The Thin Boundary Between Casual and Deliberate
Cycling and crashing are the kinds of things that come together whenever you liberally combine Newtonian Physics, skill, and overconfidence. In other words, I’ve been falling off my bike for nearly as long as I’ve been climbing on it.
One of the more memorable crashes of my youth involved the commute home from my high school and a lady driving into the parking lot of the local grocery store. Her car and my bicycle momentarily occupied the same space, a physical impossibility whose only opportunity for resolution lay in the boot of her car, and that’s precisely where I went looking for it. Another time, the right-front braking on my first real race bike helped me disprove the theory that I might be able to achieve sustained human flight. The resolution of this particular question also led me to learn how to re-cable the brakes on my bike and embark on my quest to perfect the wrapping of handlebar tape.
Some of these early lessons and their subsequent visits to emergency rooms and time spent nursing wounds led me to better understand where the limits lie that convert harmony between rider and machine into chaos. More importantly, it gave me an appreciation that descending and cornering at speed, while thrilling, provide limited reward with respect to the risk. Some might call this wisdom or maturity, but I like to think of it as something marginally more productive than refusing to learn from one’s mistakes.
It is the human condition, however, to become accustomed to current levels of risk and that we continue to push boundaries. We refer to this phenomenon as “progress”, and with progress comes an inherent sense of overconfidence; it is in our nature to assume that since we successfully pushed past the previous boundary, that the one that lies before us will be passed with similar ease.
It was with this confidence that I entered the first of three ninety-degree corners on lap four of yesterday’s Magnuson Park Cross race. During recon and the previous three race laps, I had recognized the risks of this first corner; leaving a fast section of tarmac, the course re-entered the mud and grass as we circumvented a tennis court. It would be easy to carry too much speed into the corner and loose traction on the flimsy, low-pressure cyclocross tires.
With each lap, the speeds increased, and with each lap, I successfully navigated the course. The riders around me were tiring, I was moving up in the field, and gaining confidence with each lap. On the section just prior to the first of the turns, I took an opportunity to pass a pack of slower riders from another category, set up for the corner, relaxed, and readied for the challenge presented by the upcoming muddy sections.
I felt it long before anything happened. It was one of those notions that enters your body somewhere between your senses and your brain and lingers there before turning sideways to make sure it’s noticed as it passes through your system. The tire in the front wheel depressed as I leaned on it – then folded over. I spent an eternity in limbo between the rider I had only just been and the rider whom I was about to become.
I aimed for the dirt, it seemed softer than the tarmac. I don’t know if I hit it or not, and I’m not sure what caused the rather deep gash under me knee, or the double-loop in my chain for which I could find no remedy at the trailside. What I do know is I was in a heap and the riders who had been enjoying my ample draft suddenly found themselves similarly on the ground, though for different reasons. Several cursed at me, one postulated that my mother had been unmarried at the time of my birth. While he may have been wrong about the specifics, he was certainly right in his sentiment: I was a fool who didn’t understand his own limitations.
It seems fitting, then, that I was the only rider I took down who failed to finish the race. Next time, I’ll aim to go just fast enough not to crash out.
Good work there on the chain.
I attended as a spectator a cyclocross race over the weekend and several guys crashed in front of me. One teenage racer fell chest first on his handlebars, made a face and kept going. The whole time I watched the men’s 3/4 race I was thinking that it looked like a lot of fun. Seriously want to get a CX bike together and try it out now.
Here is a pic:
Sounds like everyone behind failed a very common law…never follow the person in fronts wheel when cornering..just because they are in front of you does not necessarily they have either the correct velocity or vector…ergo…if they go down, you will too.
Always plough your own furrow…there should be some law or rule or item in the Lexicon regarding this, it is just about probably the biggest cause of descending falls I know of…and yes, I am guilty as everyone else of doing it…with predictable results!
Hahaha!
