First crash in about 5 years!

I am so annoyed at losing my good 'driving' record:( It was totally stupid too. Of all the goofy things, I decide to take the sidewalk instead of the bike lane because there was a rowing competition going on today downtown and the streets were all blocked off and cars were driving crazy. I'm within .25 mile of my car, I can even see it. Heading up the sidewalk, another rider heading down the sidewalk, she was veering into the middle of the sidewalk so I thought it would be safer to hop off onto the grass for a sec till she got past. That part was fine it was getting back on that brought things to a halt. Apparently my back tire got caught on the edge of the sidewalk along with some leaves. Next thing I know is I'm horizontal and my head is killing me. Why is it when I land it always has to be on the hard spots?!?!? Didn't fall in the grass, oh no, I land with the side of my head smacking the pavement. Thank God for the helmet or I would NOT have walked away from that. I hit hard enough to twist my handlebars sideways. I think my bike is OK, but I need to straiten out my bars. I feel like I hit pretty hard, my head still hurts and the left side of my body is bruised and banged and missing some of its skin.:eek: I wasn't going fast fortunately but I'm pretty sure I should replace the helmet which sucks because I just put all the cool little reflective stickers on it I ordered from TE. I dunno, maybe I can peel them off and stick em on my bike or something. I hit concrete with the helmet, I think that warrants a new helmet right?

Yep. Especially if you hit hard enough that you have a headache. Be careful tonight, take care of yourself.

Owie! So sorry about your fall. :(

Definitely replace the helmet. If it hits the ground with your head in it, replacing is warranted.

Hope you'll heal up quickly!

Poor you, thank goodness you had your helmet on.

Ashame you will have to replace your helmet but at least you are still alive to do so!

Maybe you can get some more stickers on TE?

Take good care of yourself and in a few days if you still do not feel too good, get checked out again with your doc.

I'm glad you're okay ... but what Clock said, if you feel at all strange, get to the ER right away. Bummer about the helmet - but that's what it's for, right? ;)

Ow. :( Hope your new helmet is cute.

Ow. Hopefully you can peel the stickers off and stick them on your bike...or your new helmet!

Take care of yourself!

Sorry to hear about your accident. :( Yes they are stupid but I guess that's why they call them accidents instead of on purposes. Like others have said, if you are still feeling headachy after 24-48 hours, follow up with your Dr. Sorry about the helmet too, that stinks.

Very glad you had your helmet on! Have fun getting a new helmet - +100 on what the others have said about paying attention to how you feel these next few days.

Hopefully the stickers will come off and re-stick on your new helmet or bike :)

Too bad,Winding. Hope the head gets better. A new helmet is a small price to pay:)

Thanks ladies. Definitely getting a new helmet then and yes I would like to be a cute one, mine was boring and black. I'd like to get something brighter this time. I am soooo sore today, mostly my neck muscles. No bad headache yet today so I'm keeping my fingers crossed on that. My left side is getting more and more black and blue. I am very happy I had my helmet on. It makes me a little squeemish thinking about all the hills I come bombing down doing 25-27 mph on my commuter. I wasn't going over 10 when I wrecked, to think had I been going faster like normal, :eek:quiver. That's a little scary. Maybe I should look into new brakes pads while I'm shopping for a new helmet.:rolleyes:

I think I will ride the commuter to the bike shop just to get myself over that fear sooner rather than later. It was a complete fluke accident so I know it could have happened to anyone but still I feel a little shaky confidence wise now.

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Originally Posted by WindingRoad

I think I will ride the commuter to the bike shop just to get myself over that fear sooner rather than later. It was a complete fluke accident so I know it could have happened to anyone but still I feel a little shaky confidence wise now.

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Can you get someone to go with you? It helped me a LOT to have company for that first ride after the wreck.

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Originally Posted by WindingRoad

I am soooo sore today, mostly my neck muscles.

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After I crashed years ago (knock on wood), I could not lift my head getting up from bed... I had to roll on my side to get up. Two (gentle) 30 min massage sessions over two days helped enormously. I think one tends to strain the muscles while falling.

Yes, I took a bad fall at fairly high speed (caught my handlebar on a tree) on a mtb trail a few years ago, and my head went down hard on the trail (on the side of my head). The headache was gone by morning, but my neck on the other side from where I hit was sore for at least a week afterwards, kind of like a whiplash. Fortunately, it healed up fine. And yes, I replaced the helmet. :cool:

Emily - that has been exactly how i feel, the right side is more sore than the left which i hit on. I have whiplash anyways from a roller coaster several years ago and that nausea, dizziness, I gotta lay down now feeling came over me around 2:00 this afternoon. I laid down got my pillow in the crick of my neck and fortunately fell asleep for about 2 hours. I feel much better now but I am gonna be sore for a while I think. I fell on my MB doing that exact thing you mentioned 5 years ago. That really sucks because you get more momentum so you hit extra hard :( When I fell on the MB I cracked the helmet in two pieces, this time I didn't fortunately.

Helmets are important! BTW I bought a new helmet today and I LOVE it. It's so much cooler looking, brighter and more comfy than my old one :):):):) You know I tried a couple of the women's helmets and they were really small on me? I never thought i had a melon head? I thought that was strange. I ended up getting a med mens which works great.:)

I didn't end up riding to the bike shop, I just didn't feel very good. I think I'll wait till I have someone to ride with. I get migraines on occasion and I felt I didn't want to aggravate anything to bring that on. I opted to drive instead, even that was difficult I couldn't hardly turn my head all the way around to look behind me. Man I hope this stiffness and achy neck stuff goes away pretty soon.

It's hard to scan properly with an aching neck.

I wear a medium unisex helmet too. We must just have a lot of brains. :D Glad you like your new helmet. :)

If you continue feel nausea and dizziness, I'd see a doctor. I was very sore and banged up from my fall, but never felt sick like that. I don't know much about concussions, but those might be symptoms of that.

Smart not to ride yet. As Melalvai pointed out, it's hard to scan for cars w/a sore neck -- hard enough to drive, as you mention.

Take care of yourself!

Oh my, what crappy luck; glad you are OK.

I discovered Salonpas patches last month when I crashed on my MTB vacation and took a handlebar to the ribs. I rode through the vacation with two large patches on my front, one over the shoulder, and another big one on my back. (Yea, I smelled like the 'Ben-Gay woman on steroids' :o). The pain was all over my chest and back; thankfully I was wearing elbow pads which saved my skin from being ground into the sand and rocks, as I fell and slid on my side. Those patches were great and helped me salvage the rest of my vacation, you might want to grab a few at the drugstore and try it if you are still sore.

So happy my neck can move again! Still a bit sore but MUCH better now and headaches have gone away:)

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Originally Posted by WindingRoad

So happy my neck can move again! Still a bit sore but MUCH better now and headaches have gone away:)

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This is VERY good to hear, thanks for the update!

Keep your fingers crossed for me girls, I hope to be able to come home for Thanksgiving if my car turns out to be in good 'health'. Should know tomorrow. Otherwise I'll be spending it in my apartment, by myself, with the cat. :( Another good reason to go home is my BF can work his PT magic on my neck and make me feel even better after that spill.