triathlete follies

[Damiano Machiavelli]

Took this from slowtwitch.

So, Saturday I had my first DNF at Boise after crashing out at mile 14 of the bike. And, while I take full responsibility for the crash, I thought it might be worth sparking a conversation about how best to mark obstacles in the road.

Here's what happened:
I was in one of the later waves so there were lots of people on the road when I started the bike. I was making my way through the groups fairly quickly. There was the usual road debris, bottles, bike pumps etc., no big deal. When I hit stretches of road free of riders I was getting as aero as I could, head down, looking up every 5-10 seconds, then rode head up when I'd make my way through the next group.

I'm sure you can see what's coming -- I'd passed one large group and had probably a 30 second gap up to the next group. The road was a two lane road on an out-and-back course, with outbound riders in the right lane. I'd just seen the first pro men pass going the other direction. So, my plan was to just put my head down and power up to the next group on the road. What I didn't realize, is that just after a slight rise they'd decided to split the right hand lane in half to make a lane for cars out of the shoulder and the right-hand side of the right lane. A line of cones then started exactly in the center of the right lane, which is exactly where I was riding. At the front of the line of cones was a sandwich board style construction sign saying cars right, bikes left. This was at about mile 14.

I had my head down for too long (obviously), about 15 seconds. I saw the sign just briefly before I hit it. The Garmin says I was going 27.1 mph. The impact promptly sheared off my front forks and I took a nice roll down the road. First thing I thought was "can I still run?", but then I saw my front wheel, with fork attached and realized my day was done. I did chip a bit of bone in my femur by my hip, so I wasn't going anywhere anyway.

Last night another acquaintance through twitter asked whether my crash was at mile 15. He saw someone else hit the very same sign -- but that guy was well enough to continue his race.

So, my question is : what is the best way to mark an obstacle like this?

He blindly ran into the sign marking the obstacle. Clearly there needed to be a sign warning about the upcoming sign. He probably would have plowed head down into that one as well.

 

[El Oso]

Wow! Where to begin?

Personally I wouldn't consider bike pumps to be "usual road debris" and bottles shouldn't be either unless they just popped out of the cages from a road bump or the person discarding them doesn't know to throw them off the road.

Someone should have told him it's actually more aero to keep your head up and look forward. It'd be even better if he was wearing an aero helmet and created the shark fin effect.

 

[ElChingon]

I wouldn't say that experience is only of a Tri nature. I will say its due to a thinking they are riding in a vacuum (aka blinders on) and the assumption the world is a perfect place to ride in.

$#!^ happens, live and learn. Most accidents are due to inattention, then again I'm assuming they're not under any other influence that is impairing their judgement.

 

[egtalbot]

Wow! Where to begin?

Personally I wouldn't consider bike pumps to be "usual road debris" and bottles shouldn't be either unless they just popped out of the cages from a road bump or the person discarding them doesn't know to throw them off the road.

Someone should have told him it's actually more aero to keep your head up and look forward. It'd be even better if he was wearing an aero helmet and created the shark fin effect.

This is a triathlon - even in the two sprint tris I have done, there was far more debris than in a bike-only race. Didn't see any pumps, but bottles of various sorts for sure.

And yeah, good point about keeping the head up. Though to get technical, lying on the ground in fetal position clutching a chipped femur could potentially be more aero than any position on the bike.

 

[Red Lobster]

I've done a few iron and half-iron relays (i.e., bike leg only) and the things you see out there boggle the mind - the story you post does not surprise me at all. I'm not going to disrespect them as athletes, because there are a lot of seriously fit triathletes out there, but a staggering number of them seem to have no undestanding of how to ride a bike. When you are out there with them, all the usual assumptions about riding behaviour, things you wouldn't think twice about in a typical group training ride or race, go out the window.

 

[Damiano Machiavelli]

This is a triathlon - even in the two sprint tris I have done, there was far more debris than in a bike-only race. Didn't see any pumps, but bottles of various sorts for sure.

Forget about busting your hump in a road race to win a few Power Bars. Race a triathlon and pick up the free schwag littering the road.

 

[Oldman]

I wouldn't say that experience is only of a Tri nature. I will say its due to a thinking they are riding in a vacuum (aka blinders on) and the assumption the world is a perfect place to ride in.

$#!^ happens, live and learn. Most accidents are due to inattention, then again I'm assuming they're not under any other influence that is impairing their judgement.

Before anyone bashes Tri-guys (and they are ripe for the pickin') I've gotta say obstacles or none: I've seen plenty of road riders above Cat 4 that piloted their bikes into a ditch on a straight road.

