RAGBRAI LI Registration is Now Open!

Crashes and Safety

I’m starting this thread for the new RAGBRAI riders with some tips not in the Ride Right handbook we can offer them (and all of us) on staying safe this year. It seemed like there were more than the usual amount of crashes last year and an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of bandages.

Here’s my first tips:
Watchout out for the center of the road cracks!!  In many of the roads there’s a seam between the left and right side. Many times it’s large enough to catch your tire and flip you like a pancake. I’ve seen a lot of people messed up by this. Don’t cross these gradually, or at all if you’re not sure. They’ll fill these many times with tar, but in the hot sun the tar gets soft, so you get a false sense of security. Then you’re tire sinks in and you go flying. So watch out for those seams!
The other one (but less deadly in my opinion) are the rumblers. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s those rumble strips you run over on your car on rural roads as you approach stops. People will point at the ground to point these out or yell “rumblers” so you’ll know they’re coming. Just move to the side if there’s not another bike next to you, or slow down and go over them but with a firm grip on the handlebars. Most people will shift to the other side of the road to avoid them. Just watch for other bikers before doing so.
A pace line is a group of riders riding in line to help break the wind and generally move along faster. It’s okay, but generally a bad idea if a) you’ve never ridden in a pace line before, or b) you haven’t ridden with the people in this pace line before.  Lots of wrecks happen in pace lines due to the closeness of the bikes (less time to stop or avoid), the fact that you generally ride faster or due to lack of communication. One major rule of pace line safety is DON’T CROSS TIRES! Meaning, don’t let your front tire get past the rear tire of the person in front of you. I saw this last year with a line I was in and backed off, and sure as h e c k a mile later the line piled up when wheels touched. RAGBRAI is not a good place to learn to ride a pace line.
Let’s be careful out there!! I’d love to see a lot more bored ambulance drivers this year.

47 Replies

ehlent, July 11, 2011 at 1:02 pm

Stay right except when passing.   There are always faster riders coming up from behind you.

Think when there are hills.   No need to downshift to your lowest gear a 1/2 mile before you get to the hill.   Learn to shift and then start downshifting when your cadence drops on the uphill portion.

When you stop get completely off the road.

Announce when getting back on the road after a stop in a loud voice so people know your intentions.

don’t make upredictable moves.  such as suddenly swerving to the other side of the road because you see a friend stopped over there.

#21651

Michrider !!!, July 11, 2011 at 1:58 pm

giantron said: I’m starting this thread for the new RAGBRAI riders with some tips not in the Ride Right handbook we can offer them (and all of us) on staying safe this year. It seemed like there were more than the usual amount of crashes last year and an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of bandages.

Let’s be careful out there!! I’d love to see a lot more bored ambulance drivers this year.

Pacelines on RAGBRAI equal “Stranger Danger”!!!!!!  Center crack; last year I came up on a scene of a young woman who had gotten her wheel caught in one of those cracks.   For about 10 ft, you could see where she dug the sand up out of the crack.  Medics were taking care of her on the side of the road.  Not the way you want to meed the medics!!!! 

#21652

braizdjg02, July 11, 2011 at 2:41 pm

ehlent said: Stay right except when passing.   There are always faster riders coming up from behind you.

This rule can’t be over emphasized enough.  Another way of saying it  –.  “Don’t give any room for someone to pass you on the right.”

There is a guarantee that you will come up on people lolly gagging along in the middle of a lane leaving enough room for 2 or more riders to pass on the right.  This situation sometimes makes passing on the left more risky because you have to move way left and then back right.  This is not a good situation.  I usually say something like “Could I get some room to pass on the left?”  But then I usally have to slow down.

Does anyone else have any suggestions as to how to hand this situation?

#21653

giantron, July 11, 2011 at 4:44 pm

The always ride on the right issue is a tough one. I’m a mid-speed rider so I end up in the middle of the road most of the day. Usually just right of the center line. The only way I know of is to just keep yelling “on your left” until people move over. Regrettably there are some who are to stubborn or ignorant to know to move over, but it seems those are the rare few.

#21654

sestrain, July 11, 2011 at 5:55 pm

As a first itme rider, I promise to do my best, but the biggest crowd I’ve ridden in is when two dogs were chasing me down the road.  I’ve been reading forum threads for a couple of months now and have an idea of what I’m supposed to do.  Now, all I have to do is put it into prctice while riding with 10,000+ of my new best friends.

