The Pothole Problem

Riding in a group, or ‘peloton’ is fun. But it can be dangerous, especially if some of the riders are inattentive or do not follow group ride etiquette and protocols. That happened on Sunday.

We were riding south on Alpine Road between Live Oak and Eight Mile. I was in front, Margaret was on my wheel, and Marlin was third wheel. I could see them in my mirror, but Marlin is a big guy and I have no idea who was behind him or in what order. I was setting a nice pace but deliberately not going so hard as to drop anyone.

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There is a really horrendous pothole on that stretch of road. It is wide and deep and often in the shade of an oak tree, which makes it very hard to see. I know where it is, so as I approached it I called out “Pothole” and pointed down at the pavement on the right side of my bike. I also moved gently to the left to skirt the thing.

Now once the person if front does this, the riders behind him/her are supposed to follow suit so that the notice goes down the line. There were 9 or 10 of us in the group, and those behind Marlin could not possibly see my signal; he is a BIG guy.

Apparently that did not happen. The last two riders hit the hole dead center. The good news is that they are both experienced cyclists and kept control and did not crash. The bad news is that they got 4 flat tires. When you hit a hole that deep the tire bead separates from the rim and the inner tube, which is under pressure, fills the gap. When the bead snaps back the tube is pinched, hence the term ‘pinch flat’.

The two riders were a more than a mite irritated, understandably. I felt really bad even though I did what I was supposed to. In the post mortem, Marlin said he saw me point to the right and heard me, that he saw Margaret point to the right and slide to the left behind me, while he called out and pointed to the left as he moved to the right, which is perfectly acceptable. You can avoid the hazard on either side as long as you point it out. But somewhere after that the chain of communication had a weak link.

This post is not to accuse or assail anyone’s riding skills. It is just a reminder that if we are riding in a group we have a responsibility to the riders behind us to point out and warn them of trouble they cannot see. Sometimes potholes are hard to see, especially if they are in the shade, so riders might not always get a warning. But if you see something, point out something.

And if you see someone in front of you point out a hazard, do like the stage announcer said in Woodstock: Pass it on.