23
Aug
9 Minute Read
9 Minute Read
I don’t really l ike discussing this topic. It’s not something I’ve ever wanted to experience, either directly or indirectly.
Even when I see crashes in the peloton on tv, I really don’t like watching. It’s a little bit too close to home.
I think it’s an important topic to talk about.
If only to make yourself aware of others’ experiences to better prepare yourself in case the unthinkable happens.
Luckily in this particular case, things could have been a lot worse. So I’m extremely grateful for that.
While leading a ride with Rapha and descending West Alpine Road in the hills above Palo Alto, we had a crash that two riders were involved in.
There was a small section of road just after a bend, somewhat obscured by some shadows, that had a particularly nasty rut that followed the same direction as the road.
If you click the above picture, it will take you to the exact GPS location of the incident.
For road cyclists on public roads, these are some of the worst “road furniture” you come across. They’re often hard to see, come up quickly, and end up sucking your wheel out from underneath you.
I know when I first moved to the Bay Area, I fell over on my bike because my wheel got stuck in a gap between the asphalt and an old set of train tracks. Ugh, be careful along Illinois Street in San Francisco!
So on this particular day:
Luckily I was following just far enough behind so that I was able to stop and move out of the way quickly.
I think every situation is going to be different, and I am absolutely not a medical professional. These are simply my own thoughts and my own experiences based on this particular day.
I think this falls into the whole “don’t panic” recommendation when it comes to being a first responder.
Of course this is different if you’re the one who was injured, but if you’re the one to observe, make sure to take some mental notes of what just happened.
And move quickly. But deliberately.
Even if there are no serious injuries that you can see, there’s no reason to delay medical care.
Take note of who is there with you, where each person is. This includes other riders who have stopped or any drivers. In our case, there were two other riders from our group who stopped and there was a car behind us who witnessed the whole thing.
Note where you are, try to understand which direction is north, south, east, or west. Also know the road you’re currently on, and try to determine how far you may be from a nearby landmark or larger intersection.
In this case, I was lucky to know that we were on west Alpine road in the hills of Palo Alto and that we were about a mile from Skyline blvd.
This is perhaps the single most curious item here. It’s what made me want to write this entire blog post.
As I was attempting to make sense of what just happened, I noticed that several of us kept asking and re-asking each other “have you called?” or “have you called yet?”. None of us, at that brief moment, had.
I think it’s partly due to us not wanting to call 911 unnecessarily (perhaps a uniquely American hot-take on our health care system), but also partly due to none of us wanting to come to terms with what had just happened. That this situation warranted something so dramatic as a call to 911.
Luckly someone from the car made the call and put the phone on speakerphone. I then was able to provide the geographic location of where we were to the dispatcher.
I’m really thankful that she did that, even though I remember her asking in that moment about “how” to do it, asking the hypothetical and unterminated “do I just …” question that was answered by herself.
It’s really important to give everyone grace in these situations. We often don’t think clearly when our brains are flooded with cortisol.
I know in that moment I was mostly in disbelief because I wasn’t sure what to make of how severe everything was.
In the brief time period I spoke on speakerphone with the dispatcher, he was very helpful in giving us some immediate advice, a lot of which I’ve tried to capture here.
He told us:
The inclination of most people is to get up after we’ve fallen. It’s often how we make ourselves feel better about our condition, and we fully believe that if we do, we’re going to be fine.
In a lot of cases, you’re not fine, and you absolutely should not get back up immediately.
And you, as a first responder, shouldn’t move them or let them move if they look like they can’t or are having a hard time doing so.
However, in our case, rider 1 was in the middle of the road. So while there wasn’t any immediate traffic around us, it was still important to get him at least in the front of the car that had stopped to protect him from anyone coming down the hill.
He was luckily aware enough to know that one side of him was better than the other and was able to let me pull him up to his feet.
Remember, you likely have cycling cleats on, so dig in and lean into those heels!
For the next several minutes, our jobs changed a bit.
We made sure to make ourselves visible to anyone coming up or down the road, helping them navigate around everything that was going on. Luckily, everyone who passed us did so safely and several even asked if we needed help.
Because we were on a group ride, it’s also good to keep the rest of the group apprised of what is going on.
Contact anyone else you may have the number to, either in a text (asynchronous) or a call.
In our case, someone else in the group got a Garmin emergency alert for rider 2 who fell, so it’s important that they get the details they need to make decisions about what they may or may not need to do next.
I wanted to keep both riders talking, specifically in case there were any head injuries that we weren’t yet aware of. Concussions and other similar injuries aren’t always very well understood (to my knowledge), so it’s always better to err on the side of caution.
So with that, I thought it prudent to keep track of any changes to both riders’ demeanor and their pain levels, while making sure their bikes were out of the way, and that they did not have to worry about them.
We ride so much with our bikes and are so attached to them, it’s a recurring joke that cyclists will first think of their bike. “Is my bike okay?”
In the moment, it doesn’t matter, but you also don’t want a rider panicking or doing something stupid if they’re trying to find or move their bike.
Remember that everybody handles shock differently! In our case, rider 2 was very focused in the moment on how he was going to get home, either by taxi or even riding to a hospital (which was probably 30 miles back at that point). The professionals actually had to convince him to hop in the ambulance with the other rider.
I’m really glad he did!
Once the professionals get there, simply be helpful if they need your assistance, most likely with information about what transpired over the last few minutes.
In our case, the crew who showed up were experienced, calming, and clearly have interacted with cyclists in the past (there are a lot of us through this particular corridor).
Once they have everything they need from you, it’s okay to let them take point and get out of their way.
And yes, it’s okay to continue your ride once everything has been handled. Even if in the moment it may not feel that way.
Accidents happen. But there are certain things that we can remind ourselves of to avoid as much of them as possible.
Especially on descents! With more space, the more time you have to avoid these situations.
Defined on Wikipedia as:
Target fixation is an attentional phenomenon observed in humans in which an individual becomes so focused on an observed object (be it a target or hazard) that they inadvertently increase their risk of colliding with the object.
The term itself comes from an application of war, where pilots on bombing runs would actually run into their targets as they bombed them, since bombing runs effectively require the pilot to aim the plane at the target before releasing their payload and then turning away.
Be aware of where you’re going, and avoid the urge to look at and follow the person or item in front of you.
To avoid this phenomenon, one can be aware and in control of vision when in a panic mode or in a reward mode. A person should think about what they see and be aware of their environment before making any decisions.
To clarify, I didn’t observe target fixation on this particular day, but I as the third rider in this order could have fallen prey to it.
It’s always a good idea!
But if you’re unsure the level of your current medical coverage as it pertains to cycling, there’s always the insurance that comes from being a Rapha Cycling Club member. It’s a perk that existed a few years ago, went away, and is now back as of 2026.
It’s underwritten by Aviva Insurance Limited and even covers things like your Garmin device. So if you’re at all concerned about coverage, I’d definitely recommend getting it as part of your RCC membership.
Be smart when on public roads.
Be aware of your surroundings and observe riders’ behavior before you begin following them.
Next order of business is to call up the San Mateo Public Works to get this thing fixed!
