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Inevitable!

WhiteGiant

Maximum Pace
Nov 4, 2006
1,233
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It's probably going to happen sooner or later…

I wouldn't usually write about a ride that wasn't TCC-related on this site, but here's how it went:

Yesterday (Sat. March 24): 8:00am, I met my Japanese friend, Okubo-san, at Takao station (there was supposed to be 3 of us, but one guy slept in, and met us later).
We rolled out from there and up to "Wada-toge" – Aaron and a few others know it well – I finally made it up without stopping; in less than 20 minutes!
We rode down the other side for 5km or so, then cut across to Rte.33 and rode up to "Kobu-Tunnel". From there, down steep for 4km to the start of last week's "Okutama 2" ride. It was my second week in a row, and after Wada-toge, the fastest I could get up there was 1hr,03mins – A little disappointing.
Down at the lake, we met up with Yoko (Ibe-san) and Harada-san (the guy who overslept). We headed west to go up and over "Imagawa-toge" and then on to Rte.411 before continuing up to "Yanagisawa-toge" and then down to Enzan.
We never made it to our destination!
After climbing Imagawa-toge, Harada and I headed down in front to the Rte.411 turn-off.
We waited for about 10 minutes, before a distraught Yoko came down the hill screaming "Taihen! Taihen!"

Okubo-san, who is a very experienced rider, had his front tyre blow out on the decent at around 40-45km/h. His rim slipped, and he went down hard!
Harada-san rode back up the hill as fast as he could.
Yoko flagged down some guy in a mini-van, and went up the hill in the passenger's seat.
I sat in front of the Koban/Police-box, waiting for the policeman to get back from patrol.

In the end, Okubo-san broke the ring finger of his right hand in several places. His helmet was cracked open like an eggshell!
Finally the police arrived, and sent an ambulance up to get him, and take him to hospital – Yoko rode in the front of the ambulance.
Harada-san came back down the mountain to where I was waiting at the Koban. He had to bag up not only his own bike, but Yoko's as well, and wait nearly 2 hours for the next bus back to Okutama station.
In that situation, there was nothing I could do, so I just rode back to the station by myself – feeling absolutely helpless.
I actually thought afterwards, "If that was me, I'd still be able to ride down the mountain with a broken finger!"…. But wait! "Would I be able to fix a puncture with one? I don't think so!"
Even if it's not you who crashes, when one of your friends goes down, it's a nasty feeling - This was my first time to have a riding partner injured, and it can be really scary.

I suppose the only point to me writing this, is to say to all the guys & girls out there: "BE CAREFUL!" Even experienced riders have their misfortune.
And, never go riding on those lonely mountain roads by yourself – That's the beauty of not just this site, but other sites like this, where you can nearly always find a riding partner.

Now I have a bigger reason to continue posting the motto:
RUBBER DOWN! Travis
 
It's probably going to happen sooner or later…

I wouldn't usually write about a ride that wasn't TCC-related on this site, but here's how it went:

Yesterday (Sat. March 24): 8:00am, I met my Japanese friend, Okubo-san, at Takao station (there was supposed to be 3 of us, but one guy slept in, and met us later).
We rolled out from there and up to "Wada-toge" – Aaron and a few others know it well – I finally made it up without stopping; in less than 20 minutes!
We rode down the other side for 5km or so, then cut across to Rte.33 and rode up to "Kobu-Tunnel". From there, down steep for 4km to the start of last week's "Okutama 2" ride. It was my second week in a row, and after Wada-toge, the fastest I could get up there was 1hr,03mins – A little disappointing.
Down at the lake, we met up with Yoko (Ibe-san) and Harada-san (the guy who overslept). We headed west to go up and over "Imagawa-toge" and then on to Rte.411 before continuing up to "Yanagisawa-toge" and then down to Enzan.
We never made it to our destination!
After climbing Imagawa-toge, Harada and I headed down in front to the Rte.411 turn-off.
We waited for about 10 minutes, before a distraught Yoko came down the hill screaming "Taihen! Taihen!"

Okubo-san, who is a very experienced rider, had his front tyre blow out on the decent at around 40-45km/h. His rim slipped, and he went down hard!
Harada-san rode back up the hill as fast as he could.
Yoko flagged down some guy in a mini-van, and went up the hill in the passenger's seat.
I sat in front of the Koban/Police-box, waiting for the policeman to get back from patrol.

In the end, Okubo-san broke the ring finger of his right hand in several places. His helmet was cracked open like an eggshell!
Finally the police arrived, and sent an ambulance up to get him, and take him to hospital – Yoko rode in the front of the ambulance.
Harada-san came back down the mountain to where I was waiting at the Koban. He had to bag up not only his own bike, but Yoko's as well, and wait nearly 2 hours for the next bus back to Okutama station.
In that situation, there was nothing I could do, so I just rode back to the station by myself – feeling absolutely helpless.
I actually thought afterwards, "If that was me, I'd still be able to ride down the mountain with a broken finger!"…. But wait! "Would I be able to fix a puncture with one? I don't think so!"
Even if it's not you who crashes, when one of your friends goes down, it's a nasty feeling - This was my first time to have a riding partner injured, and it can be really scary.

I suppose the only point to me writing this, is to say to all the guys & girls out there: "BE CAREFUL!" Even experienced riders have their misfortune.
And, never go riding on those lonely mountain roads by yourself – That's the beauty of not just this site, but other sites like this, where you can nearly always find a riding partner.

Now I have a bigger reason to continue posting the motto:
RUBBER DOWN! Travis

Hey man, I am sorry to hear that. I know Okubo san, please give him my best next time you talk to him.

Thats a real bummer, but as the old saying goes 'you ride, you crash'. Okubo would be only to well aware of this. I bet he was glad he was wearing a helmet, man! At least he had some good people with him to help him out.

Take it easy on those downhills people!!

ash
 
Very sorry to hear about that accident! I hope Okubo-san is better. Just shows how important it is to wear a helmet.
 
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