Section head text.
I was sent an email proposing a thread about bike racers lacking health insurance and the risk of being a racer without it. That’s sounds very reasonable and thought out – but this is the internet after all, so I feel compelled to spice things up with a side discussion of really awesome crash stories. You can discuss either if you’d like, but please try not to play the “he made me crash” game. Also, on a personal note, does anyone know of a doctor in Northern new Jersey I can go to who won’t be shocked when my resting heart rate is below 70? My normal doc left town.
Did you know we took requests? And please stop writing and requesting a description of a day full of my bodily functions, the concept is just too daunting.
Great idea!
Alex’s idea. He’s the mastermind behind all the new features on the site.
on steriods. Wider, flatter, more exposed and windy, more concrete surface, more glass and stones flying around, more fun (not possible).
Poughkeepsie crit is a 4 corner crit in a residential area. Tokeneke has a couple of hills and a fast descent.
Go here
http://www.velocitynation.com/localraces_detail.aspx?rid=5
and add comments to tokeneke. The idea is that over time a lot of knowledge about each course will accumulate on each page.
Tokeneke RR – Any comments on this course? Looks somewhat tough?
Also the Poughkeepsie Crit is coming up. Is this a real Crit or a swooping 1 mile loop?
C.P. on steriods comment here
Check out Pro-Cycling magazine. Article about wearing helmet vs. not wearing helmet. In UK there was 129 cycling related deaths and more than 30,000 deaths relating to obesity. Also direct relation between obesity amongst children and cycling where Denmark has a very small % obesity amongst children and high % use of bicycles and UK is opposite. It is better for your kids to ride without helmets in NYC than it is for them to be obese.
(extreme) fitness does not necessarily equal good health.
I contend that crash risk is far outweighed by the general health benefits. I’ve probably been or talked to a doctor 4 times briefly in 6 years – once was consultation after a racing crash (foot swelled up for a couple of days after my calf was skinned), two were related to a non-cycling car crash (no, I wasn’t driving), one was general check up. Compare to someone with all kinds of diabetic complications.
I dunno how you turn healthy vs. American lifestyle stuff into public health policy – just illustrating a point on an internet chat, not drafting a bill.
it doesn’t. you pay hundreds of $ a month in premiums, you get sick, you go to dr. you submit claim, some clown in the claims dept denies it (for no reason). you call to find out why but can’t reach anyone. once you do they say resubmit it – cycle repeats…
insurance companies are more crooked than this administration…i’m waiting for the social revolution…it will come, just not sure when
is outrageous and something should be done to correct it. Shortly after moving here, my son had a nurses elbow after being pulled on the arm by his sister. He was 2 turning 3. It was a weekend and I took him to the ER at Engelwood Hospital. The doctor saw him for 3 minutes and corrected the nurses elbow but pulling it back into the joint. The total bill was almost $1,500 which was more than the cost of his cesarion birth including the cost of the clinic where my wife spent 2 days. With my dental coverage in the US where we pay roughly 30% of the bill out of pocket, it is sometimes cheaper for me to have the procedure done in SA and pay the total bill including the return airfare. The standard of hc here is slightly higher than that of SA but not to the extent that we are overcharged here.
do you guys even know how an insurance company works?
If you were a swimmer, you’d sink because you re so full of shit.
I don’t see anyone here claiming insurance is a “right”, why do people feel the need to point out that it is not? Seems what folks are saying is that the richest nation in the history of the world, market driven economy or not, should, out of a moral obligation (don’t mean to scare the right-wing with that) and also in the best long-term interests of the country, make sure its citizens are taken care of, especially whne it is easily within our grasp and much poorer nations do it. The insurance, medical and drug industries will not go broke, for those out there with a financial interest in them.
I don’t thing Orcutt’s argument for low cost insurance for cyclists holds up.
We got into the discussion of health insurance from a discussion of crashes. There is a health risk in cycling, especially racing beyond the risk to avg 25-40 year olds. Take the last 2 Tour winners as examples and look at their health care costs.
not a right for an industry to make millions by providing the most expensive and least efficient health care system in the western world.
