I spent last week in Cape May, NJ on vacation with my family. We met up with 4 other families there including one of my friends who moved away to the midwest - haven't seen him in about 2 years. Going back about 7 years ago, he used to kick my *** on the bike, so I was keen to see how we'd ride together now that I've spent the last year training.

So, while I've still lots of work to do on the bike, my old friend just couldn't hang. I ended up figuring out that his AT was inside my AeT, so basically, I could just blow him up at any given moment. We had a great time riding together though - we did some rabbit chasing - I'd ride out about a 1/2 a mile ahead, turn around on the road, come back at him, then when I passed him, he'd hit the gas, I'd turn back around, and he'd try to make it a mile before I'd catch him. All in all, it was really great riding with a partner - I do almost all my training alone, so it was a really welcome change for me. And WOW what a difference drafting makes!

Sadly, on the last day we were riding together, at mile 20 of a 30 mile ride, my friend drifted to the right while we were just cruising along, got his wheel caught in the gutter next to the curb, tried to get out, but then went down like a ton of bricks. He went down in the entrance to an antique store's parking lot on gravel.

It was ugly - he broke his clavical and thank goodness he had his helmet on. He almost completed the shoulder roll - the not quite part is why he broke his clavical, but he hit his head hard on the type of gravel that's made of rocks that are about an inch or so large. There were indents in his helmet about a 1/4 of inch deep, which thankfuly were in the helmet and not his skull.

The store owner came out immediately and called it in once we were sure he wasn't going to get up and walk it off. An EMT driving by on a motorcyle stopped and started helping. Four cops and one ambulance later, we had him packed up and headed to the hospital. Then, for real oddities, there was a 3 car accident from someone rubber necking the scene. The cops were unbelievably frustrated.

Weirdly, both he and I had forgotten to bring our cellphones so I had to borrow one from the EMT.

He's doing better now - but the break was displaced a fair bit and he's facing possible surgery with a plate. He and his wife drove from Cape May up to New York 3 days after the accident (vacation's gotta end sometime..)

Couple of observations that I know I'll think of often:

No matter how nice a ride is going, accidents happen quickly.
Helmets are worth it.
Don't forget the cellphone.
While certainly seldom, the effects of an accident are huge.

All in all, could have been a lot worse, but still alot of pain in front of him. He's a tough nut and already was planning our rides next year, so I know it won't hold him back for long. He'll get better, and next year, might actually make it a mile before I run him down...

Anyway, watch it out there - even really fun rides can end badly in a heart beat.