Rachel Atherton hit by a truck training

woah crazy, hope she makes full recovery, that sucks!

 

Definitely sounds like it could have been worse. Heal up Rach!

 

yikes, that looks pretty harsh. she looks like she just got hit by a truck! Dislocated shoulder, some cuts to her face/knees? hope she heals up alright!

at least Gee is looking stylish in the Lime Green Oakley and his GBR spandex

 

Wow thats gnarly.

Good thing she had people with her. Hope she heals up quick.

Was it her fault or the cars?

 

Did her brothers pull the guy out of the truck and kick his butt?

Healing vibes to Rach.

 

I bet that if she had that light up bike lane thing on her bike she wouldn't have gotten hit by the truck.

 

Trucks sucks!

Hope she will get well soon.

SR--71

 

That's horrible - hope her injuries aren't serious and that she can fully recover.

road cycling on California roads is like playing Russian roulette.

 

That's horrible. I hope a speedy recovery to Rachel!

BTW, I deleted the picture link. I don't think it is tasteless or cruel, and it reminds all of us what happens when you get jacked up.

I have even more sympathy for Rachel now that I saw the picture.

 

If it's in their official press release then it's not tasteless at all. I don't like to see pics of anyone hurt but there's no reason to purposefully leave it out.

 

I wouldn't use the word tasteless but it is a bummer to see. I always hate seeing thos types of shots taken but I have personally had to take those kind of shots if not worse, so I understand it. Plus it gives you an actual description of the types of injuries from getting hit by the car. It does show that she is doing good, (besides the shoulder and lacerations) but that the is not on a stretcher, knocked out or worse.
She is hardcore so she will be back on the bike next week knowing her.

 

I don't see anything worng with the pic.

A buddy of mine is a hardcore roadie homo, a year ago a drunk lady hit him from behind doing about 45. He went flying like superman for 30 feet and slid/rolled another 30. He was on a overpass, his bike went over the guardrail onto the highway below and was run over by a tractor trailer.

He was in a wheel chair for 3 months, I don't know the injuries but he was busted up really bad. Hospital stay was 10 days.

I will stick to riding trails, I don't trust others on the road, even when I'm driving my 3000lb steel box.

 

i hope that fvck driving stopped and they arrested him.

 

The photo is fine Fraser, people have different levels of "taste".......and some people are just different! Dan Brown wouldn't have sent the pic if Rachel was worried people would be schemish or horny! Ha!

 

so you already know both sides of the story?

Photo is fine Fraser...

 

The e-court has already reached its verdict, with Judge RideMonkey Presiding. :biggrin:

 

Silly, if she was a guy nobody would have reacted. Accidents are sadly a part of our sport, it's not like you reported about it tabloidlike just because of the blood and that you've got no interest in the sport otherwise. We all live this, to us it's not a passive entertainment of other peoples realities.

 

Regardless it is a bad accident and car vs. bike stuff is never good.


I am still curious to hear the whole story.

Just putting it out there, they are British, so aren't they used to driving/riding on the left? It was a head on collision. Just something to think about.

And again, glad she is ok. It could have been A LOT worse. Hope she heals up quick.

 

I hope she recovers quickly.
I can guess how the brothers were at the time too...

France is where its at for road cycling. It is a religion here. Traffic gives way to you and treats cyclists with the utmost courtesy.

 

theyre british but i don't think theyre stupid

they've been to cali before and didnt get hit

hope she heals up for the 2009 season

 

no, but there have been countless times where a vehicle doesn't see a motorcycle rider or biker, when the rider actually has the right of way.
its dangerous riding on the street because of all the people who pay zero attention to someone who's not in a car.

now if she doing something stupid in the street, then its obviously her fault...but something tells me playing chicken with a truck wasnt on her agenda


and i of course hope she gets more better soon

 

Car drivers suck period.

I am hoping the best for Rachel, here's to a quick recovery.

 

oh jeez that's no good. I can definitely see how that can happen out on those twisty roads out there in the santa cruz area. hope she gets well soon

 

that sucks to here but sounds that she'll be fine

 

Don't think I am trying to pick a fight here man. I am just curious to hear the whole story. It's awful news that someone that popular in the bike world (or anyone for that matter) was in such a awful accident.

