My Most Recent Ride 2009 (Part II of series)

Re: My Most Recent Ride II

Well Ward, because the all ran over you and you took it well, that doesn't mean you should make a habit of this. Glad you turned out relatively well.

Guess I'll have to stick with Dave. lol I averaged a big 13 today on a 35 miler. Just easy riding and looking at the turning of the leaves. I just love this time of the year. Next month is the ultimate.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride II

As I have thought more and more about it, I feel like my stiff carbon seatback really saved me. Even though I felt bodies and bikes passing over me I didn't have any bruised ribs and my back was injured in any way. Score another point for bents.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride II

Ouch, Ward!

Sounds like all involved got off fairly lucky in that tangle up, body wise any way. Definitely glad your back was fine!

I did a ride on Saturday. Another small section of the Sverigeleden. It felt nice to get out though it wasn't new ground for me. Just passing by old familar places.

Blogged with photos and my usual ride babble (along with history synopsis/lesson about Hans Henrik von Essen). www.terii.wordpress.com

Terii

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride II

yep, I'm glad to be okay also. Terii, great pictures as always sounds like a great ride. Me, I guess I will be spending more time on the trike

Ward

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride II

Ward,

First, I am glad you are OK.

Second, You do have a greyhound brain!!!

The pastor of my church is an avid bike rider. He rides across Tennessee each year to raise awareness for adoptions (he and his wife adopted their child). He asked me about the Clarksville ride and I told him I did finish it in 8:10. He said, "That slow.... there must have been a terrible headwind." I said no wind, I just go slow at 14 mph and enjoy the day. I don't race at all. (Seems my Pastor has a greyhound brain also!)

So you can see Ward, we have totally different ways of looking at riding.

One other point of interest. Do you remember the guys you rode with at the Southeast Recumbent rally a couple of years ago? They were there. I talked to them before the race. They said they plan to ride hard. So I never saw them again once the race started.

I am waiting for new tires for my bike. I think after seeing how everyone else is riding in this group, I am going to get one of those slow moving vehicle triangles to put on the back of my bike! :

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride II

Jon, you figured me out. Can't help myself. I was feeling great and I was thinking that I would have a 4:30 total time century. That didn't happen.

Anyway, I am going to get lots of practice riding slow on the Weisel

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride II

Okay, here is the report on my Carbent. After thinking alot about the wreck here's what I think happened.

My rear wheel was struck from the left side shifting the back of my bike violently to the right causing my bike to drop onto its left side and begin sliding down the road. The rider that flatted, his bike with the front end turned far to the right must have flipped over me. One of the next riders front wheel struck the sharp upper edge of my carbon seat, the deep carbon rim completely folded around my seat and he flipped over on his head.

Now, the rider that struck my seat he weighs about 180 LBS and with his bike close to 200. That mass moving at 26 mph is pretty impressive and the force had to go somewhere. It did!

It turns out the weakest point in the frame is located in the main tube just in front of the seat and that is where the frame broke.

http://rides.webshots.com/album/574667311gToxtc these pictures are close ups. the first is from the left side looking at the bike just in front of the seat, the others from the right. In the third picture the frame is being pushed down to show how it collapses at the top of the tube.

Lets here it for the Carbon Seat and Seat stay. That force could have been transmitted into my back. I was wondering if the aluminum seat-stays that were on my ti-Aero would have held with that much force.

Now, the good news. Dana Lieberman, after talking with the engineer who designed the bike, assures me that he can fix it. He will cut out the damaged section and grind off the bit of tubing under the seat. He will then insert a very slightly smaller tube that will extend about 4" in both directions adding a piece of main tubing to keep the original lenght. He will then glue it all together making a bike that will be a few ounces heavier and stronger than the original.

With any luck I will have my bike back in less than a month. In the meantime, the Weisel will roll.

Ward

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride II

I assume you are feeling better. Carbon fiber is an amazing material. Sounds like it also saved you a tremendous amount of grief and pain. If he's gonna cut the tube anyway, why not cut anywhere else needed and make it such that it can be disassembled and transported in two pieces?

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride II

Man, that could have been your BACK!!!! You are really lucky.

Also glad you can get your bike back together!!!

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride II

Very good point Dave, we actually talked about that. If the break had been in front of the idler he would have done just that. He has been thinking about it for some time and he would have welcomed having a demo out there. The extra cost and trouble with cutting it in a second place didn't interest me.

Thanks Jon, crazy isn't it. thats an incredible amount of force that would have hit me just below the right shoulder blade.

I am healing up pretty well and hope to be riding by the weekend.

Ward

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride II

I have one of those too. I was just too proud to put it on my bike. Not proud any longer. You should see it on our next ride.

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride II

Hey Ward, if the damage hadn't been so great, super glue and baking soda make great patching material. I patched up a propeller with it and it was super solid!

 

Re: My Most Recent Ride II

I have been riding for several months with several DF riders. I met them a couple of years ago MTB riding and so was able to get accepted pretty easily on the Sea Dragon. Them not being racer types I usually attack the climbs drop em and double back or I will break off and add some miles meeting up with them for the cruise back in. I have gotten used to their grumbling about the unfair advantages of my bike. Well that changed.

The Sea Dragon had to go to the hospital and I won't have her back for three or four weeks. I broke the main carbon tube in my wreck but they say they can fix her. So, I showed up yesterday with my Kettweisel Allround. They were pretty sure it was the strangest critter they had ever seen, I did get one of them to take it around for a ride..his response was when I get older I might want one of these so I don't fall over. Lots of laughing.

Instead of taking the route they usually ride on Wed which is very flat they opted for a 35 miler with about 1500 ft of climbing (about twice the other route). They took off about 15-16 and I immediately knew it was going to be along day. My HR was in the 160's and I was barely hanging onto their tail. We hit a pretty good headwind almost immediately and man could I feel it. I have the seat reclined as far as I can on the Weisel but it is still almost bolt upright and I didn't like the wind at all. The third climb they dropped me. I kept them in sight until we reached the store stop at about the 10 mile mark.

A short rest and we were back off. HR 160, I know I'm running anaerobic and I am going to pay I just don't know when its going to hit. One guy has a flat which takes a while to find the spot so I get a few minutes rest then off we go. I'm with them when we hit a pretty good 2 mile climb that runs 5-6% most of the way. The two faster guys drop me and the two others quickly and I was able to stay ahead of the other two the rest of the way up.

However, that was the highest point in elevation of the ride and from that point on they all pretty much left me. With a standard triple and a 11-32 on the back I would spin out at about 33 and on the first descent I watched them walk away from me they way I usually do them on the Dragon. There were some smaller climbs at about the 26 mile point that I almost caught the slowest guy. Back on the flats his lower I just couldn't hold on.

I was also feeling the effort that I had put out earlly on. My legs were pretty much toast and since they had dropped me anyway I backed it down a bit and just cruised back in. 36.36 miles with a ride adv of 12.9. The fast guys claimed they finished with a 17 adv and the other slow fella said he was right at 14.

Man, I REALLY don't like being dropped. I could really feel the wind resistance and I didn't like it. The rolling resistance was also noticeable with the Marathons as well as having about 20 more pounds of bike. Another notable was the muscles in my butt. Not the recumbutt that is discussed but the muscles. Sitting upright that much I was using different muscle groups than on the Sea Dragon. It was a great workout, I havn't kep my HR in the 160's ever I don't think.

So, I'll let them kick my *** for a couple of weeks and then they are going to pay, and I mean pay

Ward