The Crash

Stillwater, OK. Well, I suppose it was inevitable. I crashed. On my Oklahoma century -- the Tour of Payne -- I rode 57 miles on wide, paved, smooth shoulder. At mile 57, however, the state highways department installed a big, bad rumble strip right in the middle of the shoulder. (See picture.) I came upon this without seeing it. In fact, I was taking a picture of the Payne County sign (documenting the “Tour of Payne”.) Thus, I had only one hand on the handlebars as my bike became instantly unridable. This wasn’t just a mild rumble strip – it had 6” long, deep ridges. I hit the strip head on, and tumbled over the handlebars. I hit face first into the rumble strip. There was no chance to recover as the bike simply went out from under me.

Most of the damage was to my face. I also hit on the helmet, and this pushed my neck back. In fact, it’s the neck pain that will probably keep me from riding for a while. I had an X-ray to determine if there was nothing broken, and it just appears to be muscle strain.

I have substantial bruise marks where the helmet contacted the skull. Clearly, the helmet saved me a lot of injury, and may have saved my life. Of course, I need to buy another.

I was picked up by two brothers – good Samaritans – who dropped me and my bike at my hotel. They were both from Stillwater and both were from Oklahoma State. One graduated and started his own graphic arts business, the other graduates in December. I was reluctant to accept a ride because I realized I would get some blood on their interior. I said as much, and they insisted. Refusing help was silly in the bright heat in the middle of nowhere in Oklahoma. And, I needed to get checked out for any serious injuries. “This is just what people from Oklahoma do,” they said. I told them they should be proud of themselves.

I’ve decided to count the OK century. The brothers who helped me declared, “I think you should count this.”

In reality, I was on pace to finish. I had been making 12.2 mph overall, and 13.5 mph moving average. I had started early, so I was approaching the town of Yale and the 62-mile rest stop by about 11:10. Clouds had provided shade for the first 60 miles. The sun was beginning to burn through, and it was a hot ride in the 'rescue car' back to Stillwater. It would have been an uncomfortable 42 miles (in which there would be several ‘groaner’ uphills), but I think I would have been able to complete the ride. In fact, I can say that I experienced the best the event had to offer. I think, however, I would have enjoyed doing the swimming pool at Cushing – the 77-mile point.

Recovery may take a bit. Fortunately, the 50-state quest is not scheduled to resume until the end of July. I may miss a New York century, but NY is already complete. I'm just doing it for fun.