Secure your equipment

On Tuesday nights, I regularly ride with a group from Inside Out Sports. Most the time, these rides are hard but uneventful. However, this past Tuesday night, we nearly had a major pile up.

We were charging up the hill over by the air port. Up ahead of me, I noticed one of the guys on a Tri bike taking a drink from his water bottle caged on the back of his seat. Normally, this is no big deal. Guys drink all the time.

In this case, he didn't get the bottle caged well and it popped out. With 30 to 40 guys charging up a hill riding two a breast, everyone was scattering. I tried maneuvering away but it was if the bottle had a mind of its own. It was bouncing right toward me. Fortunately, my front tire centered the water perfectly and the tire rolled right over it.

No one else went down and the water bottle, I assume, got kicked to the side of the road.

Which brings me to my point, when riding a bike; one should never let their attention drift even for a second. The consequences can serious not only for yourself but for those riding with you. Secondly, make sure that you secure anything that you are carrying with you. This is especially true for water bottles. A full water bottle rolling under a front tire can easily cause a rider to go down.

So stay sharp and secure your equipment at all times.

 

 

Thoughts from the Cool Down Runner.