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) — Belgian police detained 13 people for questioning Thursday after seizing banned substances during raids on homes of cyclists and their associates.
The manager of Belgian team Quick Step-Innergetic confirmed a member of the team’s medical staff had been targeted.
How do we determine who is a “cyclist” and thus who qualifies for the discount. USCF license? Doesn’t work. Testing? The ins industry would LOVE that and put up a shrine to you if you could get it passed into law. This would allow them to deny coverage to the people who need it most. Essentially they could charge healthy people lower premiums but jack up the price for people who are likely to file claims. Then they could start adjusting claims based upon family history. Your parents both died of cancer? Sorry, no coverage for you, too risky, oncologists are too expensive.
Also, if I were a swimmer, I’d want much lower premiums than cyclists, as I’d be much less likely to make an emergency room visit, yet I’d be just as fit. Should we have a sliding scale based upon your chosen sport?
Swimming < running < cycling < football?
because they cause all the crashes. As you move up through the categories (as evidenced by the ESG qualifier), your cost goes down (this serves as incentive not to sandbag). Also, sprinters should pay higher premiums than climbers.
Each time you get dropped from the pack, you have to pay a $15 deductible, because you obviously have not been training hard enough.
If your bike is under 15.5 lbs, premiums go up. I could go on. We should send this stuff to Hillary Clinton.
that was a nasty crash, Jaime- glad you’re feeling better.
Jaime?
So I’ve been out of the loop, Sandbagger is out, Socialist is the new Sandbagger…that’s hot!
Certify 15 pack finishes in your category/season = health care discount. Would we get HC sandbaggers?
Body fat % = sliding scale of insurance premiums with curve that bends sharply upwards once you get into ridiculous territory.
Hand pic is mine. Crashed doing about 40mph heading out to Nyack, just after stateline. Hit pot hole, that had worsened after the serious rainfall a couple of months ago. I did a superman onto the pavement to break my fall and lost most of my finger prints and skin on my palms in the process. Lotsa’ of road rash, fractured shoulder, bike relatively ok. Full range of motion is back in the shoulder. ouch.
Yikes, that’s bad, but not as nasty as this:
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=95282&highlight=squirrel
To summarize, in case you don’t want to click over, some guy shreds a squirrel in his wheel and gets covered with blood and squirrel poop.
Twice I have run over pigeons in Central Park. The last time it took a little while when I got home to figure out why the hell there were feathers in my spokes.
w/o even reading. havn’t you opened a can of worms??? what does hillery think..seriously.. this is where i get my ny info
i am a small business owner.. the work is hard. i pay ok but offer GREAT insurance benefits. i look at it as a retention/recruitment program. but.. my employees SOON forget about 100% paid medical for worker AND family (that’s right) and bitch about working hard.. so much for health benefits as a retention prog. i hope the gov fed gov takes this on and doesn’t push it on the emplyER. it will PUT ME OUT OF BUSINESS
Climbing Windham Mountain one morning I was in a zone and all of a sudden I heard a big noise running out of the woods. I looked up as I moved at about 8mph and a big black bear was running in front of me. I did not hit him but I always think what would have been if i was descending at that point in time instead. Thats country living…
NYC…the only place where you are equally likely to hit a squirrel or a bum.
Riding in Prospect Park, just before the uphill, at the 5:50 mark of a 6:00 max effort so I was anaerobic with tunnel vision. Suddenly there is a thunk, thunk, thunk and big vibation from my front wheel. Never saw it but a squirrel ran into my front wheel and was caught in the spokes. I stopped pedaling, slid back on the saddle and tried to ride it out hoping the squirrel would get spit out. Three more thunks, speed dropped to low 20s and suddenly the squirrel jammed the front wheel. Started to flip over and the fork snapped right away. Went straight into the pavement, hard. Happy I was wearing a helmet as it took a good wack along with hands, shoulder and the last thing to hit, my face. The squirrel was at least 1.5 times its original length, fur all over the bike and wheels. Bizarre and a bad one.
getting (somewhat) to the thread, the health benefits of being fit enough to race outweigh the risks of being injured in a crash, i.m.o.
and as the fitter segment of the population, yeah, wouldn’t it be great to get a break on health insurance.
just wondering whose hand that picture is of..narly stuff.
slow people should pay higher entry fees!
