Okay I apologise. But a collapsed wheel from a pothole? That must have been a hell of a pothole.
Don John Coyle wrote: > 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