#21655

Michrider !!!, July 11, 2011 at 6:26 pm

sestrain said: As a first itme rider, I promise to do my best, but the biggest crowd I’ve ridden in is when two dogs were chasing me down the road.  I’ve been reading forum threads for a couple of months now and have an idea of what I’m supposed to do.  Now, all I have to do is put it into prctice while riding with 10,000+ of my new best friends.

I get tired of saying “on your left”. That’s why I talk to people to let them know I’m there.  I have a whistle around my neck and sometimes even a Kazoo, just to make noise. When I get really bored, I might sing my Barry Manilow medley.  I use the name plate that RAGBRAI sent to let people know my name and my state.  It’s a good way to start a conversation.  It’s all about letting other riders know where I am!!!

#21656

BackInTheSaddleAgain, July 11, 2011 at 6:29 pm

Even though I’m in my mid-40’s now, my dear old Ma still worries about her boy.  She’s decided to start watching the Tour de France this year, somehow thinking that it shares some similarities to my upcoming week in the corn.  Bad idea!  All the crazy crashes and mangled bodies along the side of the rode these past few days have left her in a near panic!  Hopefully no press vehicles will plow any of us into a barbed-wire fence.

#21657

SFC JKL 2, July 11, 2011 at 6:38 pm

-Does anyone else have any suggestions as to how to hand this situation?

I say “on your right since you’re riding left”.  Pitty the fool who makes a comment back to me.  Right lane open, no waiting…

#21658

SFC JKL 2, July 11, 2011 at 6:44 pm

As a suggestion I’ll say communicate what you are doing.  “Bike on”, “bike off”, “slowing”, “stopping”.  Several of the wrecks I saw last year was a rider pulling out onto the road without saying anything, while the road wasn’t clear.  Make sure to turn your head or check your mirror before changing lanes, so you don’t pull out in front of faster traffic.

#21659

kenimus, July 11, 2011 at 6:55 pm

holy cows that tour crash was nuts. my wife was not real pumped about that veiwing either.

#21660

dbreon, July 11, 2011 at 7:28 pm

1.  If people are safely passing you on the right, you are guilty of not “riding right”

2. Be particularly careful when pulling off the road on the left.  Left side vendor stops are always chaotic and dangerous

3.  Don’t wear bike shorts with transparent white, yellow, or lace panels.  They always cause a traffic back up!       

 

#21661

kenimus, July 11, 2011 at 7:32 pm

please don’t follow rule #3 at destination towns.

#21662

WFS, July 11, 2011 at 7:59 pm

Michrider said:……When I get really bored, I might sing my Barry Manilow medley. 

Hey Mich….this Buckeye from NTX will buy you a beer if you’ll sing your Manilow Montage as you pass me!  Hearing on your left over and over gives me a complex!

#21663

RJBTrek, July 11, 2011 at 8:35 pm

For those new to riding …you will drop a water bottle or something else.  DON’T slam on the brakes to stop and get what ever it is.  Look around and move to the right.  Yell out that you’re slowing and going right.  Saw a person at Chicago’s L.A.T.E ride this weekend hit the brakes hard when their water bottle was knock lose due to a pot hole.  No one crashed but people just missed the fool. That ride had approx 9000 people for a 25 mile ride starting at 1am Sunday morning.  It was a mass start in 4 waves.  Wow! talk about close riding.

#21664

Anonymous, July 12, 2011 at 2:12 am

SFC JKL2 said: -Does anyone else have any suggestions as to how to hand this situation?

I say “on your right since you’re riding left”.  Pitty the fool who makes a comment back to me.  Right lane open, no waiting…

If people are slow and in the middle of the road, sometimes you need to pass on the right. A simple “On your right!” will suffice, no further editorializing is needed or helpful. 

ALWAYS look for riders coming on, especially near food vendors. It’s pretty clear when a rider is entering the road, all of the “rider on!” yelling is fine, but you should always consider a rider on the shoulder to be an incoming rider. 
As chaotic as RAGBRAI is, there is a certain rhythm and flow to it all. The problems are usually caused by someone disrupting the flow.
My biggest tip – always pull off PAST food vendors and roadside attractions. It allows more time to brake & signal your exit, and it is a much safer re-entry point when you’re not mixing it up with exiting riders.
It’s a good time and a little common sense should be all you need.

#21665

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 47 total)

The forum ‘RAGBRAI XXXIX – 2011’ is closed to new topics and replies.

Categories

RAGBRAI L – 2023

RAGBRAI XLIX – 2022

RAGBRAI XLVIII – 2021

Training

Gatherings & Meetings

Lost and Found

Miscellaneous

Clubs, Teams & Charters

Friends of RAGBRAI