If fat people should pay more for healthcare then stupid people should pay more for education.
1. Denmark and Scandanavia in general is a welfare region that is in deep shit economically and digging a deep hole as we speak. Read the Economist article from last year for more detail. Much of this is due to national benefits for all.
2. Orcutt makes a great point. HC cost should be tied to fitness and lifestyle. Fat people suck – and should pay more since they are all filling our hospitals – not cyclists. Same for smokers et al. Equal coverage for all with same basic cost is just stupid. INCENTIVES needed.
3. We absolutely do pay for fire and police, and its a locally taxed and provided service -not national (oh, and not all that cheap or efficient by the way). Our national police is called the army, and our govt is paying for it and the war with borrowed funds, which will drive up LT interest rates and kill our future unless the economy digs us out of the hole miraculously. Still could have been borrowed and spent on education and R&D though, which would have provided a lasting benefit for our people. HC could be paid for like the army, but would still come from more taxes or more borrowing -not a solution, folks.
Health care, as opposed to health insurance, is not a market commodity, it is a basic human need and as such should be decoupled from the labor market. It is not whining to say that our health care system is corrupt and grossly unequal.
Just because you have a job you obviously hate doesn’t mean everyone else should too. Besides, many self employed people work harder than clock punchers and are on call 24/7. If they get to ride in the middle of the day, so be it. Still beats working for the man.
Lived in Denmark, They’re socialists. Love them! Why is socialism a dirty word? Hmm. Born in Denmark get free healthcare for life and free educuation through university (and get thes terrible these socialists) they make the richest citizens pay their fare share.
Sounds Fair.
What if the lobbyists worked for the needy in America rather than the rich. It’s a pipe dream, but it tells you where the fault lies in this disgraceful shameless government.
No Santa Claus???
Yes, it’s boring, but it’s relatable back to cycling.
Cyclists should get low cost HC and free race-crash coverage because they (especially people competing) are keeping themselves pretty fit and will therefore burden the system and the general population of rate-payers and taxpayers much less over their lifetimes than our chip-inhaling, obese, sedentary fellow Americans.
At least as big a problem as all the bureaucratic, insurance and political problems around HC is that the whole system is overwhelmingly focused on treatment and not prevention. The poor might get “fixed” but it’s generally at a very expensive stage of near-collapse or severe injury, not when it’s mostly preventable.
If you want health insurance, if you REALLY want health insurance, get a job that provides you with that fringe benefit. It’s not that hard. Any civil service job will provide outstanding benefits.
Is the pay great? No. Decidedly not. The starting salary for the NYPD is somewhere very close to poverty if you have a family to support. But the benefits are very good. Same with the FDNY, sanitation, Port Authority, DOH, DOT, etc etc etc. Will it cut into your cycling time, yeah maybe it will. If you want to live some sort of unbounded “freelancer” existance, good for you, but don’t epect the rest of us who get up before dawn and go to work for the man to foot the bill for your health care. Grow up, get a life, get a job, get your own insurance. There is no free lunch, there is no Santa Claus.
and to live in a chocolate house with a gold toilet
1) people don’t set fires for attention, unlike hypochondriacs and sickness. and unfortunately, we are a nation of hypochodriacs afraid of death.
2) how can we vilify health care companies for trying to make the most profit yet also vilify them for $350 billion if unecessary costs. doesn’t jibe.
the fire department sends you a bill?
i know we pay for it with our taxes. i’m equating social services and health care is all.
Let’s make a reality show about monkees in space. We could teach them to be mechanics. That way, they could tune our bikes up for us. In space! On TV! How cool would that be?!?
