Don, I'll have to take you to task for suggesting that I did not maintain my bicycle! The problem was a large uneven pothole, which, because it was dusk, I simply did not see. I was meticulous in maintenance - almost paranoid, in fact (reflecting Frank's contributions)
John Coyle Brisbane, Australia ----- Original Message ----- From: "Don Williams" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Pentax-Discuss Mail List" <pdml@pdml.net> Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2006 5:42 PM Subject: Re: Adults on bicycles Hi John, There must have been something seriously wrong with the bicycle for a front wheel to collapse. A little maintenance might have helped -- as well as care and attention when riding? A serious fall would do me no good whatsoever at 74. I tweak the spokes and check my brakes regularly. The route I take over the hill to the village is rocky and steep and so these days I stay away from rough terrain when it gets below zero. Once my front wheel went sideways on an icy rock and I ended up in a heap. The damage was not serious and I was riding again in a week. But bicycles, especially those like mine, a Scott mountain bike, need a lot of care and attention because they get pretty rough treatment. Ten years ago I used to change the tyres in the autumn to a pair with spikes; but as the years went by I began to realise that I was not as young as I seemed to imagine. If I were to wear a helmet in the autumn (I have one for summer) my skull would freeze before I got half a kilometre. I'm just about to set off for the village by the way, there's about 50 cm of snow on the hill. I'll go round and push the 1km to the road. Don John Coyle wrote: > Having once, many years ago, gone over the handlebars when a front wheel > collapsed, landing on my face and spending three days in hospital as a > result, I would prefer to wear a helmet when riding, whether or not I was > required to do so. > Note that, in my case, I was on a quiet country road, no other vehicle was > involved, and I was riding at a reasonably sedate pace, correctly > positioned > on the road. No amount of care or caution could have prevented that > accident, as far as I can see, negating some of the arguments put forward > in > this thread. > It's really like wearing a seat-belt in a car: a helmet won't prevent > every > fatality, but it will reduce the severity of injury in a statistically > significant number of cases. > > John Coyle > Brisbane, Australia > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "David Mann" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "Pentax-Discuss Mail List" <pdml@pdml.net> > Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2006 4:00 PM > Subject: Re: Adults on bicycles > > > >> On Nov 2, 2006, at 10:49 AM, Bob W wrote: >> >> >>> The best protection for cyclists is to learn how to cycle properly >>> in traffic. >>> >> That helps, but you need to bear in mind that drivers have blind >> spots, are often inattentive (especially while in a hurry), and in >> some cases, as much as I hate to say it, they can be downright >> inconsiderate. Just as cyclists sometimes are. >> >> I haven't been bowled by a car for quite a while despite some close >> calls, but the most recent time was when I was hit from the side by a >> guy pulling out of a driveway. He was running late and his token >> glance for traffic missed the only thing on that stretch of road. >> Sometimes shit just happens, and by then it's too late to wonder >> whether you're going to hit the concrete hard enough to matter. >> >> In then end, a helmet won't always save someone's life: the reality >> is that in a crash there is a certain amount of impact force applied >> to the head. The helmet can absorb a certain amount, and spreads the >> rest across that side of the skull. With a big enough impact nothing >> will save you, and you can easily be killed by other injuries >> anyway. IMO the helmet gives me worthwhile protection of the one >> thing that won't heal, without getting in my way while riding. >> >> As you mentioned, prevention by careful riding is the best cure but >> my experience is that this can only reduce the danger - not eliminate >> it. Riding offroad is an entirely different kettle of fish as the >> terrain is much more "interesting", and because I ride that stuff for >> fun, fitness and challenge, crashing is much more likely and in many >> places there are pointy rocks to land on. >> >> The dynamics of any crash are far too variable to be able to make >> predictions of the outcome, and personally I'd rather have the helmet >> than not have it because I'm slightly on the paranoid side. If >> someone wants to take their chances without a helmet that's fine by >> me, but I'll still mutter a few opinionated words to myself :) >> >> - Dave >> >> >> >> -- >> PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List >> PDML@pdml.net >> http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net >> > > -- Dr E D F Williams www.kolumbus.fi/mimosa/ http://personal.inet.fi/cool/don.williams/ 41660 TOIVAKKA – Finland - +358400706616 -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