Yes. And yes to the picture, which I tried in similar rain a couple of weeks ago. Casual over-confiedence as I leaned into a wet turn. And before I even knew I had overdone it, I was down and sliding. Rain, I find, makes an excellent lubricant. It reduces the road rash, but it also makes stopping while on one’s side that much more difficult. Close to 50m of descending on hip and left hand. Apart from a nastily scraped knuckle, the bike and I escaped almost completely unscathed.
But then: cogito ergo sunk:
Even two weeks later, this thought enters my head, and I’m descending slower than I’m climbing…
which article was it when the quote “riding like they had never fallen” came up? The beauty of cx is you never know when you go down if its going to hurt, your bike is going to be broken, and whether the riders behind you have the least bit of handling skills.
So the answer in my mind is to grip in the drops and go fast so they don’t run into you. The problem is one is so tired (if racing at the appropriate level) that rational thought isn’t an available option to do such things (well).
@San Tonio
There better be a run-up after those barriers b/c otherwise that is just horrific form. It’s a bike, not a javelin.
Fuck-fuckity-fu-KING AWESOME. This section of chain should become a trophy for any Velominati Bastard’s Crash that is deemed worthy by the Keepers.
@Steampunk
I was doing a long downhill at about 55kph last week and thought that a couple of turns of the big ring could put me at 60. After dodging a couple of potholes and considering the gravel shoulder, the appeal of that extra speed seemed to evaporate.
@brianc
Brilliant!!! I was thinking the same thing!!!! Just…brilliant. Running barriers, you should carry your bike by the left hood and the top tube and hold it away from your body like it has the clap. Helps define your space.
They had a nasty turn on a sharp descent that took the riders into a bridge well. Nasty business, especially since it had a few utility covers in the middle of the ideal line. My old road racing skill of leaning your shoulder into the guy next to you who hasn’t heard of holding a line came in handy on every lap (that I finished).
@frank Are chainguides allowed in CX, well not a full guide but a “xc’ish” guide like the Bionicon C-Guide or the Trek ‘Dangler’ or whtever it’s called? …and, more importantly, is there a rule stance on their usage? Could’ve helped prevent that kinking…
@Kyle
I should hope you were in the big ring, unless you were emulating the truck-drafting scene from Breaking Away.
@Steampunk
But still in the full tuck which seems to be customary in Ontario despite being nowhere near spinning out?
@unversio
Well, we’ll probably move it into the leading photo for our annual Broken Chain (Anti-V) Award.
@unversio
I’m still trying to figure out how the hell this happened. You do have to admit, though, that Frank’s got talent!
@Xyverz One of Frank’s magic tricks using only a perfectly standard bike.
wish someone had video of me hitting the pavement at 25mph and barrell rolling across the street at IMWI last month… super epic. 500 people lining the street…could’ve heard a pin drop. no grace to it though – too fast to fall with a plan.
@Steampunk
You’ve just described most of my riding this winter. The problem with crashing on a descent & breaking your collarbone at the end of Autumn is that all of your comeback riding is done on wet slippery roads, it’s good fun trying to convince yourself that, no, the bike isn’t going to slip out from under you at a moments notice.
@Deakus
You point out the inherent danger (and, er, fun) of racing. Unless you ride like David Moncoutie, or you dont want to win, your “law” is impossible to follow in a race…
@Mikael Liddy
Yeah: it feels like my whole centre of gravity has shifted northward by several centimetres.
@frank
Going uphill or down? Either way, I wouldn’t have been cussing you out after your weekend crash–because unless I was about to lap you, I would have had that danger behind me. As it happens, I was leaning into the turn at the very top of the descent. The pace of the ride was fairly casually deliberate–in the big ring, but not killing it.
Oh gosh. Sounds like a tough day at the races.
I’ve managed to not crash yet during cx racing. Definitely not skill, more just about luck & that I haven’t been at it all that long. My day is coming, I’m sure of it.
