I have to get into this topic, but alas, I was a bit late getting into race
bikes. So this is 81 (I'm in my late 20s), just started racing the year
before. As we all know training in the winter is the basis for a good
season. So after the non-bike training from november to january, in februar
y
I get my bike out and go for a training ride. Since I was living in a very
small appartment I had my wheels stored between the sofa and the
heating-radiator. About 5 miles into the ride I had to pass a traffic light
(which was on red) in the city of Delft, so I put in a little sprint,
standing on the pedals and swaying from side to side. Some seconds later I
hear a kind of metallic 'bang' and was looking at the road surface rather
close-up. I thought, what a strange dream, what's happening? OK, I had
crashed and had landed with left cheekbone, upper lip, chin and adam's appl
e
on the tarmac. The human face is flexible.
The front tubular (glue completely dried out) had wrenched itself off the
rim, and when it encountered the fork it kind of stopped the bike very
suddenly and projected me in a 45 degree angle toward the pavement.
So there I was sitting in the intersection, the driver of a car at the
crossroad looking at me like 'what happened here?'. Since blood was really
pouring of my chin (which had split) I held my winter hat against it;
fortunately the driver of the car thought he'd better help me, and brought
me to a hospital where I got some stitches in the chin.
A lesson was learned BTW, don't store your (tubular) wheels to hot!
Freek (that tarmac is still in my face) Faro
Rotterdam Netherlands