But leave it to a Tri-guy to tell us how fast his Garmin told him he was travelling....

 

[Oldman]

I've done a few iron and half-iron relays (i.e., bike leg only) and the things you see out there boggle the mind - the story you post does not surprise me at all. I'm not going to disrespect them as athletes, because there are a lot of seriously fit triathletes out there, but a staggering number of them seem to have no undestanding of how to ride a bike. When you are out there with them, all the usual assumptions about riding behaviour, things you wouldn't think twice about in a typical group training ride or race, go out the window.

...head down on a bike trail and weaving through families in the full aero position on their Cervelo P3....at 14 mph. Just barely fast enough to track in a fast line.

 

[leftover pie]

So, my question is : what is the best way to mark an obstacle like this?

with a sign? LOL

thanks for posting this, had a great chuckle

now can someone post the youtube vids of triatheletes trying to get on their bikes?

 

[Damiano Machiavelli]

Slowtwitch is a barrel of laughs. Peeing on oneself seems to be a regular topic of conversation.

"if you were already getting soaked by the puddles, how does a little pee make things worse? You just need to do it once, realize that you'll live, and then it becomes second nature. Think how hard it is to gain 30-45 seconds (minimum) through training. By stopping in a race, you're just giving away time. Just HTFU."
----
" I've heard stories about legs, shoes, and bike smelling and then becoming unbearably sticky after peeing in saddle?"
----
"When race is done, wipe down with water. When you get home. Wash the bike and clothes. Also change out of peed in clothes quickly after the race is over to avoid a rash"
----
"Never stop to pee... Its a race."

 

[Granville57]

Before anyone bashes Tri-guys (and they are ripe for the pickin') I've gotta say obstacles or none: I've seen plenty of road riders above Cat 4 that piloted their bikes into a ditch on a straight road.

It happens to the pros, too.

Theo Bos
2010 Vuelta, Stage 17 TT

Dutch sprinter Theo Bos (Cervélo) has been released from the hospital following his horrific crash when he collided full speed with a parked motorcycle alongside the route in Wednesday’s time trial at the Vuelta a España.

“Theo was watching the guy in front of him and he was focused on him and just didn’t see the motorcycle. He was riding 50kph and hit the motorcycle. You can imagine, no brakes, it was very bad,” Cervélo TestTeam sport director Philippe Mauduit

“We were really worried at first. We came out of the car and he was lying on his back, saying, ‘Help me! Help me! I don’t want to die here!’

Incredibly, Bos suffered no broken bones and no serious injuries.

“The motorbike was parked on the left side of the road. He was just parked here to let his photographer do to the shots as the riders passed one-by-one,” Mauduit said. “The wind was coming from the right side, so riders were drifting to the left side of the road. Bos did not see the motorcycle there.”

http://velonews.competitor.com/2010/09/news/bos-escapes-serious-injury-from-nasty-vuelta-a-espana-crash_140900

 

[blutto]

...but ya know we have to give these guys credit...they have managed to make us the second funniest thing most people see on the road...

Cheers

blutto

 

[Damiano Machiavelli]

...but ya know we have to give these guys credit...they have managed to make us the second funniest thing most people see on the road...

To maintain our position in the pecking order, the UCI should ban the use of compression socks and sleeves during competition. Banning them during training would also be a good idea. The compression dork look is not a good look.

 

[Boeing]

this is all quite humorous but there is nothing funnier than a Tri guy with a banahamock, sleveless jersy and arm warmers wondering why he CAN'T climb well on a tri bike then decending in his aerobars hands away from the brake levers


to quote someone here on this forum "don't mistake your fitness for skill"

 

[kiwirider]

It happens to the pros, too.

Theo Bos
2010 Vuelta, Stage 17 TT

Perhaps Bosi s a bit of a special case ... After all, remember how he crashed into the barriers at the end of a stage in the Tour of Turkey in 2009 when he was trying to pull Impey off his bike ... I mean, when he wasn't trying to pull Impey off his bike.

On the original topic of triathlete skills ...

... back in New Zealand we have an even scarier group than your common, garden variety triathlete. We call them "multi-sporters". For those who haven't encountered this branch of sport before, multi-sport is kinda like an off road tri, but the water leg is a kayak rather than a swim.

For most of these events, the bike is actually the shortest leg time wise - paddling is the longest - and in most events the bike comes at the end when everyone is really spread out (ie., no bunches). To make matters worse, the team/relay format has really taken on in pretty much all of these events.

