This past Saturday we had a brilliant ride to Panera and points beyond. The pace up the bunny trail was a steady 28 mph for those that could hang on...I got caught out in the back of the surge and, although the line was always in sight, I could not catch back up. However, there was a soft tailwind and I had a terrific ride up the trail on my own and felt great.
After that effort, no one was in any hurry to leave our comfy quarters at Panera in Lake Bluff....but eventually we did and Felix led us on the St Marys/O'Plaine/Atkinson/Waukegan etc loop that goes by the forest preserve. Passing the silver lakes with the leaves drifting down in the sunshine as we paced along was fantastic.
I have new keywin pedals and discovered that they stiffen up in the cold and don't want to let me unclip....I was sure this would happen and I would have the inevitable tip-over - my plan was to stay close to Big Bob so I could lean on him instead of the pavement, but luckily I was able to get out every time -- also good time to practice the track stand.
But now I come to the real reason for this blog post. As we were returning Cliff slowed down and, when we turned to get onto Green Bay he stayed out of view. We waited for him and called his phone but he didn't show up or answer (did not hear the phone) so we assumed (correctly) that he didn't see us turn and went a different way. Because we know he can fix a flat (!!!) and knows his way home we weren't worried and decided to continue home. There was a plan for Cliff (and anyone else inclined) to stop at my house for wine on the way home and, sure enough Cliff turned up after awhile.
Cliff is on heart medication and it turns out that his heart rate went way up past where it should be with the medication. He slowed down to 12 mph (so of course he got left way behind) and still could not get his rate to a safe place until he actually got to my house. This was a potentially threatening situation -- the VF rides generally don't have a sweep since all are experienced riders, but I think we should all consider if there is some way to lower the chance of this kind of thing (or an accident, for example) happening again and without the rest of our knowledge.
Cliff and I drank a whole bottle of a very good German pinot noir in the sunshine at my picnic table and all ended well with no harm done and it was another great day on the bike.
Comments/ideas welcome
I think that we should use a buddy system where, whoever is bringing up the rear, the last two riders in the group do a variant of the sweep. I also think that if this is a no drop ride we do not drop. i.e. if there is a gap opening.. we yell "GAP" and slow.
ReplyDeleteIf it is a drop ride we initiate the buddy system, i.e. one fast rider stays with whoever is not able to keep up. It's no big deal to slow down a bit and make sure we're all OK. (Since I'm not an experienced veteran of these types of rides, my opinion may be wrong so this is also my disclaimer.) Thoughts?
Thanks, Randy
I think that despite the EBC Fast and Very Fast rides being "Drop" rides ("non-non-drop"), we should always comminicate with rider(s) who drop back and make sure there is no medical or mechanical reason behind it. If it is simply too fast of a pace we should agree on the route and make plan for re-grouping point down the road.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea Cliff was having heart rate problem, I just assumed that he continued ahead on St. John to Sheridan Rd. instead of turning towards Green Bay Rd. Since our rides are not really well organized with dedicated leader and sweep, we all should keep an eye on what is going on behind each one and pass the information about potential trouble forward. Also if any one is having a problem, they should comminicate it immediatelly to the rider in front of them before a big gap has opened up.
It will be a work in progress, but we can make it work so we can all have fun and be safe.
This is a good lesson for us as a group...in hindsight it would seem unusual for Cliff to drop back.
ReplyDeleteYes, we should try to watch out for each other in addition to having fun.
We too have a similar problem, one involving an accident with a rider after he could not stay with us and another with a similar medical problem that no one was aware of. Sooooo, I came up with the idea that we all share our cell phone numbers into our group and keep our phones on while riding. Our numbers are grouped by AZ BK/Phil Procida, AZ BK/etc.etc. We have a new policy that no one rides alone and the idea is if a rider cannot keep up and drops off the person directly in front of him will drop back and stay with him while also letting someone else know either by phone or visual contact that they are dropping back. I have already got a couple of compliments on this arrangement. We are testing the concept and hope it works.
ReplyDeletePhil Procida
I knew there was a reason why I like Martin, but despite his perception it would be common for me to get dropped and that's okay it's a drop ride and I informed everyone that I would hang as long as I could (and quite frankly I hung longer than I thought I could, thank you Bob). Trust me if I thought I was in any serious danger I would of stopped and had been calling everyone in the world so I hope this one incident will not cause this group to make radical changes in the way you ride. I like the fact that these rides are a drop ride as it helps prevent slower riders from dragging down the group thus dampening everyone's enjoyment. My advice would be to make sure you carry a charged cell phone (and perhaps maybe even one you can hear)with at least two ICE numbers. Additionally, it probably makes sense to carry a buddy's phone number so if you do need help or are lost or whatever it would be your responsibility to leave a message that you need help or let the others know to go on without you. Otherwise, I think no news is good news.
ReplyDeleteSorry I missed the ride on Saturday. John Chisholm and I had a good Panera to Panera ride on Sunday. We got hit with some nasty wind gusts on the way back, but we were able to plow through the wind at a pretty good pace.
ReplyDeleteGlad everything worked out ok.I was on a ride with Neil early this year and had to drop back and actually get off the bike 3 or 4 times from over heating and massive cramps. I slowed to a crawl and made it home fine. I listened to my body and did not push beyond a snail's pace. Embarassing as that was sitting on the side of the road.I should have called for an air-conditioned limo to take me home but my pride wouldn't let me.>>>>Dave Reesh
ReplyDeleteHeidi,
ReplyDeleteWell there was wine at the end of the ride so it ended very well. What you've illustrated is the tension in any fast ride group. You're likely not going to participate unless you are on the ride to get the most out of the experience and the most out of your body.
On most fast rides if someone falls off the back of the group they're gone. EBC isn't like that and groups tend to look out for each other even though our rules allow dropping in Fast and VF rides. The cellphone idea is great, but I've had it fail when leading and when going off the back. Sometimes the ring just isn't heard. A sweep is nice, but as Cliff points out it means a slower rider gets to drag down someone else who may be having a good day.
For a casual, moderate or long Fast ride keeping the group together is a justifiable priority of the leader(s).
For regular Fast or VF rides an individual's expectation must be that they are responsible for keeping up. Of course if an accident happens the group stops and does what needs doing. And personal dynamics being what they are it would be unusual for help to be withheld from an obviously ailing rider.
We're all experienced riders on familiar roads. We all have ridden solo many times and going off the back is just another chance to ride alone again.
The case of a rider having a serious medical event alone on a ride is really pretty rare, well except for crashes and usually the others riders are around for that. But the worry is legitimate.
That you and Cliff polished off a nice bottle of wine, well maybe he wanted to be last to whittle down the number of drinking partners?
Ben