A kangaroo ran into me on a 60kmh night descent

[Stefan_A]

What?

I presume Frank Papp's (the guy I mentioned died after striking a roo) parents would not appreciate your attempts to lampoon this topic.

[trailgumby]

What?

I presume Frank Papp's (the guy I mentioned died after striking a roo) parents would not appreciate your attempts to lampoon this topic.

Nah, mate I'm not lampooning the *topic*, it is your comments I find slightly silly on this occasion.

Not sure why, but evidently your normal level of thoughtfulness didn't seem to get applied before hitting the "submit" icon.

[HappyHumber]

Well... how's that a turnout for the books. Someone misconstruing words typed versus thoughts intended on the internut.

Whatever next; Powered flight? Motion pictures with sound?

[Stefan_A]

What?

I presume Frank Papp's (the guy I mentioned died after striking a roo) parents would not appreciate your attempts to lampoon this topic.

Nah, mate I'm not lampooning the *topic*, it is your comments I find slightly silly on this occasion.

Not sure why, but evidently your normal level of thoughtfulness didn't seem to get applied before hitting the "submit" icon.

We're all cyclists, mate!....and Frank Papp is an ex cyclist

I have no doubt he, his parents, and I have no higher desire than people who enjoy cycling continue to do so for longer. I have no doubt his parents wish he'd weighed his desire to bomb down hills fast, more realistically with the associated risks.

That's where I am coming from. If that's slightly silly to you, then you've a lot to learn about the meaning of life, and the premature end of it.

[trailgumby]

I'm not disrespecting your intent, just your application. Sure there are circumstances where 60 down a hill is poor judgement, but there are plenty where it is perfectly fine. Your blanket statement is OTT, as others have noted, and your attribution to those who might go that quick on occasion of having something missing from their lives was a little insulting.

Perhaps my taking the mickey was not the most constructive approach.

Sent from my android thingy using Crapatalk

[il padrone]

Your blanket statement is OTT, as others have noted, and your attribution to those who might go that quick on occasion of having something missing from their lives was a little insulting.

+1

I found that comment to be somewhat galling. And a touch too personal.

[Lukeyboy]

I manage to nudge the 90's on some of my descents so I must have nothing going for me in my life. Heck I've managed to average 60 along that flat bikeway in the city. Even passed one dude doing 70-72kph at the time (had a good laugh when I dinged then flew past). I've even descended on my mtb doing 45-55kph. Sure things can go wrong big time but so can things at slower speeds. I've only fallen off road bikes a few times. Not going 97kph. Not going 50kph. But 30-35kph through a roundabout. Doing a uturn outside the front of my house at 4kph and a clip stack in the back yard doing 2kph. It seems the slower I'm going the harder it is for me to stay on the bike But as ball bearing said. It's only dangerous if the conditions make it so. Sure some take the risks that others might not be comfortable with but risk isn't always the same between two riders. Age, rider ability/handling skills, area knowledge, rider history, rider focus/reactions etc all play a part in determining it.

OP, heal up man. Very very very lucky by reading what happened. What type of bike are you running? I'm guessing not carbon if you came off second best

[cavebear2]

What type of bike are you running? I'm guessing not carbon if you came off second best

Custom built Ti

btw. I did wear a back arm band for Frank Papp for the duration of the PBP 1200km in 2011

[Stefan_A]

Age, rider ability/handling skills, area knowledge, rider history, rider focus/reactions etc all play a part in determining it.

So the two experienced riders who came off on the Pei Rd descent with you last Sunday, came off due to what?
Either of them could easily have been killed if there were vehicles coming up the hill.

Risk is a very hard thing to judge objectively, with adequate deconditioning.
It's human nature to lull ourselves into believing the risks are less than what they are. Jordan Kirby and other pros do get it wrong.
But this topic is too emotive and personal for some to confront rationally.

[Lukeyboy]

So the two experienced riders who came off on the Pei Rd descent with you last Sunday, came off due to what?

Honestly? IMO I think they came off because they were going too fast for the conditions. Before we went down I said keep a good distance between each other, watch out for wet patches especially under trees/off camber bits of road, aim for a slower corner entry speed and stay well away from the inside line due to oil residue and moss (after the crit race the day before I was talking to Phil about exactly that - after we got going again the first Terry said I see what you mean about the moss on the inside). I went first and managed to hit 60kph in the dry yet I was 3rd into the first corner. As I was going through the first left kink I saw the road surface up ahead change to a wet road as you lean over to take the right kink before the first proper left hander. I dropped it down to about 38 into the right kink and let it get to about 40-42kph and was aiming for an entry speed of about 28-30kph for the first proper left hander. I was doing about 42-37 when 2 of them went past I'd say at about 5-7kph faster than me. I said to myself at the time they are game and had a little chuckle and exactly then I heard the first Terry drop the bike behind me. As soon as I heard that I honestly thought he got caught out behind me and ended up crashing into the inside ditch (his rear end slid out IIRC which is how the rear derailleur hanger got bent as the bike flipped). I didn't see the second crash as I was slowing down to get ready to run back up the hill to help the first Terry but then heard the bike scraping sound and the sound of a motorbike engine braking. I got debris off the road/flagged cars approaching the blind corners to slow down and checked on the second Terry before running back up the hill to check on the first Terry. With regards to the second crash carrying too much speed into the first left hander could have been the reason as to why. It's a sharp drop between the two corners with a kink in the middle. In the wet it's very easy to carry too much speed into the first corner, gain speed while cornering/not on the brakes and then enter the next sharper blind left corner too hot because of the negative grade and the slight delay as your brakes regrip and get some bite meaning you can sometimes carry the brakes into the corner. Depending on your riding style in the dry you can get away with that but in the wet its enough to have the wheel slide out from under you.

You know I'm no slouch when it comes to descending Mt Glorious as I have the fastest to top 9 positions on pretty much all the downhill segments but in my opinion they were going a tad bit fast and got caught out on the dry to wet transition heading into the blind negative grade left handers. You can view my analysis of the initial descent. It should roughly match up with what I'm saying http://www.strava.com/activities/118883880" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;