Hope the knee is alright, Frank! And sorry if it was covered, but did your front wheel taco/get tacoed? Can’t figure out if you rolled a tubular or buggered the wheel.
@brianc
It was a barrier, a muddy stream and then another barrier.
@frank
Like this:
Last Friday night’s twilight Crit was the perfect example of what you describe here frank. New and old racers lined up. First race of the summer season, everyone primed to go. After the first lap half of the riders were abusing the other half with words to the effect of “keep your line you fuckwit” or other similar examples of endearing comments.
By the end of the race their had been several near misses, 3 handlebars clipped, at least one shoulder to shoulder nudge, 4 riders trying to come up the inside unmarked shoulder on the grass, several complaints made to the Commissaire and me having a fairly seroius heart to heart with the 3rd place getter regarding his riding style, or lack thereof. As he pointed out, it was his first race so didn’t realise what he was doing and his reactive style of riding, i.e. sudden twists and turns oblivious to the 35 other riders, certainly didn’t earn him any pats on the back for his podium spot. After all of this, thankfully no one came down.
Hopefully this week he’ll have learnt a lesson. While he wasn’t being deliberate everytime he cut in front of someone, his overconfidence and lack of experience nearly brought the whole pack down. He was strong, fit and fast, but didn’t have a clue. More importantly, my usual casually deliberate style of racing was affected. So hard to look fabulous when one is shitting themselves.
@San TonioOr like this
In the words of Sir Jack Brabham, “A race should be won at the slowest speed possible.”
Of course, the corollary is Sir Jackie Stewarts’ “Och, but ye shouldna ever catch yourself putting in less than 100%”
I ask, are we inviting the crash by discussing it so blithely here? Or, are we instead keeping it away. Are we spitting into the wind?
I’m in no mood to crash.
Keep the rubber side down.
@Erik
Abso-freekin’lutely!!! Rule #81 violations all around. Self-flagellation for all of you with Frank’s pretzel-chain!
I had Frank’s double chain loop happen after unshipping the bastard via poorly timed shift coupled with worsely timed pothole. Mystifying it was, and the wee kink it put in the chain is the likely culprit for my skipped crank ribcage crater accident a week later. I’d be abundantly careful about inspecting that chain for even the slightest deviation from perfectly straight if I were you, @frank.
@Ron
Quite the opposite. I’m hooked completely! I ran the rest of the lap, thinking it was the final lap. I figured out later there was one more. Take it from me, its more fun to ride than to run. Running sucks.
@il ciclista medio
This is also the problem with cornering on cobbles.
@Benny
Beautiful.
@Erik
I know what you mean. You wouldn’t believe the beautiful passages full of elegant prose about crashing that were pulled from this bit moments before publishing just for that reason. This crap you’re reading is just the harmless shit that was left over.
@Dino
I was talking to some guys about learning to jump barriers and they suggested it might be faster to run them. While I don’t think they considered my horrendous remount technique when giving this advice, I think they were considering the above.
@starclimber
Thanks for the tip, mate.
@frank You’re in good company. On the same day only a few hours earlier, Sven Nys also broke his chain and had to run half a lap.
http://www.cxmagazine.com/2012-world-cup-tabor-pauwels-wins-powers-paassen-outsprints-compton
Of course it helped that he had a pit bike.
And it helped that he’s Sven Nys. He fought back and finished 5th.
Congrats for getting out there @frank! At least you didn’t find the only piece of pavement on the course to land on as I’ve done.
Fans of @frank may want to pull out their wallets and decorate their walls with the following:
Camera manufacturers need to re-engineer their equipment to focus on the greatest amount of V in the frame:
http://bit.ly/QQ17er
Balancing:
http://smu.gs/SeYcjb
Cornering:
http://smu.gs/TDmQGV
Leading the pack:
http://smu.gs/RebNal
And for reference, this is how one completes the last 50m of a race:
http://smu.gs/Tck2od
@G’rilla
Excellent. I hope wasp season is over in the PNW. Much inhaling there.