Picture it! A chimp truing your Zipp (sorry Dan) while orbiting the moon.
Man o man!
are so difficult to give an opinion about. If I win the lottery I will say it’s a great thing but when I see someone spend $20 on lottery tickets that should have gone towards food for their kids, it annoys me. How do they determine the monetary value or quantum in these cases. How much for a lifetime without one of your limbs if you are a NYC bus driver vs. a professional basketball player? Should there be a difference? Should a general practitioner be paying $150k malpractice insurance per annum? I wonder if Vets ever get sued? Better to become a vet I think.
its bad enough that we race in spandex- quick being a bunch of P&ssies
this is so boring. are people really earnestly arguing about health insurance on nyvelocity? If i wanted to hear about this crap I could turn on C-span. Could someone say SOMETHING snarky or remotely sarcastic please?
yep I said it…
but i have to share as i just found this:
http://www.dailypeloton.com/displayarticle.asp?pk=11039
Stage 11 Live
The drama above definitely had A LOT to do with today’s awfully hot weather conditions, it’s very hard to race in such heat. There’s “mucho calor” and it’s taking toll on the peloton too. The field is not riding hard either.
The “official speakers” of the bunch keep themselves busy asking for “ghiaccioli” (popsicles) each time they pass through some town. Salvatore Commesso even raided a bar as he was desperately searching for some popsicles … just to find out the guys there had run out of “ghiaccioli”! Yes, it’s darn hot for the tifosi at the bars too!
1541 CEST – 85k to go
americans should have access to free or low cost health care. what if health care were run like the police and fire department and public schools. its the same thing. we don’t pay for the fire department to put out a fire in our kitchen
Let’s kill two birds with one stone here (pun intended) 80% of the nations HC costs are spent on the last 1.5 years of a persons life. how about we have a mandatory enrolment in governmental scientific testing for the extreme elderly? We could shoot them into space , crash tests, new drugs, what ever. The possibilities are endless. think of the money that would be saved. The second part of this genius solution would be to video tape this and turn it into a syndicated show. all the proceeds then go back into the health care system to lower costs farther.
You make valid points, Chris.
Nonetheless, I feel compelled to dumb down this thread in order to return to my comfort level: Schmalz’ butt!
ha!
Sorry too long got carried away…
This is a complex issue – i would simply make some statements of sad fact, all of which point to the need for change in some way – im not totally sure the answer in national HC or non-profit insurance, since the best way to fix a system is usually to create economic incentives, rather than letting the govt just cover it. Might be the answer though…
1. In the US we have NEVER had full coverage, or guaranteed coverage for all citizens. It wasnt so broke back when, so something changed, clearly, and it wasnt just insurance companies raping us all.
2. The US has a national interest in HC, but that doesnt make it our RIGHT to get it. There is a critical diff between the govt, say, helping us find jobs (to use that ex), and guaranteeing us all jobs – thats called socialism/communism and it doesnt work well at all in spite of nice premises.
3. The advent of HC bills and start of Medicare in the 1960s late (I believe) coincides perfectly with the balooning of paper trails, hiring of 10 office clerks for every doctor, and general chaos in our system that brought us to today. The idea was a good one – but there are big issues that didnt work. And yes, the HC lobbys prevent real change and that really sucks.
4. Dont forget that the poor DO get fixed, but that its the hospitals and insurance companies and hence through pass-through all of us that pay for it, hence the high costs and unaffordability of insurance. Its not that insurance wants to charge so much that they lose customers – they do it to cover all the costs and still get the same return as long ago when costs were a fraction of today – they didnt suddenly make huge returns for shareholders vs slim before.
