Last night was my club's last weekday ride due to declining daylight hours.
We normally have several separate rides, but everyone was happy to have just
one ride and allegedly ride together for a flat, easy 14 miles (!) to sadly
mark the end of summer.
Of course, the fast folks steadily pulled ahead, despite not really pushing
hard, and I stayed back with the stragglers, being woried that I might have to
push them if the pace got too slow and daylight started to fade.
As we came around a corner, I could see a group of our riders stopped ahead,
thanks to our distinctive yellow jerseys, along with several cars with
flashers on. This was clearly not a regroup and not a good sign. We got
there to see a rider down. He was barely conscious, and soon unconscious,
with the heavy, labored breathing that I saw a year or two ago after a
high-speed head on collision between two cyclists.
It wasn't one of our riders; it turned out to be the former president of a
"rival" area club who just coincidentally had overtaken, or been overtaken by,
our riders. He was apparently standing on it, according to several reports,
and snapped something, and went down hard and heavy on his fortunately
helmeted head, right in the middle of our small group. I noticed only slight
road rash on one leg. It took over five minutes to get the paramedics and
fire trucks, despite the station being, I believe, only a few hundred feet
down the intersecting street right where we were. As they were loading the
guy into an ambulance, I insisted my riders take off with me, fast, as roughly
a fifteen minute delay meant night riding was a real possibility. Two riders
with lights, both who knew the victim, stayed behind and were trying to find
a phone number to call his family. We got back in twilight without incident,
although I had to push one lady, with whom I often ride; she was *quite*
shaken by seeing the incident occur directly in front of her.
I am really embarrassed to say that I didn't note the make/model of equipment,
although this was clearly a non-trivial bicycle. The bottom bracket spindle
had snapped at the right crank arm, with the "stub" still in the arm. It
wasn't a perfect smooth cleave. I'm not a metallurgist, and didn't really
know what I might look for to assess the cause. Obviously it gave suddenly,
under full pressure, causing the guy to unexpected lurch to the right side and
go down really hard.
I've heard of cranks breaking, normally Campy for some reason (probably the
stronger riders ride Campy), but don't think I've encountered a fractured BB.
As one who stands on it continuously for almost all hills, it's a matter of
some concern even if this was a one-in-a-million failure.
Art