I myself was in a car vs. bike accident in November where a driver intentionally brake checked me (or slammed on his brakes for no reason in front of me) that almost killed me. I severed a femoral vein in my thigh with my brake lever and almost had me bleed out on the street. Thankfully a good samaritan ran up and bare handed put pressure on my wound until the EMT's arrived.

It could have been a blind corner and she was on the wrong side of the road, blah blah blah. There are a lot of different scenarios that could have happened. It could also just be a total ass driver who caused the accident by driving carelessly. Again, I am not trying to pick a fight. I just want to hear the whole story.

I am glad she wasn't more seriously hurt and has a speedy recovery.

 

After looking at that photo, I hope that her teeth are OK! JK. Let's hope for a full recovery before the World Cup starts up.

 

I don't think the photo is "tasteless".
Maybe the argument could be made that posting a pic of someone right after a crash while they are in their most vunerable state in an otherwise private event is iffy.
It's not like this was taking at a race. I guess the answer will vary for everyone, but would we all want a bunch a pics snapped after something as scary as a head-on crash then have them posted on the internet?
Wasn't everyone blasting and threatening to punch to some kid last week for shooting pics of a down rider at the US Open?

Hope everything is OK, and she has speedy recovery..

 

partially true. he was in AZ for spring break in '04 and got run over from behind my a woman in an SUV talking on the phone. he ended up with a broken back, several days in the hospital, and several days after that until he could fly home. ended up having to take an extra semester of school because of it. no halo, but he did have one of hose funky clam-shell braces and a neck brace for a month or so. he actually got to take it off early, which was a bummer because we had just gone out to get a beer bottle opener that we could screw onto the chest plate; if you have to wear it, might as well have a sense of humor about it. he was lucky for sure, but still has problems with his back. he moved back out to AZ this fall, so far so good.

there are tons of roadies up here between UVM and the rest of the Burlington community and unfortunately we hear about people getting hit by cars way too often. a girl on the uvm team had to have her face reconstructed this fall after getting taken out in an intersection when someone didn't look both ways. i'll take the risks of DH over road riding any day.

Best wishes to Rachel for a quick and full recovery

 

Judgemonkey is in session on chanel 11 after maury and before judge joe brown.

 

Heal fast Rachel!

As for the pics: did you guys see that there is a bunch of Rachel's accident pics on the Animal Commencal webpage? So she must OK'd it.
BTW: interesting that you can't see a helmet on any of the pics. I am curious if she and her brothers were wearing some.

 

i don't really see how that could have happened without everyone being careless.. =/
sucks though.. hope that shoulder gets better soon

 

I looked at the truck, and my blood is boiling. Windshield is shattered in what looks like a head-shaped impact. What's worse is there is an Arai badge on the grille, so the driver is probably a motorcycle rider.

 

Looks like she hit the passenger side of the car so either that guy was totally on the wrong side of the road or maybe she was on the inside of the wrong lane?

Crazy, I had no idea it happened so local. Up in the mountains here.

(Not related) I KNEW I SAW DAN ATHERTON AT PETSMART A FEW WEEKS AGO!

 

Looking were the truck is hit, it looks like she might have been on the wrong side. But ofcouse you cant tell if he swerved to avoid her or something. Lucky escape though!!

 

From the local paper:

 

Thanks for the posting.

 

jesus. no helmet and riding the wrong way in the lane, not paying attention on a blind corner?!?!

she is very lucky to be alive.

 

one of the animal/commencal podcasts from last season showed all of them road riding in so cal w/out helmets and i remember at the time thinking that was pretty stupid. i'm not a helmet nazi, as there are plenty of times i ride my bike w/out one (bike path, pump track, cruising around my quiet neighborhood, or riding the sidewalk to the coffee shop) but i would never consider going on a road ride w/out one. too many idiots out there even if you are paying attention and i know way too many people here who would be dead if not for their helmets, and VT traffic has nothing on CA. she's lucky.