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View Full Version : Hit a car today - not bad



Mr. SR500
02-17-2009, 05:04 PM
I didn't feel like riding, cooler then it's been, but might be the last sort of nice day - just a little windy. Once I hit the road, I felt really good. Did a quick common route. Just having a great ride. I was a couple hundred feet from a stop light to cross US 40, I had the light with time to make it, so I pedaled on. About then I noticed a car slowing to turn. Normally the car would stop, giving me the right of way, and I would cruise on by, but he started make a left hand turn, I yelled, but it was too late.

I clipped the car just behind the passenger door. First thing I thought was "oh crap my bike!" Overall everything seems basically ok. Maybe about $150 - $200 for new hoods, shifter covers, bar tape etc... plus a wheel and bike check. Had a decent abrasion on my Assos tights - bummer. The shifters - shifted a bit (ha, ha), and the stem moved on the steerer, but bike looks good other then a couple cosmetic items mentioned. I have a little soreness, but not bad, likely be worse in the morning. I twisted my ankle Sunday night playing basketball, and must of sprained it a bit more unclipping. Overall very lucky.

The Garmin info was really cool. I had accelerated from about 19 mph to about 23.5 mph in anticipation of the light. Then I hit the brakes and was going about 17 mph at impact (it didn't feel anywhere near that fast). At the point of impact speed dropped to 0, but my heart rate jumped about 20 beats per minute. Wild to see it recorded.

The guy that hit me was a kid, and very nice. I called my insurance agent, verified he had insurance and got all his info as well as the name of a witness. My agent suggested he would be better off paying me to fix the bike then turn in a claim. I'm taking the bike in tomorrow, to be checked out, so I'll contact him after that.

Sorry to ramble, just feeling fortunate and it feels good to type it out.

Thanks

Blueberry
02-17-2009, 05:13 PM
That sucks:( Glad you're OK. And thanks for putting "not bad" in the title - my heart rate always increases when I see a car/bike thread:)

CA

Biciclista
02-17-2009, 05:17 PM
what a story. I'm glad you're okay. Really

Mr. Bloom
02-17-2009, 05:19 PM
The Garmin info was really cool.

Now, THAT'S the bright side!:D:D

Glad you're OK. I was over in New Palestine, so I could have come over to check out the damage!

Can you post a pic of that graph!

Running Mommy
02-17-2009, 05:25 PM
wow mr sr!!! sounds like you got lucky!!
Cool about the garmin, but not the best way to get that info!! oy

BleeckerSt_Girl
02-17-2009, 05:26 PM
Glad to know you will be ok....that's the important thing.
I feel bad for your poor bike, but better the bike damaged than you.
Good that the offending driver is being cooperative. I'm sure he is learning a real lesson here, and thinking about what might have happened.

Mr. SR500
02-17-2009, 05:38 PM
Gotta love Mac's, I never did a screen shot before:

http://www.weberwoodworking.com/bikeforums/Collision.jpg

Grog
02-17-2009, 05:56 PM
I'm really glad that it was your speed, not your heart rate, that crashed down to zero.

I hope the bike is not too damaged. You already know how important it is to have it checked. When I was hit by a car recently I didn't think the bike had anything, but it turned out that the frame was bent beyond repair. :( It's better to figure that out early in the process though.

New helmet?

Good luck getting that fixed and take good care of yourself!

Mr. SR500
02-17-2009, 06:07 PM
Thanks everyone!

Helmet was fine as I didn't hit my head. Mostly my left side.

I think my roller crash in the basement was worse, but we'll see how sore I am in the morning before making that statement.

tulip
02-17-2009, 06:16 PM
Glad you are okay! Garmins are great, in interesting ways sometimes.

Urlea
02-17-2009, 06:19 PM
Yikes! I have to admit that I'm impressed your heart rate didn't jump more then 20 bpm. Very glad you're okay!!!

salsabike
02-17-2009, 06:24 PM
Glad you're okay.

solobiker
02-17-2009, 06:35 PM
Sorry to hear that happened to you. I am glad you are okay.

derailed
02-17-2009, 06:40 PM
Scary stuff!
Hope you turn out to be OK, and that the bike goes back together quickly.

silver
02-17-2009, 06:45 PM
Oh, my! Mr. I'm so glad that you are ok! Be sure to let SR500 doctor you up.

OH, it's pains me to think of the Madone scuffed up. Make sure it gets some extra good TLC, too.