This isn’t hugely related but in the spirit of crashes.
The captain of the Brisbane Lions, Australian rules football team, Jonathon Brown was hit by a car while on a training ride this morning. 10 stitches in his elbow but the car was allegedly written off. At 195cm and 104kg he’s not your average cyclist. Come to think of it, if more of us were built like him we’d probably have cars giving us a wider berth.
In a news story about the incident he says he felt like he’s just finished a game of football. He’s known as a bit of a tough nut and has had his face fractured about three times in the last two years.
Please please please can everyone stop talking about and posting photos of cyclocross! I am in enough trouble as it is!!
@frank how do you find it compared to mtbing? I don’t know if I could ever swap my MTB for a cx bike even though I see the attraction of it being more similar to the road bike
@Frank, I know exactly of which corner you speak. Last year I made it through all those corners just fine. However, there was one corner at Fort Stilly… Let’s just say the only one I took out was myself and since I had gapped my pursuers you can imagine how embarrassing that felt when they all caught up and passed me…. *sigh*
@Ali McKee Why not have both?
@Benny
Hate to quibble here (and apologies if this is you), but generally you want the elbow in-board of the saddle. This allows two things – holding the bike out (as Frank puts it “like it has the clap”) which protects your space. Depending on how crowded things are for your race, this may or may not be necessary. The far more practical reason, is that if you misjudge the height of what you’re going over, or don’t have tons of practice such that you have everything completely dialed in, the bike isn’t going to hit said barrier and bounce the saddle into your armpit thus throwing you god knows where.
Also, a water bottle? This is a ‘cross race. It’s less than an hour and more to the point – how do you plan on shouldering the bike w/ that thing there?
Speaking of all things CX, does anyone know how Joey’s doing? Is he ok?
@wiscot
+1! Where’s the vid?
@G’rilla Those pics are great. Now all someone needs to do is photoshop the words off. You guys are looking smooth good.
Did my first race on Sunday, and while it was surprisingly short on crashing, it was very long on fun. Looking forward to getting back out there. I won’t consider myself a real CX racer until my face is covered in mud from a fall, but for now I’ll enjoy my upright racing.
@San Tonio
Indeed chest first into the handlebars is less that fun. I did that in a cross race last season on the first lap, but was able to get up and finish the race. I did the race the next week as well as a few road rides in between and the week after that before it was determined that I had a cracked sternum. That said, I think my experience with that injury is somewhat atypical – I’m I’m going to crash, I’d definitely prefer it to be in a cross race as opposed to on the road since the landing tends to be much softer (unless you land headfirst onto a barrier as above). I can’t remember a cross race where I haven’t crashed or come very close to crashing at least once.
@G’rilla
Yeah that was some unreal, hardman shit. At the rate he was going he’d have picked up 4th if he’d had another lap.
@RedRanger Completely agree with your thinking, however apparently you can’t always get what you want.
Purchase of a new #1 this year at ‘not insubstantial cost’ means that in accordance with Rule #12 I would be at ‘S’ number of bikes.
Had started researching CX and this article hasn’t helped!!
@Ali McKee
It is the perfect excuse for N+1. While an “extra” road or mountain bike would seem excessive, a CX bike is a totally unique item with a focused purpose. One could argue, and should, that it would be foolish not to have one.
True story: at my daughter’s last birthday (6) she got two nearly identical barbies – I think maybe the color of the dress was different. Anyway, asked her if she wanted to return one b/c the were so similar. She looked right at me and said “You have two bikes that are almost the same.” I dropped the matter immediately.
@brianc
Exactly. That’s what beer handups are for, though I think that they’re too big-a-pussies to drink beer while racing up in Seattle.
Not to put too fine a point on it, I have yet to have Frank or G’rilla roll down to PDX for some Cross Crusade action, even though I can get them lodging and “call ups”.