Have you ever crashed?

[tjodit]

I've been riding on the road for about a year now but can't seem to get over a fear of crashing. I saw I roadie on tv crash awhile back and can't seem to get that image out of my brain. I would love to be able to take the curves fast and really lean into it but the fear of road rash makes me hit my brakes. I am especially fearful of loose gravel...I almost went down once on that stuff!

I've crashed on my mtn bike several times and it wasn't that big of a deal but there's a big difference between mother earth and father pavement.

Have any of you crashed on the road? Is it as bad as it looks?

[caligurl]

you've been riding a year an NEVER crashed! geez... for a while there hubby was calling me "crash"!

my most memorable was the time i crashed in front of an amulance! yes... an ambulance! they stopped... had the lights on.. the whole bit.... (i was ok! bruised ego and bruised palms of my hand and bloody ankle.. but ok!)

then there was the time i crashed and squished my banana.... i had one in my rear pocket.. and was must upset that i had squished it!

i layed the bike down going around a corner in sand.....

i wasn't paying attention and crashed off the side of the road...

and that doesnt even include the learning to ride clipless (uhm....... FIRST day on the bike.. leaving the driveway... i fell over trying to get clipped in)

so yes... i have most certainly crashed... fortunately all mine have been minor (some major bruising... but nothing broken)

there are some on here with some really bad stories (bad as in hurt bad)!

consider yourself lucky that you have never crashed!

[tjodit]

Well, I did fall over at a red light once...but I mean going more than 5 mph.

Did you get road rash? Did it heal or scar?

[caligurl]

i never got bad road rash.... mostly bruising... the time in front of the amublance i had some gravel in the palms of my hands (i wasn't riding with gloves cuz of tanlines )

the time i slide in the sand making a corner.. i had a HUGE bruise on my upper leg/hip.. but no road rash (i've never torn any of my clothes in any of my crashes! just squished my banana ) that time i had on amfib gloves.. so my palms were sore/bruised.. but the palms of amfibs are thick! so no gravel!

i can't even remember if i had "road rash" the time i endo-d on my mtb! (i've fallen over a LOT on that too! but the endo was the WORST! scared the bejeezus out of me!)

[mtbdarby]

Tjodit,
I've never crashed on the road - yet - but I've had two bad mtb crashes. One I flipped over onto a boulder (dont' know how it tripped me up), which left a scar on my knee. The other was a wipe out on a scree hill so that would constitute road rash. Yes it hurt and yes it left a scar. Lesson learned: don't use hydrogen perioxide on road rash, and clean it out as soon as you can. It really hurts to clean gravel out of your rash after it's hardened and starting to scab (I rode 14 miles after I crashed). There was a good thread here on how to treat road rash complete with ingredients for a road rash kit. I saved it somewhere, I just can't find it now....

[Aint Doody]

I had a bad road crash that I posted elsewhere a while back. My front tire clipped my friend's rear one. Anyway I had road rash on my upper thigh on the side. Didn't phase my PI tights I was wearing--no scarring. My glasses broke and cut my forehead to the tune of about 15 stitches--slight scarring there, but you really have to look to see it. I spent 2 days in ICU because my brain bled in 7 places. I don't think there's any scarring there--I feel normal and people don't seem to look at me sideways or anything. Hurrah for my helmet!

I also went down on some railroad tracks one time (I now walk them) and have a slight scar on one knee--badge of honor!

Don't be scared--everything in life involves risk. The rewards of cycling are worth the risks.

[maillotpois]

Oh yeah.

1. Rode into a pole dividing the "lanes" of the Truckee River bike path during the Tahoe century, which I was coaching for Team in Training. They removed ALL of the poles except ONE - the one I hit!. I was riding with an honoree (leukemia patient) whom I adore, and he tends to go off and tell these wonderful stories, so I got distracted and hit the pole dead on with my handlebars, going about 15. Did and endo and basically landed on my feet but I broke off my computer.

2. Riding down Silverado trail at 20 - 25 mph in Napa into a stiff headwind after a 90 mile ride in 100 degree heat, during which I basically bonked. We were in a tight paceline, and a gust of wind hit the rider in front of me and we touched wheels. This happens, and usually I could deal with that and not crash, but I was so fried from the ride that I couldn't recover and went off the road. Bent my bars and got some road rash, but otherwise okay.

3. I coached the Tour de Tucson last year for TNT. This is a real race, and I generally race it, and do pretty well. But last year I decided to coach instead. Big mistake. My ride group was pretty strong, but there was one guy who didn't make it to the practice rides - we usually would not let someone like that ride with the group, but since the group was all friends we made an exception. Bigger mistake. Anyway, one mile into the race, in a tight pack, someone's water bottle popped out and rolled across the road. This happens all the time in races and it is no big deal. But the weenie who hadn't trained with us shrieked like a little girl and slammed on his brakes and hit the deck. While I could have avoided or run over the bottle, I could not avoid the 200 pound weenie right in front of me, so I hit him and crashed hard on my hip. No road rash, but I knew immediately when I got up that my back wasn't right. I ended up DNF'ing - my first ever. As a coach, my priority was my ride group, and I rode about 40 miles with them and they all ended up finishing fine (even the weenie!). But my back still bothers me a bit climbing.

I have been riding about 6 years pretty seriously in long distance events and races, so the number of crashes may seem like a lot, but over that long, its really not a big deal. I also seem to fall well - knock on wood. I grew up riding horses, so I am good at the tuck and roll. Don't stress about it. It may happen or it may never happen.