We need pictures of damage too.

smilingcat
02-17-2009, 07:12 PM
glad to see that you are able to post on same day. WOW WEEE ZOWEEE!!!

proper question: Is your bike okay?? followed by and how about you??

Well you've answered both. And yes you'll probably be bit more sore than today but in all honesty, I'm really relieved to see you are okay.

You had total of 5 stops according to your Garmin? Last one was bit abrupt to say the least. Anyway, nice to see you posting and doing okay. No SHEET TIME OKAY!!!

take care,
smilingcat

sallen21t
02-17-2009, 08:01 PM
Glad to hear you are okay! I've been there before and it is a very scary experience. It took me a little while to get back on my back but I sure am happy I did :)

OakLeaf
02-18-2009, 04:01 AM
Phew, glad you're okay!

Definitely get the bike checked over, sometimes frame damage is subtle, and I know for myself I'm always a little bit shock-y right after a wreck and don't even notice really big damage or misaligned parts.

I'm sure you're plenty sore this morning. Take it easy.

beccaB
02-18-2009, 05:18 AM
I'm glad you're ok. I had a run in with a car once when I was running (pun intended) I am Garmin illiterate, but what kind of a Garmin is that ? I think I might actually really like one as opposed to diamonds. (a joke from another thread)

Duck on Wheels
02-18-2009, 05:38 AM
My DH had a crash like that. Whistling down a hill, car stopped in the left turn lane heading up the hill, suddenly the driver decides to make that left turn right in front of him (heard the whistling but hadn't seen the cyclist). He slammed on his brakes and skidded into a kind of hockey stop (sideways slide) before landing right shoulder first on the car's hood. His bike survived it pretty well with just one broken extender on the right side handlebar. He survived, which was pretty miraculous -- 4 broken ribs on the right, one on the left, open fracture on right upper arm, broken right clavicle, bruised right lung, cracked liver and right kidney, inner bleeding of course. Incredibly, he's fine again now. You were just fantastically lucky not to be more hurt than it seems you were!!! Speaking of which -- I hope you got yourSELF checked out, and not just the bike.

And as for insurance: Accidents involving possible personal injuries are not just an insurance matter; they are also a police matter. That kid, however nice he may be, made a turn that violated your right-of-way and put you in grave danger. He broke the law. Neither of you was supposed to leave the scene until police had been there and made a report. Or ... maybe that's only California law? And maybe only from back when I was getting my license 35 years ago?

bmccasland
02-18-2009, 06:26 AM
It's the morning after, so Sr500, how are you feeling? Is the bottle of Motrin your friend this morning?

Hope you and the bike recover quickly. :cool:

7rider
02-18-2009, 08:02 AM
Ouch.
Sorry to hear about the crash.
Impressive screen shot, however.
Hope the morning-after aches are not bad.

SadieKate
02-18-2009, 08:07 AM
Gotta love Mac's, I never did a screen shot before:[/IMG]Glad you're OK. Sometimes see the action reduced to colored lines is pretty fun.

PS - you can also do screenshots from a PC. ;)

OakLeaf
02-18-2009, 08:56 AM
PS - you can also do screenshots from a PC. ;)

But you have to crop them in an image editor from what I could tell, you can't just grab a portion of the screen.

SadieKate
02-18-2009, 08:58 AM
I do it every day inside Outlook, Word, etc. Yes, I have to crop, but don't need to use any other program. Let's me fine tune the image as I type the text I'm adding the explanation/directions/etc.

Mr. SR500
02-18-2009, 11:23 AM
Thanks again! Feeling good, a bit sore, mostly my left side - upper arm and ankle. Stopped by the bike shop, they are ordering the cosmetic stuff, but the fork had some broken and bubbled paint near the leg/crown joint. So I'll need a new fork. They are checking with Trek about getting the correct fork in a color that matches or is close to the bike (it's Treks Andromeda, black with a few light silver and blue highlights). If not, I might look at an aftermarket Easton, Alpha-Q, or Reynolds fork.

Here is the after pic, not much to see:

http://www.weberwoodworking.com/bikeforums/madone1.jpg

Thanks again

silver
02-18-2009, 06:29 PM
How did you get home? Sorry must know the irrelevant details.

Mr. Bloom
02-18-2009, 07:00 PM
Hmmm...looks like our house with Madone's lined up IN the house....

Mr. SR500
02-19-2009, 02:49 AM
Yes, it stays in the house unless we are having company. You should have seen it a few years ago, I had a double stacked rack in the dining room.

Mrs. was out of town, so I called a buddy and he was able to come get me. Nice to have a close cycling community.

