Broken

“If you race long enough you will break something” – Steve Redmond circa a long time ago.

As I recall I had just met Nichole Bossie Johnson (of Boyd cycling ) who had a broken wing. I was contemplating a switch from triathlon to road cycling.

What I’ve found over the following 10+  years is, Steve was right. It might not be your body needing fixed, but your carbon frame being sent to Rukus for repair.

In a race this weekend there was a LOT of complaints following the event about the race being dangerous. So here is my take, the course was great and what was unsafe were the riders.

As a rider, we each have responsibility for our own safety. It may mean moving to the front of the pack to stay safe, or allowing yourself to float off the back of the pack if you don’t have the strength to set the pace.

You may need to bark at a rider who is sketchy, or tell a rider who is tense to lighten their grip and relax their elbows so they become less jerky in their movements.

When I put together the beginner guide post, I tried to include information on how to train safe. The truth is, accidents happen. One of my worst spills I was training alone and going through a round-about and dumped the bike on some oil.

Front wheels slide out, a moments lapse of concentration can lead to overlapping a front wheel and a pile up.

If there is one thing I would like to impart it is this.

“Experienced cyclists have a responsibility to guide those less experienced.”

And we all have a responsibility to ride and race within our ability.

That and make sure you have a ready supply of tegaderm at home to cover the occasional road rash!