5. The root issue includes malpractice lawsuits and the culture of tort – more corporate than personal ambulance chasing, btw, in terms of overall cost impact. The other biggie is simply high expectations of care – we are the most sophisticated HC provider in the world (sep from the most f’d up…), and we all expect cat scans, full test battery, and no mistakes as our minimum expectation. Also, God forbid we ever pull a plug – we keep people alive at ALL cost. This is diff from most countries, and the cost is ever rising as people arrive with a scratch and leave with a million dollars of tests performed, and then sue when the person dies. Hey, we need to be able to sue, and we need good HC, but this root issue is real and costly and a cornerstone of the high costs we pay now. 30 years ago we didnt have all this care avail – a machine and specialist for every malady, and it was cheaper!
I’ve never understood why health insurance companies should be run as for profits. I think if you’re trying to sell as many widgets or self tanner any other flight of fancy, then God bless you, sell as many as possible, but it seems immoral to me to run a company that actually requires human misery (people need to get sick to use health insurance) to operate as a for profit beholden to shareholders.
Why can’t health insurance companies run as a non-profits or follow a co-op model? Having private ownership or ownership by shareholders of Health Insurance Companies necessitates a return on the investment for those shareholders. This means operating on the basis of the bottom line, which isn’t the greatest way to provide care.
This of course is not a governmental solution (God knows there’s no shortage of politicians who want to plant their flags on Mount “I saved health car”), so it won’t get a lot of Washington buzz, but I would have to think every company in America (um, except the established Health Insurance companies) would love to save on their employee health insurance costs. If you take the shareholder profits costs out of the equation, a non-profit should be able to provide the same care at less cost. Why is this so hard to get accomplished? I have to think that the UCI is behind this somehow…
My biggest crash cost over $125,000.00 in medical bills. For years I went without health insurance because it didn’t seem like a priority. I’m glad I had it at the time of the crash.
Because Health Insurance is privatized the law requires them to make the most money for their shareholders. Therefore, they can deny people insurance as well as costly procedures. Its all legal and disgusting. It is the biggest lobby in the country.
But, if Health Insurance were not for profit everything would change. Everyone would get affordable health care. As a country we are in 37th place in terms of health care. Behind a country like Costa Rica. Michael Moore’s new film ‘sicko’ will be out later this month. It is very illuminating.
$350 billion is excess costs = 7 million people out of jobs
What a sad testimony to our times that even a poor person making $80,000 a year can’t get decent health insurance.
I hope my tears don’t rot the wood in my coffin
The lack of health insurance in this country is a plot by joggers to cleanse the nation of cyclists. Not to mention cyclists who are lucky enough to actually have health insurance will find their plans rarely cover EPO or Nandrolone(sp?)
I think chris was just talking about how it is right now. and right now, not everyone is covered by just being a citizen.
An overhaul means wiping out private insurance companies and their $350+ billion in excess administrative costs–enough to cover the uninsured and underinsured–without paying anymore than we do now. Unfortunately, they are more entrenched than the NRA.
America lacks national health insurance because powerful interests have always managed to prevent Congress from passing the necessary legislation, and not, as you suggest, because of some misplaced sense of capitalistic self-reliance.
Physicians and insurance companies have lobbied to protect their interests over the last century. It goes as far back as the fight against racial integration of medical facilities during the civil rights era.
This is the wealthiest, most prosperous nation on earth. You’re saying it doesn’t have a responsibility to look after the health it’s citizens?
You’re usually a pretty sharp commenter. What happened? Did you crash and hit your head?
capitalism! yee-haw!
we can. Bombs are waay more expensive than healthcare.
…I dont need no stinking insurance! Actually, I have major platinum type insurance now through my uber-capitalist borgeois New Yorker finance job, but my first season and a half i rode with nothing, kinda like my income level at the time. I found it very convenient to listen to the nagging urge to ride and race and ignore the low pitch voice of reason that said to wait till I was re-employed. The pull of competition is just too strong! Actually, I was totally stupid and its probably not worth it unless you don’t mind filing for personal bankruptcy and killing any chance of ever getting credit in your lifetime just for the sake of racing a bike this year. But, hey, do as I say, not as i do…
Oh, and like a good capitalist, I remind you all that this is America and your personal liberties and rights do not extend to free health care. Its way too expensive and the system needs a fixin, but the shit aint free and Americans dont have a “right” to be fixed when they fall down.
