THE FLIP SIDE

Greenway crash proves value of helmets

Riders wear helmets during the Square To Square ride in May on the Razorback Greenway. Helmets and cycling gloves help prevent rider injury.
Riders wear helmets during the Square To Square ride in May on the Razorback Greenway. Helmets and cycling gloves help prevent rider injury.

It's wise to buckle that seat belt when you get in a car and wise to strap on a helmet when you hop on a bicycle. We saw that first-hand last week during a bike crash on the Razorback Greenway.

Our Sunday bicycling group headed out for a ride on a pretty morning over Memorial Day weekend. We started in downtown Springdale and headed north through the countryside toward Rogers at an easy, scenic pace.

Faster riders passed us, letting us know by saying "passing," or "on your left" as they approached. The hard-surface trail is plenty wide, so passing is no big deal.

We didn't think anything of it when another rider went around us at a pretty good clip. He was on our left, all right, but steered too far left. Our friend's bicycle rolled off into the grass, still traveling at a good speed. The natural instinct is to turn back on the road, like a car driver who veers off on to the shoulder.

Trouble is, the edge of the concrete bike path is an inch higher than the ground. When our friend turned back toward the trail, concrete caught the side of his front wheel. He went down hard on the concrete right in front of us.

We watched as he fell mostly on his side going about 12 mph. Luckily he had on a helmet and cycling gloves. Otherwise it could have been a bad scene.

Our friend thanked us for stopping, but said he was OK, other than being shook up over taking a hard fall.

No one plans to crash, but it can happen to adults and kids. It makes Cynthia Maggard cringe when she sees people on the greenway riding without a helmet. She's an avid rider and outreach coordinator with Kids Bike Arkansas.

The right helmet is one that fits well and fits a rider's budget, Maggard said. There are inexpensive ones and helmets costing more than $100. Any helmet is better than no helmet, she added

Cycling gloves, too, are vital. Padded palms prevent bloody hands if a rider falls.

"The first instinct in a fall is to put your palms out in front of you, even if you fall out of a chair," Maggard said. She pointed to an injury to her right hand she got during a fall. "It would have been worse if I wasn't wearing gloves."

Steve Schneider, area director with the International Mountain Bike Association, said strapping on a helmet should be as instinctive as buckling a seat belt in a vehicle. Head injuries raise the cost of medical care and insurance for everyone, he said.

"Plus, what if someone gets a serious head injury, and they're not wearing a helmet. You look back on the accident and think, 'what if they had been.'"

There were almost two accidents on the greenway that day, a second one caused by bone-headed me. We were rolling along and came up behind a runner who happened to be a guy I knew. Like a dummy I slowed down abruptly to say hi and another rider in our group almost plowed into my rear tire.

I gave myself a hard slap to the forehead and vowed to keep a steadier pace. That slap didn't hurt much since I was wearing gloves and a helmet.

Flip Putthoff can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAFlip

Sports on 06/07/2016

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