Disbarred!
by Dr. Larry Preble

Have you ever wondered how you would react if your handle bar snapped off while you were riding hard?  How about while riding with a partner right behind you on a tandem? I cannot say it had ever crossed my mind before last Thursday.

Job responsibilities had been conspiring to keep us off the double bike; so, when we finally got our chance, it was with enthusiasm that my stoker and I took off from the Yellow Lot on the 50 mile morning ride.  Nita and I rode hard.  A surprisingly strong newcomer, Brian, kept us company all the way to the store stop off the Levy Trail in South Louisville. 

We stopped to catch our breath and enjoy a quick break at the Five Star Food Mart off Cane Run Road as the rest of the group began to filter in.  Just before jumping back on the bike, I called my wife Margaret to see if she would meet us both for lunch.  She agreed to join us back at the Yellow Lot in an hour and 20 minutes.

We were underway, this time separated from our companions. Nita and I were on our own.  As we passed Mike Linnigs Restaurant, we gradually ramped up the pace.  Several miles into the route, we passed Nana’s Country Kitchen, and the bike path turned off into the forest. 

We were accelerating out of the curve, just past the railroad tracks where the path enters the woods, when it happened.  The was no warning, just an abrupt snap as the left handlebar came off in my hand. My left shoulder pitched forward and lurched to the side. I was too startled to say anything other than, “Whoa!” The bike wobbled like a bridge in an earthquake. I sat up and tried to regain my balance, and gently squeezed the right brake lever. I heard Nita unclip her bike shoes behind me.  She was breathing hard.  Just as I thought I might lose control, the wild oscillations  began to subside.  Somehow, we stayed upright and slowed until I could hop off with just one hand on the good handlebar.

All the while, Nita thought we had just flatted, but the tires were fine.  She was shocked when she saw what had really happened.  There was a broken tube, with ragged, fractured edges at the stem where a handlebar used to be—a clear case of metal fatigue.

When metal is repeatedly flexed and stressed, it begins to breakdown at the microscopic level. The insidious nature of this process is that usually no visible cracks are present before the part suddenly fails.  You could demonstrate this by repeatedly bending the straight part of a paper clip back and forth. Eventually, it will just snap in two.  That is what had happened to our aluminum handle bar.

Nita and I turned our crippled tandem around, and began the trudge back to the main road. Fortunately, we were no more than 1/10th of a mile into the woods, so we didn’t have to walk far. Just as we arrived at the main highway, a white pickup truck began to slow and pulled off onto a side street.  A man with a familiar face popped out and waved.  It was Joe Thomas!  Joe has been a fixture in and around the bike club for years, and recently has been organizing the facilities for the yearly club picnics at the Farnsley Moremen house.  It didn’t take Joe two seconds to recognize us and offer a ride back to the start. We smiled at our good fortune. Margaret was waiting for us when we arrived.

The two ladies and I dropped the tandem off at the bike shop for repairs.  The mechanic just shook his head, totally nonplussed, “I’ve seen broken pedals, derailleurs and even damaged frames, but I’ve never seen a handlebar do that before!”

Lunch with the ladies was anticlimactic, but very tasty down at the Bunz Burgerz in the Highlands. So, have you ever wondered how you would react if your handlebar snapped off while you were riding hard?  What would you do? What should you do?  I think I like Nita’s answer best, “It’s time to buy a new bike.”