Yesterday was another hot South Texas day. A friend picked me up at 6:30p to go to the Edinburg Coyotes baseball game, and it was still around 98F. As we turned onto Shary Road we saw a group of cyclists in the ditch. One guy was laying in the grass, and there were 2 vehicles stopped and assisting. I immediately thought there had been an auto-bike accident.
We flipped a u-turn, and I got out and offered my help. I was thinking that since we were very close to my home, I might offer some useful assistance. What I learned from one of the cyclists is that his buddy had ‘a stitch’, lost control, and fell. One of the motorists, who was politely offering to transport a bike, said that he saw the rider ‘just fall out’ and hit the pavement.
My guess is heat. The guy looked beat, was red in the face, and luckily had only a little road rash on his arm and shoulder. He’s very lucky that he wasn’t hit by a car when he fell, as Shary Road is very busy at 6:30p.
Fellow cyclists – beware the heat. Stay hydrated. Stay within your limits. If you’re struggling, say something. Don’t hurt yourself. It’s not worth it.
About Me
- 331 Miles
- Sugar Land, TX, United States
- In 2006 I moved from Austin to South Texas. I took my bike, became addicted to cycling, and started writing about cycling and life in the RGV. Now I'm living in Houston, and still cycling and writing.
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4 comments:
on a ride last year, I was so hot and dehydrated that I couldn't finish a five mile descent. Stopped at the side of the road and just sat there until a friendly motorist stopped and gave me some water. Bad stuff can happen on those hot rides--too bad we often think we just need to tough it out when we really need to stop and say something.
aw you make me miss the valley so. . . :)
Yeah, take it easy in the heat!
For the cyclist this will be one of those "laugh about it later" kind of stories :-)
I haven't crashed too many times, but you're right -- even with injuries, you laugh about what happened. Or rather, you laugh at yourself because you know you could have prevented it!
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