G
Gordon Hamachi
Guest
I just got back from the Solvang Century in Solvang,
California and was apalled at the number of serious injuries
my friends and I witnessed.
The first major injury I saw happened early in the ride when
the carbon fork broke on a new-looking Giant bike. The rider--
a woman in a Team in Training jersey--went down hard and
there was a lot of blood. Both fork blades snapped at about
the mid-point. I didn't see any potholes, rocks, brick
walls, or other obstacles that would explain why the fork
catastrophically failed, but you can believe that it made me
check my own older bike's carbon fork for cracks.
The second major injury I witnessed happened just before the
turn onto Highway 1. A male rider on a red bike started
skidding sideways and fell heavily; his rear wheel may have
locked due to some mechanical failure. The rider's eyes
remained open the whole time, but he was unresponsive for
several minutes. A motorist stopped and I asked her to call
for help. Not only did she call 911, she also provided a
blanket to put over the victim.
A friend on the 50-mile ride saw a head-on collision when
one rider ascending a hill made a U-turn and was struck by a
rider descending the hill. Both riders were knocked
unconscious.
That makes at least 4 serious accidents out of 4,000 to
5,000 participants in this single-day event (I think I saw
numbers as high as 4,800). Is this a typical accident rate
for an early season century?
Are carbon forks supposed to last forever, or should they be
replaced periodically?
California and was apalled at the number of serious injuries
my friends and I witnessed.
The first major injury I saw happened early in the ride when
the carbon fork broke on a new-looking Giant bike. The rider--
a woman in a Team in Training jersey--went down hard and
there was a lot of blood. Both fork blades snapped at about
the mid-point. I didn't see any potholes, rocks, brick
walls, or other obstacles that would explain why the fork
catastrophically failed, but you can believe that it made me
check my own older bike's carbon fork for cracks.
The second major injury I witnessed happened just before the
turn onto Highway 1. A male rider on a red bike started
skidding sideways and fell heavily; his rear wheel may have
locked due to some mechanical failure. The rider's eyes
remained open the whole time, but he was unresponsive for
several minutes. A motorist stopped and I asked her to call
for help. Not only did she call 911, she also provided a
blanket to put over the victim.
A friend on the 50-mile ride saw a head-on collision when
one rider ascending a hill made a U-turn and was struck by a
rider descending the hill. Both riders were knocked
unconscious.
That makes at least 4 serious accidents out of 4,000 to
5,000 participants in this single-day event (I think I saw
numbers as high as 4,800). Is this a typical accident rate
for an early season century?
Are carbon forks supposed to last forever, or should they be
replaced periodically?