride-able even if she wanted to get back on (she didn't). She sat up and pulled down her arm warmer and looked at her injured arm. It had scratches. Someone joked that she as a crash test dummy for Giro and mentioned the helmet company's crash replacement program. She smiled. The "support vehicle" came for her and her broken bike was loaded onto the car while she was helped inside.

We finished the ride but that was a scary start. In all of the miles that I've ridden, this is the first serious accident that I witnessed.