A Gentle Reminder About Safety

Birthday: Mario Cipollini was born on this day 40 years ago (1967).

Tonight's ride (or attempted ride) reminded me of a very important part of a safe, successful cycling regimen: inspect your equipment consistently. I was fortunate to notice the problem at a regrouping point about three miles into the ride. Fortunate because this ride is notoriously race-like and could have presented the worst possible situation for an equipment failure. Not only because I could have gone down hard, but more so because it is such a large ride and others could have been hurt, as well.

Although I noticed a little mushiness when I clipped in leaving my car, the ride over to the regrouping area went smoothly and I thought nothing more of it. As I rode up on the group they looked to be pulling away. I put in a small acceleration to ensure that I would make the back of the group, but I was soon relieved to see the group was just moving to a more out-of-the-way part of the small country gas station’s parking lot.

If you have ridden on rural routes then you have no doubt seen establishments like this one. Darker and more cramped than the consumer driven layouts of chain stations to which you have likely become accustomed. The gas pumps lack credit/debit card access, so the customers have to go inside to pay where they are greeted by name and familiar conversation ensues. I mention this aspect of local businesses because we as cyclists are foreign there. Though the motorists see us on roads around here and respond with varying degrees of acceptance (mostly polite), they are not used to seeing us at their local stops, in their local lives.

As I entered the parking area tonight, relieved at the break I was going to get before hanging on for dear life, I noticed the unfamiliar looks raining upon us from the afternoon clientele. Then I gave an unfamiliar look of my own. I am new to the area and did not see anyone I knew in tight clothes group on the far side of the lot. After a few minutes and an awkward attempt to start a conversation with a guy wearing a Laurent Jalabert-era CSC-Tiscali jersey a couple of friends rode up and eased my discomfort. Just as I was getting psyched to start the ride and suffer I noticed something out of place with my left shoe.

UH! In short, three of the four screws holding my Speedplay cleat on place were gone and the last one left was loose. We searched to see if any of the screws were on the ground, but it was clear that I had rolled into the lot on one screw. Upon reflection I was able to discern a two main factors that lead to my ride-ending mechanical failure:

1. Regular Equipment Inspections - I have gotten out of the habit of doing them. Here is a good site for a pre-ride checklist with a nice mnemonic (ABC Quick Check). I would also recommend doing a more thorough weekly check of all cycling equipment from the bike to shoes, helmet, car racks and the tools, tubes, etc. that you take on each ride. A site called Bicycling Life has a good list for an in-depth bike inspection that will help you with this weekly check. The items marked 'Safety' are vital.
   
2. Make Good Habits and Keep Them - In the past I have been diligent about checking my equipment, but being in a new place with a new profession coupled with just starting to ride regularly after sporadic winter rides contributed to forming a bad habit. As with pre-ride inspections, make the weekly total inspection a good habit by performing it at a time when you will remember to follow-through even if you have to miss a ride. I like doing mine on a trash day. That keeps my wife happy, too.

Some tips for effective inspecting that I gleaned from my experience in Navy Flight School:

• Touch the parts you are checking. This may seem obvious, but looking at parts may not reveal subtle problems. Run your hands over your frame, saddle, tires, etc.
  
• If it is supposed to move, move it. Spin your wheels, pedals & cranks, pull your brake levers, shift your gears (while cranking), check your quick release, and anything else.
  
• If it is not supposed to move, try to move it (within reason). Push & pull on your saddle. Try to move your handlebars in the stem, your brake hoods on the handlebars and your bottle cages. Put the front wheel between your legs and try to turn your handlebars to check for a loose stem.

After a few times the whole check shouldn't take more than 15 minutes out of your week and safety is worth at least that much. I was fortunate that I did not get hurt or hurt others with a mechanical failure that could have been prevented with a simple check.

Note: I have been very satisfied with Speedplay X-Series pedals since I began riding them about ten years ago. On top of re-instituting good inspection habits I am going to use Loctite Threadlocker to stave off similar mishaps.

Next: A workout idea born (or remembered) from my ride back from the regrouping station.