End result is a whole genre of riders with really appalling handling skills. It is interesting to watch how much space gets given to these riders in training packs when the usual "so what are you training for?" illicits a "oh, I do multi-sport" as a response!

(And before any Kiwi multisporters in the forum take offence - yes, there are exceptions, and I have multi-sport friends I'd happily ride with, but as a generalisation ...)

 

[Rouetheday]

To help lessen the road debris problem, maybe race organizers should follow the lead of the Tour de Toona in Pennsylvania and impose a $500 fine for discarding your bottles. The rationale for this is to prevent the poor dumb dairy cows from mistaking a bottle for an afternoon snack You know, now that I re-read this, I realize that it must be the local municipality that has imposed this fine, but still, it's a good idea.

 

[krebs303]

$895 and up to do NYC Ironman
New York Ironman Triathlon Competition Sells Out $895 Slots in 11 Minutes
The inaugural New York City Ironman triathlon race sold out its regular $895 slots online in 11 minutes, organizer World Triathlon Corp. said in a press release.

The race, scheduled for Aug. 11, 2012, still has $1,500 slots available, with the additional $605 going to Ironman Foundation charities, according to spokeswoman Jessica Weidensall.

The organization doesn’t reveal how many of the 2,500 spots in the race were sold for $895 and how many were held for the $1,500 charitable donation, Weidensall said. The majority of the slots were $895.

The New York Ironman, the first held in the city, is the most-expensive triathlon in the series. A typical Ironman race costs $575.

 

[GWAR79]

He blindly ran into the sign marking the obstacle. Clearly there needed to be a sign warning about the upcoming sign. He probably would have plowed head down into that one as well.

Every race with half minded organizers will post warnings about special course changes and hazards all over their sites and registration packets. This guy was probably too cool to read that stuff...

 

[Damiano Machiavelli]

I found this.

That said here is my fastest set up.

Front 808 FC tubular Vittoria EVO Corsa Crono (20) Tubular excellent glue job, fill in the tire wheel interface with caulk
Rear Lightweight Tubular disc Vittoria EVO Corsa Crono (20) Tubular, excellent glue job, fill in the tire wheel interface with caulk

Caulking the tire rim interface. Next up, clipping your fingernails to reduce weight.

 

[danjo007]

why are you dragging that sh!t up and bringing it here.. if you wanna read that stuff for a laugh - STAY THERE! thats whay i do here and laugh at you guys.

 

[ustabe]

I found this.

Caulking the tire rim interface. Next up, clipping your fingernails to reduce weight.

Beats drilled out water bottles.

 

[laziali]

I found this.



Caulking the tire rim interface. Next up, clipping your fingernails to reduce weight.

Don't forget the appendectomy, tonsillectomy and removal of wisdom teeth - every gram counts

 

[Michielveedeebee]

Don't forget the appendectomy, tonsillectomy and removal of wisdom teeth - every gram counts

you sound like the Chicken

 

[sometriguy]

I am an awful bike handler, that is why I do triathlon instead of bike races.

If you wreck your bike when you are riding by yourself several lengths from other riders, then it is your own fault.

this guy is an *** hat

 

[cyclestationgiuseppe]

Too many stories for one post!

I lived on the Big Island for and worked in a local bike shop. We would always dread triathlon weeks as so many people would come in and need immediate assistance. Many were nice but many were also primadonnas. I also volunteered for a few mini-tri's like the Lavaman and the Honu (Half Ironman)

One time in the bike staging area I was amazed at the lack of preparedness of many of the athletes, many could not get their bikes into the stand, were angry because they drew a bad spot and some could not even inflate their own tires.

One funny story was this girl who had all the gear, an expensive Trek TTX and was one of the angry ones that got a bad transition spot. The funny part was she was 2nd to last out of the swim, came into the bike change took ten minutes to get her shoes on and made it 50 ft before she clipped a pedal and crashed thus ending her day. I could not help but laugh (of course she cried) but she was not hurt, but, she quit right then and there.

I also worked medical support up at the Hawi turn around point since they do not get cell phone coverage our job was to ride scooters back and forth for a 6 mile stretch in case anyone had a problem or crash. The debris that all these people left on the road looked like a garbage dump. I was blown away.

Every Saturday all the tri dudes would meet at the local pool in Kona for a group ride! All on tri-bikes. All I can say is we used to refer to it as the "bone breaker". There would be a crash on every ride. Pretty sure those tri bikes were not meant to be ridden in large groups.