[Robbin_G]

I was doing great dodging Brooklyn traffic when on the way home I misjudged the height of a driveway entrance and side swiped it. Funny thing about all my crashes have been that they've all happened so fast that I've never stuck my hand out. My elbow took it the worst in the driveway and I didn't realize that you can get road rash when completely covered! I had to peel the shirt from my arm.

Grit and speed still terrify me.

[Jo-n-NY]

Add me to the group. I went down on bad road way and fractured my shoulder this past Labor Day. However, I have been riding on and off all my life and road consistantly, 4-5 times a week (includes indoors on the trainer) for the past 4 years.

I recently just have been back to outdoor road riding, weather permitting but I can relate with you about visions of falling. Although I am riding "very" cautiously, I have the visions more when I am off the bike, especially when driving in the car and I see badly patched roads and rough terrain, think, "oh, this is not a good road to ride on".

I am sure the more I ride, the visions will eventually go away.

~ JoAnn

[Jo-n-NY]

Cali....Have you fallen with your new Ruby? I often wonder how a carbon frame would hold up in the event of a fall.

~ JoAnn

[DebW]

I've never gotten road rash. Never crashed in that manner. Sand and gravel on the road aren't a big hazard as long as you see them ahead of time and ride ride straight (no lean to the bike) across them. My accidents:

1) hit by car in 1977. I was on a 3 speed and got hit at an intersection by a car going very slowly. Bike fork got bent. I was fine except for ripping a seam in my jeans.

2) solo accident May 2005. Hit a curb due to not watching where I was going, did an endo and broke collarbone. Have no memory of actual crash. Bike was fine. I was riding again in 4 months. Shoulder is now almost normal again.

[Jo-n-NY]

. Shoulder is now almost normal again.[/QUOTE]

That is so good to hear Deb. I am still getting better and going back to the orthopedic in a couple of weeks to make sure all going ok. I continue to improve so I feel good about that.

~ JoAnn

[bcipam]

I've had my share of nasty crashes both road and mountain. The worse was 7/4/2004 when I hit a bump in the pavement, was tossed off my bike and landed on my head, knocked out cold for 20 minutes, came to was rushed to the hospital, Cat-scanned and then sent home. The next day, as I was driving my stick swift car, I heard a loud crack and realized I also fractured my right collarbone. Back to the hospital, off the bike 10 weeks and have just recently had surgery to repair the fracture which never healed. Again off the bike this time for 12 weeks. I just started riding again. 4 months post surgery and the fracture still has not healed. I pray by 6 months it's OK. I also have some residue post-concussion head injury but I'm probably not any more ditzy now than I was then.

About 8 years ago I tumbled down a short cliff while mountain biking and jammed the bar end into my right thigh. It caused a hematoma the size of a basketball which did not subside for almost 8 months. That was attractive. I now have a permanent indention in that thigh. Last summer, while tackling a rock garden I again flipped over, came down on my back, sat up and thought I was OK until I saw the blood running down my arm and leg. Turns out I busted my elbow open. The blood made me pass out a few moments. My buddy, an experienced rider who had charged down the hill, knew to come back looking for me. There just weren't enough bandages in either of our packs to stop the bleeding. I do carry, and don't laugh because it is effective, a small sanitary pad in my first aid kit and that help absorb alot of blood but I still had to walk out of the park were we were riding another 12 miles (I ended up riding most of it blood flying everywhere. My bike was covered). Elbow required 10 stitches.

So both knees, both elbows and both shoulders have permanent road rash/injury scars for all my falls. But as my buddy says "if you ain't falling, you ain't trying" so guess I've been trying alot!

[DeniseGoldberg]

Unfortunately, my answer is yes too. I've only fallen a few times, but the last one was a doozy. Before that one, it was an exercise in picking myself up, checking the bike for damage, getting back on and starting to ride again.

My crash in May of 2004 was different. I don't know what caused the crash since I have no memory of that day or the next few either. I suspect my wheel got caught in or on something. I know that the bike flipped over the front wheel and I rode it over and landed on my head. I had a skull fracture, brain injury, broken bones (pelvic bone, a couple of ribs, bones around one eye), and a lot of bruises. If I hadn't been wearing a helmet I don't believe I would have survived. I spent 2 weeks in the hospital, and worked up from walking very short distances to walking for longer periods of time, to riding my bike again just 6 weeks after the accident (much to the dismay of some of my docs!).

It took the better part of a year for me to work back to what I consider normal from an endurance standpoint, but I proved to myself by the end of last year that I truly was back (over 4000 miles on my bike did that for me!).

But I sense that your question is more than finding out who has crashed. It seems to be more of "how do I get over being afraid of crashing". I think it's important to look at how much time we spend on our bikes and how many rides we have taken and will continue to take without crashes. I've been riding a long time. At first it was more an occasional thing, but since I started touring back in 1988, riding my bike has become something that I do all of the time. I refuse to let the possibility of crashing scare me away. Like JoAnn pointed out, coming back after a crash can bring more care in riding style or location. But for most of us, that extra care doesn't stop us from enjoying riding.

--- Denise

[Selkie]

Don't be scared--everything in life involves risk. The rewards of cycling are worth the risks.

Excellent advice, doody girl!

I had road rash on my knees but that was because I was dragged across the street when another dog attacked my dog (and yes, bit ME). The road rash hurt some, but it wasn't half as painful as the dog bites (took a chunk out of my calf). That said, I didn't take the pain meds the ER doc gave me. Keep in mind that I have a high tolerance for pain, so pain measure is relative. I do have scars from the road rash but it doesn't bother me as I just tell myself that my many imperfections make me more interesting.

Denise, man, what a crash. Thank goodness you are OK. You are one brave lady!!!