This is a somewhat grim thought. It’s crash season again. This happens every year. Several factors come together, and a lot of riders, way too many, have crashes, of one kind or another, at this time of the year.
The contributing factors:
Seasonal “Burnout”
Annual Schedule Change
Seasonal Burnout: Let’s face it; the majority of cyclists are seasonal riders. See if this doesn’t sound like you.
- Early Fall: You feel great. You’ve had a pretty good year. It started kind of slow, but you’ve been in good condition since early Summer. You’ve had some great rides. You’ve lost some weight, and gained some strength. You feel really good, and you swear you are not going to lose condition this year.
- Late Fall: It has gotten darker out. It’s hard to find the time to ride, and when you do it’s either dark, or kind of cold, or both. You aren’t riding as much, and the holidays are approaching. You vow you will do better, “when the rush is over.”
- Early Winter: You’ve gained 10 pounds. It’s cold out. The weather usually stinks. You’re tired from all the holiday “stuff.” You think you’ll go for a ride, but when you try, your bike has a flat, and it isn’t shifting right. By the time you get it all together, the weather has changed, and you have some other chores to do.
- Winter: It is too stinkin’ cold to go out! You can’t remember exactly when you last rode. You’re thinking about joining the gym.
- Spring: The weather is improving. You’ve been feeling guilty. You get the bike tuned. You go out for a couple of rides. It hurts. You’re out of shape, short of breath, and overweight. You know what to do, and you start doing it… but only somewhat regularly.
- Late Spring: You’ve gotten serious about your training and riding. You’re doing a lot, the weather is great, lots of folks are out riding, and you’re starting to think you will recover some of your “form.”
- Early Summer: You are feeling pretty good. You’ve lost some of the “Winter weight,” and your speed and stamina are returning. You catch up to that faster group on the weekly rides.
- Mid-Summer: You have been riding… A LOT… and you are feeling strong. The heat is coming on, so you back off a bit, but you still ride regularly. And when you ride, you go out hard.
- Late Summer: You’re feeling a bit tired on a pretty regular basis. You don’t know it, but you are burning out. Your reaction and response are not as quick. It’s hard to see this, because everyone you ride with is in the same boat. Nothing bad has happened to you this year, so you are feeling kind of complacent and cocky regarding your skills. Sometimes, you’d kind of like to just skip the weekly ride. After all, you’ve been good, there’s a lot to do, and you feel a bit whipped this week.
Does this sound familiar? If it does, you are fairly typical, and you are starting to burn out. (We’ll talk more about Burnout and what to do about it, in the near future.)
Annual Schedule Change: Several things have happened, and are happening now. School is back in session. The buses, and “Mom Taxis” are rolling. Traffic patterns have shifted, and no one is used to the new rules and routes. Regular drivers, and utility vehicles are changing their patterns in response to the sudden shift to “school schedule.” They are moving earlier, later, and in the middle of the day, to avoid the arrival and dismissal rushes. Cyclists haven’t adapted to the new patterns yet. We’ve become used to having the roads, and suddenly there is more traffic, at unexpected times and places.
This combination of circumstances presents a much greater chance for a mishap! I may be wrong about some of the causes, but it’s a fact, cycling accidents “spike” at this time of year. We tend to tangle with each other, and with motorists more. Sometimes, the results of these altercations are pretty bad.
What to do? Ease up for a week or two. Ride a bit less, and at a more relaxed pace. Allow yourself to recover your “edge.” And when you do ride, do so with more caution and more attention. (NOTE: If you are thinking, “That isn’t me,” then you are a prime case, and very close to becoming another statistic.)
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