What's up with this weather? I want the warm back!

So when does the Cervelo arrive?

7rider
02-19-2009, 02:51 AM
Hmmm...looks like our house with Madone's lined up IN the house....

What??
Is there something unusual about that?? :confused:
;)

silver
02-19-2009, 03:37 AM
Yes, it stays in the house unless we are having company. You should have seen it a few years ago, I had a double stacked rack in the dining room.

Mrs. was out of town, so I called a buddy and he was able to come get me. Nice to have a close cycling community.

What's up with this weather? I want the warm back!

So when does the Cervelo arrive?

You still feeling ok? Which bike will you ride while the Madone is in rehab?

Mr. used to always say I couldn't have another bike because we didn't have space to store it, but he hasn't mentioned that at all this go around. :) (thank you Mr.Silver) We will have to to do a bit of rearranging.

The cervelo is supposed to be in St. Louis next Monday to Wed. If it is, I'm going to see about taking off early on Friday to go get it. I've got a little Indoor Triathlon on Sat. morning. I'm figuring that there will be about an hour more fitting once I get on it.

I've been sort of reconfiguring in my head.

I want the saddle from the Madone on the Cervelo, and I think that I'll try the saddle from Mr.'s Madone (that he just replaced) on my Madone. I want the American Classics on the Cervelo and I think that I want the Bontrager Race Lite's that came on Mr. Madone (still unused) on my Madone. So the 12-27 climbing cassette will need to be transferred from the American Classics to the Race Lites. I think that Cervelo has an 11-25. Hmmm......FUN!!!

derailed
02-19-2009, 06:37 AM
I'm relieved you are feeling OK.

spokewench
02-19-2009, 08:02 AM
Glad you are doing okay. It is horrible when you know you are going to hit a car. It's that moment when you know you've done everything to avoid the collission, but it is going to happen anyway!:eek:

Mr. Bloom
02-20-2009, 04:55 AM
I want the saddle from the Madone on the Cervelo, and I think that I'll try the saddle from Mr.'s Madone (that he just replaced) on my Madone. I want the American Classics on the Cervelo and I think that I want the Bontrager Race Lite's that came on Mr. Madone (still unused) on my Madone. So the 12-27 climbing cassette will need to be transferred from the American Classics to the Race Lites. I think that Cervelo has an 11-25. Hmmm......FUN!!!

Why do I feel like I'm coming out on the short end of something here??? Next, she'll want the hard top from my Mercedes on her minivan to make it sportier!:rolleyes:;):D

redrhodie
02-20-2009, 05:05 AM
This is one of those threads that I think about when I'm out riding! Crash threads always have that impact (no pun intended :eek:). If one good thing comes out of it, it's this--your accident makes me more conscientious.

Hope you're feeling better today!

Mr. SR500
02-20-2009, 04:24 PM
I was back on the road today. Did the same route, a bit more cautious, but not afraid. I rode the Bianchi, swapped the power tap, but my conversion cassette is a 11-21 so I wasn't loving that on the hills. (The Bianchi is a 9-sp Campy bike, while my Trek is a 10-sp Shimano with a compact and big cassette)

Not a record pace, but considering the cold (about 20 degrees) it was a very good ride. I'm feeling good, still a little sore, but not bad. Worse part is my ankle, I turned it Sunday night, and then the accident really tweaked it. Unclipping was a bit of a challenge, as I normally unclip left first. I switched pedals not long ago and my feet are still trained on the old pedal, so I'm still getting use to the new pedals, now with my ankle a little weak, it's a pain (literately).

Still waiting to hear from Trek on the fork, I think everything else is ordered, and I might go ahead and order a Chris King headset. Hopefully I'll have it back in a week or two.

Silver, what group did you get on your P2? I think I might try a 11-25 cassette next, so just curious. Also you might like a Tri saddle, I have one on the Bianchi, and it really does help for extended time on the aero bars. What wheels are coming on your Cervelo? Can't wait to see it!

Thanks again

silver
02-21-2009, 05:54 AM
Glad to hear that you are back on the road. Give that ankle some TLC. Maybe some acupuncture?

I was wrong on the cassette...The P2 is coming with a 12-25. I am really thinking that I'd like an 11. I ordered Ultegra SL. The only things that are additional DuraAce on the "DuraAce" are the derailliers. Trying to save $$ here. My Madone is ultegra. the Wheels are Shimano R-500 Aero. I haven't really researched them, to see weight and rim height. The P2 comes with a tri saddle, I'll try it out first....but changing saddles...you know how hard that is to do.