Baise toi, mon cherie!
That was funny shit Potty…and Im sure weve all had that type of fall at some point – at least when we started riding and forgot to unclip at the first light.
my brush with a cab cost about $2300 in hospital fees. and there wasn’t anything broken, just a “deep tissue bruise”.
c’est a dire: touchee, pas touchez. . .
(don’t want to seem cheeky or agressive)
You’re a bike racer w/ campy record, and obviously have time to train. How bourgeois!
ha-ha! that obvious? thanks for complement. must be finding my legs finally. . . shimano, actually, mais remarquez, seulement le petit bourgeois, madame!
[3000 word introductory rant], their gated communities and corporate jets causes lulls them into a false sense that their entitlement is secure [more rant] until history repeats itself [more rant] another French revolution [more rant] entirely conceivable that the working poor could rise up, dust off the guillotines and start cutting off heads again [conclusion of rant]
crash was the other day on Meads Mountain road outside Woodstock. I started a little too fast and ran out of steam halfway up the hill. Only had 39-23 also and for me not enough for that hill. Could not unclip in time and fell over right in front of a whole family busy walking up the road. They came running up to me to ask if I’m okay. I should have shouted “motherfucker” to scare them off but forgot to.
They don’t offer it in New York for some reason. It’s frustrating–I tried to get it recently and was shot down. Went with COBRA instead.
I’ve tried contacting the USACycling insurance too – I’m self employed and use freelancersunion.org for health insurance.
No one at affinityhealthplans would give me a quote for insurance. I get a lot of SPAM from them, but that’s it.
I’ve tried contacting the USACycling insurance too – I’m self employed and use freelancersunion.org for health insurance.
No one at affinityhealthplans would give me a quote for insurance. I get a lot of SPAM from them, but that’s it.
Jersey doesn’t allow insurance for groups like that – trust me I’ve tried. If you read the disclaimers for any national insurance – it always says “not vaild in NJ.” Mmmm, sweet, corrupt Jersey….
Red: Oh, Kitty. What have I become since the crash?
Kitty: I don’t know! You’re not the man I married! And I’m not Kitty!
I took a 30mph tumble over my handlebars about 4 weeks ago (still recovering from type 3 AC separation – good times). i still can’t figure out what the hell happened but i think i was a bit too relaxed on the hoods going downhill and hit a rock that caused the front tire to skip to the right and then… …ass over tea kettle (whatever the hell that means). this was my first road bike crash (bmx crashes are a dime a dozen) and the experience was very surreal. (my wife was right behind me and said that i was upside down in the air with my feet still clipped in. i don’t know how she managed to get around me without getting tangled up in it). i jumped up as soon as i stopped skidding across the street, mostly thinking that would mean i wasn’t hurt. boy did that ring my bell. there was blood all over me (mostly from my elbows, arms and knee. i couldn’t lift my arm and there was a pretty wicked looking protrusion in between my neck and shoulder – they call it the clavicle)…the police had a fun time taking pictures on their camera phones and talked about all the motorcyle accidents they had been in. amazingly my bike was fine. mike at park ridge said it’s usually the bike or the rider and it was obvious who lost on this one.
anyone have any experience with recovery time on an injury like this? just took the sling off this week and plan to try the trainer next week.
I get my insurance through freelancer’s union. Pretty easy to get into if you have regular 1099 income for two previous years as I recall. Dan, sounds like you would qualify. Not exactly cheap, but only about half the price of say, Oxford. It’s HIP HMO. Pretty good coverage. FWIW. . .
Wait Will, you were expecting accountability from other bike racers? How naive…
I had just gotten back from a month of training in France and wanted to get some pack skills back and test my fitness. My goal was to get a workout and stay out of trouble. Last lap I hop on the front to give teammates a leadout and pulled the Peloton around. Fun until someone thinks to jump forward, come across my front wheel and then brake on the descent. I hit the pavement 39mph according to the computer. My poor shiny Soloist carbon goes flying and gets run over by a bunch of people. Damage: Shattered fork, lots of component/wheel problems, 5 broken ribs, and a broken collarbone. End result is I was pissed about two things – my poor bike and the fact that the erratic rider did not take te time to come back and apologize after he took his much deserved pack finish. 🙂
You think you’re poor?
