Road Racing

Concussions Can Be Deadly

Submitted by Kris Thompson on

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From Dr. Tabitha Price, HealthONE’s Spalding Rehabilitation Hospital

Performance has no bounds. Persevere through the pain. Reaching the goal is the only option.

   

Do you remember when professional cyclist Chris Horner of Team RadioShack crashed and was knocked unconscious in Stage 7 of the 2011 Tour De France? According to New York Sports, Horner insisted on finishing the next 35 km, none of which he remembers: the crash, whether or not he finished, or even that he was riding in the Tour de France. There are numerous stories such as Horner’s and ones that are more significant like hockey sensation, HYPERLINK "http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/teams/players/?name=sidney+crosby" Sidney Crosby from the Pittsburgh Penguins who has been sidelined indefinitely because of lingering concussion symptoms or Colorado high school football player, Jake Snakenberg, who died from sustaining a second concussion.


Photo Credit: Velonation.com

These three young men have two definite commonalities: they were wearing helmets and were physically capable to continue with their sport. Just because you can get up and put a helmet on does not mean everything is ok.

A concussion is “a traumatically-induced alteration in mental status that may or may not involve a loss of consciousness,” according to the American Academy of Neurology.

Cycling is not one of the most talked about sports when it comes to head injuries, but it should be. There were an estimated 446,788 sports-related head injuries treated at U.S. hospital emergency rooms in 2009, but from 2008-2009, cycling had the highest increase and most reported incidences of head injury when compared to 20 other sports, according to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. This includes both road and mountain biking.

Physically capable or not, a concussion is a serious matter. This type of head injury is considered “mild” in most cases, but despite the “mildness”, this injury can often cause significant and sustained neuropsychological impairments in

  • information-processing speed
  • problem solving
  • planning
  • memory

These impairments worsen with multiple concussions. The challenge with concussions is they may not be noticed in routine neurological examinations or the athlete may not exhibit symptoms until minutes, hours, even days later. As seen with Jake, his initial symptoms were so slight they went unnoticed with the outcome of return to play too soon resulting in death from a second sustained concussion within a week.

2012 Race Category Changes

Submitted by Kris Thompson on

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Coffee Talk Tuesday has returned and we can't think of a topic more sensitive than racing category changes and the ACA has some new ones in 2012. The letter below is pretty brief and to the point so no summary is needed.

From the ACA

Hello Colorado racing community,

We are making a couple of significant changes to the race categories for the 2012 season. This change is being made so that we can offer consistent categories for our athletes and promoters.

The first major change is the introduction of the Category 5 category. This category is designed for athletes new to the sport of competitive cycling. Many of our race directors and clubs have asked to include this category, and with our new partnership with USAC, this is a natural addition to our race days. Please note that Category 5 is not age-specific, is not part of the Cup competitions, and is not a State Championship category.

Rocky Mountain Road Cup - a new Three-tiered Points System series

Submitted by Kris Thompson on

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Rocky Mountain Road Cup and Colorado Cross Cup to Switch to Three-tiered Points System

GOLDEN, Colo. January 25, 2012 - The Bicycle Racing Association of Colorado – the ACA - is proud to announce revamped points competitions for the 2012 road and cyclocross seasons. The road competition gets a whole new name – the Rocky Mtn Road Cup – and the cross season will again feature the organization’s signature Colorado Cross Cup branding. The most significant difference for this year’s competitions is the utilization of a three-tiered points system for the organization’s 120+ annual events.

ACA Recommendation on Becoming USAC’s Local Association

Submitted by David on

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American Cycling Association
Board of Directors and Senior Staff
Recommendation on Becoming USAC’s Local Association for Colorado and Eastern Wyoming November 16, 2011

The ACA Board of Directors and senior staff recommend that the ACA serve as the Local Association of USACycling for 2012. This recommendation is based on new information, clarification of policy, and successful conversations with USAC leadership in the last three weeks. The board and staff understand that this is a significant change from recommendations that have been made over the past six months, when the idea of partnering with USAC became a focal point for the organization. In this time, we have worked hundreds of hours to build an agreement with USAC that serves the Colorado cycling community in the best possible way. Be assured that this was not an easy decision, but one that has been made with the best interests of our membership as a whole and for the betterment of cycling in Colorado.

The Mission of the ACA is to expand and develop the sport of amateur bicycle racing in the Rocky Mountain region while ensuring quality experiences for all involved. Since 2007, the ACA board has held the following position:

1- that cycling in the United States is too small a sport to be fractured into separate sanctioning bodies, and

Jon Tarkington - Emerging USAC/ACA Vote

Submitted by David on

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My Turn

By JonTarkington

From my keyboard it appears a lot of racers out there in forum land are pretty caught up with a view of the emerging USAC/ACA vote that is equivalent to staring at your handlebars during a bike race. If you stare at your bars and don’t pay attention to the big picture of what’s going on around you with other racers, you’re going to crash, plain and simple. I don’t like crashing and I don’t want to see our local racing community crash either.

Making sense of the insurance coverage issues for cyclists

Submitted by Kris Thompson on

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Megan Hottman of www.TheCyclist-Lawyer.com

Thanks to Megan Hottman, "The Cyclist Lawyer" for providing this article! Hottman Law Office is a litigation and personal injury firm specializing in cyclists and athlete representation.

What cyclists need to know about homeowners, renters, auto and health insurance as it pertains to bicycles, cycling injuries, theft, and damage.
I had a "The Cyclist-Lawyer" booth set up at Veloswap last weekend, and the #1 topic people stopped by to discuss was insurance. Questions like “What happens if I don’t have auto or health insurance and I cause an accident or hit a pedestrian?” or “My bikes are really expensive, what’s the best way to insure them against theft or loss?” came up repeatedly. Two days after Veloswap, Kris at 303cycling sent me a link about “bicycle insurance,” asking my thoughts on it. So it seems, the topic is on your minds . . .

Below are some of the most common coverage issues we face as cyclists. Note: this discussion does not have anything to do with injuries or property damage resulting from a competitive event. This is a discussion about the cyclist out riding on public roads, for recreation or commuting purposes. I discussed these issues with my own insurance agent with regard to my own policies and you’ll see quotes from him below. Of course to be sure about your coverage, you’ll need to request a copy of your policy from your agent and read it carefully, as every insurance company is different in their claims-handling practices…

1. “What if I’m riding my bike and I hit a car, another cyclist, or a pedestrian. When I’m at fault, who covers their injuries and property damage, and who covers mine?”

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