Hey everyone. I’m trying to reconstruct what happen to me yesterday at Lonestar and am hoping that someone behind me saw what happened. I was biking along about 3 miles past the turnaround and hear a car behind me. Turned around and noticed it driving erratically and though crap. Got out of the aerobars and moved to the far right of the shoulder. My bike started swerving, but I got it under control and though “Cool, I saved it” and then proceeded to be launched off of my bike. Fortunately, since I was headed towards the grass, that’s where I ended up, so I just have a few scrapes and a sore neck. I don’t remember feeling an impact and my bike looks fine, although my tubular rolled off of the front wheel. The truck (it was a red pickup truck) swerved off of the road and drove through the yards of the houses onto the beachfront road. He came back around and apologized profusely saying that he didn’t know how it happened and was I okay. This leads me to believe that he did hit me. None of the racers behind me stopped so I couldn’t ask them.
I was in the half-ironman W 35-39 wave (started at 7:50 or so) and swam 38 minutes - think I was about 1:20 into my race. I was around mostly men from the earlier waves.
Also, a what would you have done question - Mavic
changed out my front wheel (I had a spare, but couldn’t use the wheel
because the valve had been sheared off and was stuck in the wheel).
After getting checked out by medical and changing the wheel, which took
about half an hour, I started riding again. 5 miles or so later I got a
flat in my rear tire. I had thrown my spare into the mavic car with my
front wheel (it had been knocked off of the bike), so I couldn’t change it. Rode on the flat to the mavic
tent about 6 miles from the end of the loop, but they didn’t have a 650 wheel. Rode into transition on the
flat. Mavic would have given me a new bike to ride the second loop and
I could have finished the race, but I bagged it at this point, thinking
there was no way I could get motivated to run the half marathon. What
would you have done? This was my first DNF in 20 years of racing and
I’m struggling with it.
This was my first DNF in 20 years of racing and I’m struggling with it
Dude. I haven’t been racing nearly as long as you, but that is one f’d up day and you should be thanking whatever god or cat or good reactions or whatever that you weren’t seriously hurt. In my book its amazing that you even got back on the bike and finished the ride, then having a flat, compounded by no spare because of the accident, I can’t believe you still considered going on. This is a very good reason for a DNF, especially after 20 years. Give yourself some credit here.
Did you get the car driver license or license plate numbers? He should at least be liable for a new tire, and/or race entry fee. Also, you should let the race director and the local police know what happened. I know if I were responsible for all the racers out on my course I’d like to know when these kinds of things happen, why and where.
Did you talk to the race director or Police? There were a ton of volunteers and police on the bike. It seemed like a really well run event. I was probably a little ahead of where you had the accident.
A motorcycle cop stopped and stayed with me until I started biking again. He didn’t do a report and thinking back really didn’t ask me anything about the car. I was also checked out by medical in an ambulance and they did do a report, but it was cursory and also didn’t include details of what happened.
I got the beginning part of the license plate - 14 and I think G. To be honest, when he came back to check on me, it was so close to when everything happened that I was still shaken up, trying to figure out what happened and happy to not be hurt worse so I didn’t get his information and also didn’t comment on what an idiot he was. He asked if he could help and I sent him off looking for the Mavic car to find me a wheel. Of course I never saw him again.
I looked for Keith around the finish area, but never saw him. I’ve been a race director in the past and figured that he’d want to know what happened and know that there is a USAT report to fill out. Keith, PM me if you are out there and need the information.
I agree with unclerock. You got hit by a car, it probably would have been a bad decision to continue the race. Thank goodness you are OK. There will be other races, don’t beat yourself up, you definitely did the right thing!
Now that sounds like a bad day! Not quite being in Bagdad, but quite crappy. All the obvious concern and condolences about the un-asked for, but in terms of feeling bad about a dnf, don’t. Crap happens and it is one heck of a story, with relatively minor consequences. Stuff like this is part of being “engaged”. Hang in there and glad you are ok and have a stong record to average it against.
glad you’re OK! Keith’s email is on the Endorfun sports website.
I’m starting to worry about racing in this area. they seem very unfamiliar about what to do around cyclists. last year, a friend of mine was hit by a car turning onto the main road from a side street, and I was almost run off the road.
I agree on the drivers in the area not being terribly happy about the cycling situation. Though there were signs all over the place about the bike race, I certainly didn’t feel terribly comfortable.
The day before the race we were out doing a warmup ride along the road the race went on (off of Seawall, whatever that’s called). It’s a pancake-flat, perfectly straight road that you can see pretty much forever on. We were riding with a tailwind (in a lane since traffic was very light and there were two full lanes in each direction that were empty) going about 25 mph, dead straight, not swerving, clearly visible. I was riding on the left of our little group and about in the middle of the lane. Twice I had large pickup trucks pass very very close to me, honking loudly, swerving out of the lane we’d been in at the last minute. Like I said, very light traffic, we’d been going in the same line at the same speed and visible doing so for miles.
During the race at one point I was making a pass and all of a sudden had traffic all of a sudden start coming into the lane that we’d had. I was pretty much just hammering and not the most terribly aware of what the cars were being directed to do/etc, but it was a bit freaky.
I during the race also a truck (why is it always big pickup trucks who are the worst?) decided to come into our (coned off) lane to make an impending right turn. I had to slow fairly aggressively to avoid rear-ending him.
I heard that other (well-traveled) pros had started training rides but just called it quits after like 5 miles due to the hostile traffic…
MNM: It is essential that you fill out a USAT incident report form. Contact Keith about it. He’ll need contact information if there are any witnesses.
Why? I know it is “required” by USAT rules. There was no medical treatment in a billable UB92 or HCFA environment, no police report, no insurance claim…
Last year I had two of three people refuse to give the information asked for on the Incident Report (their social and what not). I just dont know what the form is going to do…
MNM - glad you are okay. You are doing the right thing by trying to track down that truck. I agree with the other posters who feel that you probably did get hit. With any luck you can find the guy.
If you are ever going to DNF then getting hit on the bike is a darn good reason. You did the smart thing because the adrenaline may have masked another injury that would have presented itself on the run and stranded you at an aid station.