I ran into Nelson Vails on the Cherry Creek bike trail last week. I'd heard that he lives here and works for an airline, but I hadn't seen him. We talked for a few minutes just off the trail, then rode back into central Denver together.
Vails, who was called the Cheetah, raced the track and flat, short road races. He represented the US at the Olympics and at world championship events. A big, heavily muscled man, he was a pro track sprinter, a specialist in short, fierce bursts of explosive acceleration - zero to 40mph in an instant.
Spectacular as a rider and fun to be around as a guy, ex-NYC bike courier Vails raced all over the world and was welcomed and respected all over the world. Jeez, could that guy ride his bike.
Vails told me that, not long ago, he'd been crashed on the Cherry Creek bike trail. He'd been on that trail not far from the Confluence (where Cherry Creek meets the South Platte River). As an oncoming cyclist (on his tri-bars and far from his brake levers) was about to pass a blind intersecting ramp, a runner appeared suddenly across his path.
Evidently, she and the cyclist independently assumed no one was approaching.
The cyclist hit her; both fell down. She and the cyclist slid into Vails' path. All three hit the ground. No one needed an ambulance or an ER, but it must have been some collision - to have knocked Nelson Vails off his bike.
It's easy to feel secure and get sloppy about safety on our terrific Denver bike trails. But if we can't see ahead, we can't conclude there's no one coming at us. As everyone knows, the trails are super busy on weekends and the average skill level of trail users drops.
Going fast on our bikes on Denver's trails is foolish and tempts fate anytime, but on weekends...
We do not want to knock Nelson Vails off his bike because we felt Lance-like on the bike trail. It could, in a flash, ruin an otherwise lovely day. Merely watching the Cheetah rise up and glare at you would suffice. 'Nuff said?
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