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Bicycling Helmet course of the American River from Discovery again. Let’s get going.”
The ARBT is 31 miles long and parallels the
Gary picked up my bike and checked it out.
does its Job Park in Sacramento to Beal’s Point at Folsom He determined that the bicycle was OK to ride
and handed it to me. Jay handed me the broken
Lake. Mile-markers are painted in large white
numbers on the surface of the trail at half-mile rearview mirror which had previously been at-
By Don Young intervals and indicate the distance from the zero- tached to my helmet. Looking around the area
mile-marker located in Discovery Park. where I had fallen I didn’t see any remaining
For more than two years I’ve been training to Somewhere near the 12-mile-trail-marker, I debris from my crash. However, I strongly sus-
do a one-day bicycle ride long enough in miles was drafting Jay in an attempt to save some en- pect that traces of my blood remain where I
to equal my age. My 77th birthday was Dec. 9, ergy for riding the additional nine miles when christened the newly paved surface of the Amer-
2015. Sometime in mid-October 2015, six mem- we returned to the Aquatic Center parking lot. ican River Bike Trail.
bers of the Bicycling Special Interest Group: Drafting too closely I accidentally bumped in- Back on my bicycle and riding towards Old
Terry Oberdank, Gary Escovar, Larry Mills, to Jay’s rear wheel and lost control of my bike. I Town, my buddies, concerned for my safety, let
Craig Courtright, Jay Ferris, and myself agreed crashed to the surface of the trail. Jay was not me take the lead. Terry rode close behind me.
to do a long ride on the American River Bike affected by the bump, but I took a bad fall, hit- He was keeping a very watchful eye on me.
Trail (ARBT) from Beal’s Point down to Old ting the pavement at approximately twelve miles It wasn’t long before my left hand and arm
Town Sacramento and back, a distance of ap- per hour. began hurting. Because of the increasing pain in
proximately 68 miles. We decided to do the Stunned by the hard fall, I laid on the trail for my left arm, I chose to ride with my left forearm
challenging ride on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2015. Jay several moments before attempting to move. My held close to my body. I controlled the bicycle
suggested that we begin the ride at the Aquatic helmet was still snuggly strapped to my head. with my uninjured right hand.
Center parking lot where there is easy access to Slowly I began to flex my fingers. They worked After a mile or so into the ride, Terry pulled
the ARBT at the 23-mile-marker. OK. I wiggled my toes and moved my feet. up beside me and asked, “Why are you riding so
Given the group’s decision to do the long fast?”
ride, I decided to ride an additional 9 miles to “I didn’t realize that I was. I guess it’s because
reach my goal. Riding buddies, Terry and Lar- I’m hungry,” I replied.
ry, both very strong cyclists, agreed to ride the I slowed down. Terry, ever watchful and very
extra distance with me. However, on the after- concerned about my badly stressed condition,
th
noon of the 28 Larry informed me via an e- continued riding beside me. Gary, upon seeing
mail message that something had come up, and that I was in safe care, passed us continuing to
he would not be able to ride with us. ride towards his favorite lunch stop in Old
With a favorable weather forecast of a high Town, the Subway Sandwich shop.
temperature of 82, clear skies, and some gusting A few minutes later, I turned my head towards
wind late in the day, we decided to do the ride. Terry and asked, “What happened? I don’t re-
We believed that we could finish the ride before member.”
the wind started gusting too hard. The group “I think you ran into somebody’s rear wheel.”
agreed to meet at the Aquatic Center parking lot They also worked OK. When I felt strong As I rode along, I gradually began to remem-
at 9:00 AM to begin the ride. Due to unforeseen enough to try, I gradually stood up. All of my ber the details of the incident, but I couldn’t re-
circumstances, we got off to a late start. buddies were watching closely, no doubt expect- member why we were riding where we were,
Jay, who is very familiar with the maze of ing that I might collapse from some unseen inju- nor could I remember where my car was parked.
trails around Nimbus Dam and Lake Natomas, ry. A mile or so further down the trail Terry sug-
guided us from the parking lot to the ARBT “Are you ok?” Terry asked. gested that we stop and have a drink of water. I
along the west side of the lake. We started riding “I’m not sure,” I replied. was tiring and knew that I needed to drink more
towards Beal’s Point to get the tough four-mile- Skinned up and bleeding from my scalp, the water. We stopped at the side of the trail. I took
long hill-climb at the end of the ARBT complet- left side of my head, and numerous places on a big drink of water from my front water bottle.
ed during the cool morning. my left knee and ankle, I was hurting all over. The water bottle was nearly empty, but I wasn’t
Eight miles into the ride, at the top of the hill Slowly I started walking around attempting to concerned. I knew that I had enough water to
near the 31-mile trail-marker at Beal’s Point, I verify that I was OK. None of my body parts last me until we reached the lunch stop because
noticed that my bicycle wasn’t handling correct- seemed to be broken, and nothing was hurting I hadn’t drunk from my second water bottle yet.
ly. Looked down at my front wheel and saw so badly that I wouldn’t be able to continue the Terry, waiting patiently near me, wasn’t anxious
that the tire was nearly flat. Led by my very ride into Old Town. Due to the crash my two to begin riding anytime soon. He knew that I
helpful cycling buddy, Gary, with assistance rear-view mirrors were broken, one attached to needed a rest and that we could continue our
from Craig, the guys pitched in to help me repair my helmet and the other attached to the left end ride as soon as I was ready. He had known for
the flat tire. The flat was caused by a small of my handlebar, plus the left temple of my dark some time that there wasn’t any chance of us
weed seed known as a goat head. Repairing the glasses was broken. riding 77 miles that day. The chance to do so
flat further delayed our ride. Again, my riding buddies came to my res- had been lost much earlier due to the two delays.
As soon as the flat tire was repaired, we turned cue. They were all deeply concerned about my When I felt sufficiently rested, we got back on
around and began a fast downhill ride towards physical condition. “How do you feel?” Terry our bikes and continued riding towards Old
Old Town Sacramento where we planned to asked. Town. An increasing wind challenged our pro-
have lunch, approximately 34 miles away. As “I’m ok.” gress. Continued...
we rode down the ARBT I noticed tall weeds “Are you sure?” Craig asked with doubt in his
near the edge of the trail began to sway in the voice.
wind. September 2021 Page 26
“Yes. I’m ok, and I’m ready to start riding