gaines_weaver
07-08-2008, 11:06 AM
From the Cyclepath Listserve--
Dear Team,
As Monica's post hinted, it was a rather adventurous ride on Saturday morning. I haven't ever been so busy on a SAG drive.
Twenty minutes into the ride, headed up Little Divine (address 665 Little Divine), one of the pit bulls from the dilapidated "compound" on the left side of the road ran out at our largest pack of riders (20 or so). It ran in front of Cole, who couldn't avoid it being in the pack. She got lucky and didn't go down. The dog bounced off of Cole's bike and into the path of Monica. Fortunately, I rolled up within 30 seconds (just random luck). Other than a bad case of road rash on her shoulder and an elbow that looked like it had been dipped in a meat grinder, she seemed basically okay, if shaken. It didn't appear she had hit her head. After we got ice and gauze, we went to the door of the trailer to try and talk to the owners. There was no answer and it was padlocked from the outside.
We headed back towards the Grocery Bag and Monica called 911 and Animal Control to report the accident and the dog. Neither was particularly helpful. Eventually, she called her husband to come and pick her up to take her to Urgent Care. I raced to get to the rest stop with the rest stop supplies.
Halfway to Kenly, I came across Larry who had a flat. I took him and his bike with me to the rest stop. Fortunately, by the time we got to the rest stop, the fastest group had (I think) not been there all that long. I helped Larry fix his flat. Then, right before leaving another new rider, Tom Patton, discovered that he had a broken spoke. Turns out, Tom and I went to the same middle school in Charlotte 25 years ago. Let's hear it for the Piedmont Pirates!! So, I carted Tom back to the Grocery Bag.
I think for the other 33 riders, other than Monica, Larry and Tom, it was a very good ride. Not too hot and not too humid.
Two asides. First, this is just a cautionary note to all future SAG drivers. If you ever have cause to take an injured rider back to the Grocery Bag, at least one involved in a full-on head-long wreck like Monica, do not leave them alone, no matter how coherent they may appear. I made that mistake with Monica. After the initial shock of collecting herself off of the ground, she seemed fine mentally. There was no apparent damage to her helmet. She was very coherent talking to the 911 operator and her neighbor (since no one answered the phone at her house). She said for me to just leave her at her car and that she was fine. Indeed, she seemed fine to me, too. Since I knew it would be tight for me to get to the rest stop, I made the mistake of taking her word for it. As it turned out, she didn't have a recollection of the crash or all of the events immediately after it. My guess is that it was the rush of adrenaline overwhelming her that blocked out the memories since the CT scan revealed no problems. Still, it could have been worse. New rule, don't leave injured riders, even in an apparently safe place of their choosing until you can hand them off to a friend, relative or emergency responder/health expert.
Second, I seriously hope that one of you attorneys in Johnston County helps Monica take this up with the owners. I am astounded at the non-responsiveness of the county Animal Control. Clearly this dog owner has no serious care for restraining his/her animals. This is not the first time one of them has been loose and charged some of our riders. This is just the first time someone has been injured. I would love to see the owner required to either put up a fence and keep all the dogs inside the fence or lose the dogs entirely.
Ride safe and see you all Saturday,
Gaines Weaver
Dear Team,
As Monica's post hinted, it was a rather adventurous ride on Saturday morning. I haven't ever been so busy on a SAG drive.
Twenty minutes into the ride, headed up Little Divine (address 665 Little Divine), one of the pit bulls from the dilapidated "compound" on the left side of the road ran out at our largest pack of riders (20 or so). It ran in front of Cole, who couldn't avoid it being in the pack. She got lucky and didn't go down. The dog bounced off of Cole's bike and into the path of Monica. Fortunately, I rolled up within 30 seconds (just random luck). Other than a bad case of road rash on her shoulder and an elbow that looked like it had been dipped in a meat grinder, she seemed basically okay, if shaken. It didn't appear she had hit her head. After we got ice and gauze, we went to the door of the trailer to try and talk to the owners. There was no answer and it was padlocked from the outside.
We headed back towards the Grocery Bag and Monica called 911 and Animal Control to report the accident and the dog. Neither was particularly helpful. Eventually, she called her husband to come and pick her up to take her to Urgent Care. I raced to get to the rest stop with the rest stop supplies.
Halfway to Kenly, I came across Larry who had a flat. I took him and his bike with me to the rest stop. Fortunately, by the time we got to the rest stop, the fastest group had (I think) not been there all that long. I helped Larry fix his flat. Then, right before leaving another new rider, Tom Patton, discovered that he had a broken spoke. Turns out, Tom and I went to the same middle school in Charlotte 25 years ago. Let's hear it for the Piedmont Pirates!! So, I carted Tom back to the Grocery Bag.
I think for the other 33 riders, other than Monica, Larry and Tom, it was a very good ride. Not too hot and not too humid.
Two asides. First, this is just a cautionary note to all future SAG drivers. If you ever have cause to take an injured rider back to the Grocery Bag, at least one involved in a full-on head-long wreck like Monica, do not leave them alone, no matter how coherent they may appear. I made that mistake with Monica. After the initial shock of collecting herself off of the ground, she seemed fine mentally. There was no apparent damage to her helmet. She was very coherent talking to the 911 operator and her neighbor (since no one answered the phone at her house). She said for me to just leave her at her car and that she was fine. Indeed, she seemed fine to me, too. Since I knew it would be tight for me to get to the rest stop, I made the mistake of taking her word for it. As it turned out, she didn't have a recollection of the crash or all of the events immediately after it. My guess is that it was the rush of adrenaline overwhelming her that blocked out the memories since the CT scan revealed no problems. Still, it could have been worse. New rule, don't leave injured riders, even in an apparently safe place of their choosing until you can hand them off to a friend, relative or emergency responder/health expert.
Second, I seriously hope that one of you attorneys in Johnston County helps Monica take this up with the owners. I am astounded at the non-responsiveness of the county Animal Control. Clearly this dog owner has no serious care for restraining his/her animals. This is not the first time one of them has been loose and charged some of our riders. This is just the first time someone has been injured. I would love to see the owner required to either put up a fence and keep all the dogs inside the fence or lose the dogs entirely.
Ride safe and see you all Saturday,
Gaines Weaver