DR,
as many of you know, Dan was involved in an bike accident last
week.
given that safety is a key tenant of the Dendy Riders, I
chatted with Dan
to better understand the accident circumstances and to see if
there were
any learnings that we could take away
Compiling an accident / incident report is pretty commonplace
in businesses, especially
ones that operate in potentially dangerous environments (e.g.
construction,
mining)
So, here goes
I have split it up into :
1. accident report
2. learnings for the DR
1. accident report
So, Lippo was riding to work on the east link bike path. But,
Lippo, being
Lippo, was taking the 'long-route' to work. and I mean long -
like a 100k
morning loop pre-work (impressive!)
The East link path is a beautiful bike path. It is not that
busy and
follows a creek past golf courses etc
Lippo was not cruising, the training program for the day was
moderate HR <135 (have you ever seen him go easy?) - he was
riding
for a good "60k time" - but he was not racing for short
distance Strava records. He was not being reckless
As Lippo came around a wide bend on the bike path doing 27km/h,
a female cyclist coming in
the other direction has cut across Lippo's path (she was aiming
to exit onto
a small path off the main path).
She should not have been crossed the path without looking, but
there she was.
In the collision Lippo's forearm hit the top of the head set
with plenty
of impact and he put a large, nasty gash in his arm. She was
shaken, but her body and bike
unscathed. She has also admitted full responsibility for the
accident.
Lippo remained calm, but needed help from the lady to call an
Ambulance
etc. She went into shock and was unable to even follow simple
instructions
reliably (like, call 000)
The wound required Lippo to stop the bleeding with his jersey,
an ambulance
trip and some very good stich-work at the ER to patch up.
Lipp spent 10 days off the bike, needed a course of antibiotics
to knock the infection that resulted in the open wound
and is very relieved that the wound will fully
heal and that there is no major long-term damage other than he
will not be called upon so frequently as a Baywatch stunt
double.
2. learnings for the DR
Lippo highlighted three learnings from this situation
One; on bike paths, we simply have to make allowances for
other people
and their random actions. For example, on the beach bike path,
there are
many more people wondering out and across the bike path to get
to the beach
in warm weather. Now, in Lippo's case, there probably was
nothing that
Lippo could have done to prevent this accident, but it is a
reminder that
even on a bike path, there may not be cars, but there are other
risks we
must try to manage.
Recommendation: Adapt your riding style dynamically, depending
on the
conditions and the people around. Also, when travelling on a
bike path that
not many people use, people are not prepared for you to come
along, so
extra vigilance is required.
Two: the importance of a great GP. Through Lippo's recovery
phase, he has
relied upon the advice of his GP, a bloke who is a Loco cyclist
himself. Having
a medical professional that understands cycling and your
aspirations for
riding, and your interest in long term health and wellbeing,
has made a
massive difference to Lippo. The GP has advised on the
recovery phase and
when to get back on the bike etc... and has been really
supportive
throughout both this accident and Lippo's recovery from both
recent bouts of pneumonia. A good
reminder for us all.
Three: Response to antibiotics and cycling. To attack the
infection that went through Lippo's body, he had to have daily
penicillin injections - but the infection and antibiotics combo
really knocked Lippo's fitness levels (e.g.the drop has been
much more severe than pneumonia and the related chest coughs).
The learning here is that an infection, illness can drastically
reduce fitness levels, so adjusting ones training and ride
patterns is required . For Lippo, this has meant not rolling
turns last week at all in the faster groups and a Group A
comeback ride.
Recommendation: We should all ride to current fitness levels,
not last week’s, or last month's
So, thanks to Lippo for sharing the particulars of the accident
and looking
forward to welcoming you back on the Dendy Special....
Danger
