More News about Paskenta Crashes

I saw the 4 emergency vehicles out near the gravel section, but stopped for lunch in the park in Paskenta so didn't see who it was or what had happened. Well, I finally found out and here's the scoop:

I had a first row seat in on this one. There were three of us pushing
moderately hard (25-30mph) through the gravel. The two (A cat 4 rider
from SF and a rider from the Fit one team)in front of me opened a gap
of about fifty yards mid-way through the four mile section. At the
side of the road was another 'Fit one' team member who was fixing a flat.

It looked as though the front rider hit the brakes for his team member
and the following ride plowed right into him. What I saw was two bikes
up in the air and then two guys down. Both ended up being picked up by
support vehicles. The extent of injuries from there is unknown.

The take home lessons were these:
-Don't hit your brakes at 30mph without signalling or moving to the
side. Don't hit them in a pack unless absolutely necessary.
-Use a large dose of caution out there. In my estimation, both of
these guys were lucky to walk away from this accident.

Ride safely,

James