I stole my frame from your Dad and still couldn’t afford it.
Descending in aeros, course open to cars, driver coming at me slows to turn, driver behind pulls around into my oncoming lane. I avoid him but not the patch of gravel just behind him.
I banged my arm, shoulder and left side pretty hard, got back on the bike to keep going. This was about 2hrs into the race. Finished the race in 10:17 – separated shoulder was confirmed the next evening.
Going out for the last 15 mile run, the RD had to help me put my shoes on and tie them for me as I couldn’t move my left arm.
Six weeks in a sling…my @ss was in a sling at home for a lot longer.
Who here isn’t a little tipsy?
After being involved in a crash at Kissena Velodrome a couple of years ago I was kindly ushered into the back of an ambulance by paramedics, who were taking another (actually more seriously hurt) racer to the hospital. My American wife explained to me, a fresh of the boat Brit, that I can walk to the hospital with my ripped open fingers pouring blood down my shoulder and save us a $400 bill.
Who the heck could afford this sport and NOT health insurance? That’s like driving a Ferari and not being able to afford parking. By the way, I think i am the lowest income bike racer in New York City (my dad bought me my frame).
guys who get free gear and barely/don’t work. there are plenty.
Does anyone know about or have experience with the usacycling insurance and presciption plans? I think it costs $60 a month. This is separate from race crash coverage which has a $5,000 deductible.
Are you drunk DHR?
Your comment makes no cents, uh, since, I mean sense.
Gosh dernit!
That gas is stored in my butt. And it smells like flowers.
I woke up w/ amnesia, found out I was having an affair with my pregnant maid, and some dude w/ a eye patch was following me.
Dramatic coincidence with Days of Our Lives? I think not.
no do tell, sense my lack of imaginiation prevents me from understanding how you can crash if you have be a certain distance from other riders.
Being an owner/operator of my own business, it’s hard to resist the temptation to include Anthrax with my monthly premium payments for my health insurance. You think home land security reads this site? If so, Andy stores really smelly gas…
Shen’s last sentence is pretty good too.
I got banged up on the bike portion of a duathlon. Can I tell that story here or will the black rain of cyclist ire drive me into the night?
I don’t have insurance, but that’s OK because I don’t crash.
It’d be nice to co-pay for my hormone treatments, though.
Shipping and handling from Tijuana gets expensive.
And Dan, a low pulse is but one of many things about you that may scare the doctors.
is right on. And it’s not only low-income people having problems — soon more and more middle income people will too. Esp. if they have a serious illness and their insurance drops them.
That said, I’m outta here — talking about crashes like this is too ghoulish for me to handle.
I had a front tire blowout on a fixie going downhill just before the state line sprint. I woke up to the old ‘circle of heads silhouetted against the sky’ view. I kept thinking, I can’t have crashed, I didn’t ride my bike today. Then my memory started coming back, starting with waking up, having breakfast, etc. When I got to the point in the morning where I changed into bike clothes I realized that I did crash and was indeed lying on 9w. The EMT asked me a few questions, all of which I was able to answer. Then he asked me who the president was and I said ‘some asshole’.
EMT: ‘He’s fine!’
That’s a little too serious for me. I would like to hear the blood and guts stories now.
Maybe racers should forgo the Zipps and Power taps and C50s and use the money instead for basic insurance premiums? But that would make too much sense I guess
don’t have health insurance, you’ve heard the numbers. VeloNews ran a story about bike racers not having insurance a couple of years ago, and as I wrote to them then I would say the same now: any serious discussion of health care has to be about the larger issue if the desired outcome is to actually change the situation. The only hope for low income bike racers to get it lies with low income citizens across the country getting it.