Summer’s Fading
“There
was ease in Casey’s manner as he stepped into his place,
There was pride in Casey’s bearing and a smile lit Casey’s face,
And when, responding to cheers,
he lightly doffed his hat,
No stranger in the crowd could doubt t’was Casey
at the bat.”
While the racing season is over for some, many
others are just hitting their stride, and like Casey, optimistically and
confidently are looking forward to their final “A” race of the season.
We
get spoiled being able to bike at 5:30 am in the summer with simply a singlet in
the early dawn. But as August becomes September, the sun stays in bed another
hour and retires and hour earlier. We have a tendency to get caught out after
dark and the first time we hit our headlight switch…with last Spring’s
batteries, all too often we’re headed home in the dark and not only can we not
see, we cannot be seen. I think I use the strobe function on my headlight more
than the simple light. So why not take some Sunday afternoon time and check all
those batteries, look for your orange reflective vest and flashlight for those
pre-dawn runs, and don’t get caught in the dark. Take a minute to look through
your bike saddle bag/fanny pack at your ability to provide first aid. I know as
a physician you’d expect me to carry more (I’m always equipped with band aids,
Tylenol, Benadryl, Bacitracin, Ibuprofen, cell phone, etc.) you don’t want to be
surprised if the ride presents a challenge. Don’t the Boy Scouts promote the
motto BE PREPARED?
In our county here in Virginia, school starts on
Tuesday, so the buses will be back on the roads frustrating drivers. Watch that
they don’t take their frustration out on you as it may take some common sense
route changes to ensure you stay out of harms way.
It’s been a bad day at Black Rock. I try to preach safety above almost all else and we’ve had a bad streak. The owner of my LBS was hit by a car on a quiet country road incurring a spine fracture which required hospitalization but not surgery. Then another of our group had his handlebars loosen after hitting a particularly deep pothole….hip fracture with surgery and screws. Near the sight of his accident, at almost the same time, another biker crashed fracturing his neck leading to surgery and plating.
Less fortunate was a gent riding his bike from our area to visit his daughter at a nearby college when he was struck and killed by a motor vehicle. Cell phone records of the driver have been subpoenaed as authorities think this may have contributed to driver inattention. But he’s still dead.
So, although the racing season has finished for many of us, significant biking challenges and work outs lay ahead. Please don’t let your guard down, ride like they’re out to get you – maybe they are -and take that extra minute to make sure everything…everything is 100% on the bike without taking a short cut. You could end up on this blog, and that’d be a bad thing. Have a conversation with your bike. Today and every day.
Best of luck to everyone in that final summer/fall race.
I have a blog up now that might be of interest. What happens when age or injury
forces you the conclude your triathlon career.
www.johnpostmdsblog.blogspot.com