1 Rider Up, 1 Rider Down
Q and I went for a ride with Maggie and Paul yesterday. We rode out the W&OD to Reston and then took the dirt trail up to Lake Fairfax. The kids did ok on the dirt trail. We kicked around Lake Fairfax for a short while then headed home. Q got tired on a hill and I think she was expecting me to push her up, according to Paul she rode off the pavement and when she tried to get back on she tipped over and fell. Paul was right next to her and he stopped, but couldn't get clipped out in time and he fell on her. She started crying and I knew that was probably the end of her ride. I held her for a couple minutes while she was crying, "I want mommy to come pick me up!"
I convinced her that she had to ride for 15 minutes and got her back on the bike. I pushed her up the hill and then she rode out to the Baron Cameron. She stopped soon after we got on Baron Cameron and wouldn't go any further. I called ABL and she came to pick her up, then I rode with Maggie and Paul back home. Q ended up riding 10 miles, Maggie did 15.
We were on a trail through a neighborhood when Maggie hit the brakes and her rear wheel locked up as she was going around a turn. She slid for a couple of feet then released the brake and continued on. I was amazed that she kept the bike upright.
Later that day, John came over to learn to ride a bike. We put him on RJ's bike. Within a few hours, John had learned to ride a bike and he was doing laps of the cul de sac by himself.
On a more somber note, Keith Krombel was injured during the DC Randonneurs 400K brevet. Around 11:30 pm some people who lived near the road heard a loud crash, they went out and found Keith on the ground. Keith doesn't remember what happened and unfortunately, he prefers to ride alone, so we may never know what happened there. Keith is an experienced rider (he's done RAAM) riding a sanctioned Brevet after dark. That tells me he had adequate head lights, tail lights, he was wearing a reflective vest or sash and he probably also had reflective ankle straps, these are all required by the Brevet rules, so he wouldn't be riding without them. He may have been moving slowly at that point on the ride (it was on a climb), but with all that light and reflective material, he was visible which means he was probably hit by a drunk driver. Keith will be off the bike for about 6 weeks.
