Although I was knocked off my bike a month or two ago (see below) the helmet did not directly save me that day, however it has protected me several times over the years as I’ve been knocked off, come off on ice etc..... a helmet did directly save my dads life twice.
Firstly back in 2007, he’d been out on his bike and felt good. He kept going much longer than anticipated. He’s diabetic. He started to feel dizzy and got off his bike. Seconds later he collapsed and crashed to the floor hitting both his head and his back hard. He broke several vertebrae in his back but the back of his head was protected by the now cracked helmet. Doctors said it probably saved his life.
After full recovery, he was out cycling in the rain and had his head down. At the last minute he looked up as he went through the back of a parked 4x4. He hit it with such force that his head impacted on the dashboard. Once again his helmet saved his life as it smashed through the back windscreen and then hit the dash. Which is more than can be said for his alu bike which broke in two.
Hit and Run
I sat there in the ditch, shaking my head in disbelief as the black shape sped off: had I really just been hit from behind by a car and left prone on a deserted country road? The fog in my head cleared and I concluded quite angrily that I had. The git!
Thankfully I was ok, and more importantly so was my bike, but the whole sorry affair really brought it home to me the risks we take every day when we get on the road with only our wits, garish lycra, a helmet (hopefully) and the reliance on the common decency of our fellow man to protect us. I drive a car, I’m sure that most of us do, heaven forbid that if I ever hit a cyclist or a pedestrian I’d stop. I was lucky, my shoulder took the impact and not the back of my head. It was tough going home and telling my wife, watching her reaction, her indignation and anger. Holding my five month old daughter whilst waiting for the police to arrive it really made me realise how fortunate I was. If things had gone wrong I might not have been there to hold her. Unfortunately I didn’t get the cars registration, so there is still an idiot at large in my part of the world who thinks nothing of hitting another person and running like a coward. I’d like to think this a rare occurrence but talking to other triathletes and cyclists sadly it appears not. So be careful out there, keep your wits about you, and don’t presume that every road user is a normal human being who values life.
This past weekend I was extremely busy as I’d been invited to be a guest speaker at The Keswick Mountain Festival. The Festival has all sorts of activities from a sportive to a mountain triathlon, and distinguished speakers which this year included Ray Mears, Sir Chris Bonnington and cyclist Mark Beaumont. Although as part of my day job I regularly have to talk to lecture theatres of up to 300 students, I was nervous about talking to fellow triathletes. You see I know more about databases than the students, with the festival talk the audience would probably know more about Ironman than me. Granted having completed three of the things does give me some insight into matters. I needn’t have worried as people actually queued to get into The Fell Theatre. They listened for 45 minutes as I gave an illustrated talk, about my experiences, what Ironman meant to me, what the future holds and what drove me to want to take part in arguably the world’s toughest one day endurance event. They laughed, they asked questions and in the end they applauded. It was great to talk to so many nice people who shared my passion for our sport, and so many of them that were about to do their first triathlon. When the talk finished and I’d answered all the questions I jumped in the car to get home to prepare for my first Triathlon of the season the next morning.
St Annes near Blackpool probably has the flattest and quickest sprint triathlon of anywhere in England. The closed road, straight course is designed purely for speed. On a sunny day it has PB written all over it. Unfortunately this past Sunday morning the exposed seafront was battered by gale force winds, coupled with icy hail stones and torrential rain. Transition looked like a battle ground as towels, helmets, cycling shoes and even a bike blew across the tarmac. Luckily the swim was in a nice warm pool, but as soon as I emerged out of the back door the cold slammed into me. Swiftly getting on the bike I started pedalling hard to wake up the legs.
The only shelter came from sand dunes, but the wind was so strong that sand was being blown all over the road, making it tricky in places. I was also getting exfoliated, glad of my protective sunglasses as I wiped a layer of sand from the lenses. Then when the wind swirled against me it was just hell. I was flat out and didn’t get above 12mph, and yet I was overtaking people.
It got worse on the run, I’m a heavy guy and at one point the wind almost lifted me off my feet. Surprisingly though despite the conditions I felt strong on both the bike and the run, my training had obviously done its job. I crossed the line in 1.20.25, on a good day I would have been at least 5 minutes quicker, but on a day like Sunday, just finishing intact was enough. I finished with sand in my ears and between my teeth, not the most pleasant of experiences I can tell you.
I’m now going to build on that performance as I work towards The Monster Middle in Ely in August. I was doing the Cleveland Steelman but had to pull out as I have a book signing date in Bristol for the triathlon there. Before then I have the Liverpool Olympic (not raced that distance for 4 years) and a Lakeland sportive to concentrate on.
That should keep me out of trouble, and hopefully I’ll only get hit by other swimmers as the year moves on, and the only running will be my own. Stay safe everyone, train well and race hard.
Andrew Holgate
Author of Can’t Swim, Can’t Ride, Can’t Run: From Common Man to IronMan. Published by Know The Score Books.
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