How come when everyone else falls/crashes

[kajero]

They walk away with scrapes and scratches.

Me . . . if I fall or crash it's broken bones resulting in surgery, and/or hospitalization? Even my girlfriend says I have the worst luck!

I watched a video of someone going over the handlebars. He got up and walked away! I saw someone go down on the trail the other day and get up on walk away!

[zoom-zoom]

I don't know...I currently have THREE friends with broken bones. 2 with badly broken wrists and 1 with a fractured collarbone. I think a lot of it has to do with how/why a person falls. All of my falls (mtn. and road) have been low-speed topples that mainly leave me with lower body bruising. My friends who have busted wrists (one has broken hers twice) likely tried to break their falls with their hands...it's instinctive for a lot of people. Somehow I never reach out when I am falling...I hang onto my bike for dear life (perhaps to protect the bike--I think I care about my bikes more than my body, heh). This is a good thing, I guess. Both of my friends with wrist fractures need surgery. One has already had surgery and things aren't healing, so she needs another surgery. She already has 2 Ti plates.

[zoom-zoom]

I do wonder about the bone density thing, too. It's one reason I keep running...it's a good weight-bearing exercise, since cycling isn't. I tend to be sort of "sturdy," also. My one friend with a broken wrist is finer-boned and my other friend with multiple break episodes has lupus, which apparently does a number on a person's bones.

[zoom-zoom]

Ha! I resemble that. And I also have only broken my tailbone...which is pretty easy to break. Other than that, just soft-tissue. Badly sprained my left ankle during a trail relay 2 Summers ago (that injury got me into cycling, since I couldn't run at all for 5 weeks, but I could carefully pedal). I think a less solidly-built person would have broken that mess!

[Scrappy]

Hi Muirenn & Bike Writer - Thank you for asking. Still stuck in a holding pattern waiting for insurance. It's about as healed as it will get without surgery - still have some swelling and cannot straighten it completely or bend it all the way even though it's been 32 days since the crash.

To be honest, I would've preferred broken bones to this stupid sprain. A break probably would be healed by now... sigh..

Scrappy

[zoom-zoom]

To be honest, I would've preferred broken bones to this stupid sprain. A break probably would be healed by now... sigh..

Scrappy

Yep...people minimize the severity of a sprain. Sprains are bad news...they can take a VERY long time to heal and once you've sprained a spot your risk of a re-sprain is greatly increased. My left ankle will never be the same and I will likely never again do trail running after my grade 2 sprain.

[Bike Writer]

Scrappy and Bike Writer, how are you both?

I'm ok, the road rash has healed well in all of the various places. I still had to pick out some tiny embedded bits of gravel out of my hand this week. Bruises are healing up too, it's just the ribs that ache and so do my hands and wrists. Dr. said the good news is they wern't broken, the bad news is that they will feel like they are. Considering that fall was on Aug 1st I am guessing/hoping that the ribs will cease their hurting in a week or two.

Knock on wood, I don't break many bones, but I sure to bruise like the dickens.

[Bike Writer]

Scrappy, you get well soon too!

[Scrappy]

You too Bike Writer!

[Kiwi Stoker]

I think I know the answer.

In one race DH and I did on the tandem we started at the front of the entrants.

As we are not fast cyclists this meant we got passed by the elite riders etc in waves.

The faster rider bunches did have crashes but they were amazing to watch. I think it was a combination of speed and skill that the riders that crashed seemed to "tuck and roll", quickly got up and again and got on their bikes and raced off. WOW!

It wasn't until later with the slower people with less skill that we saw BAD crashes. Like lots of blood, wrapped around a power pole and out cold crashes. The faster, experienced bunches actually rode safer and called hazards (or pointed) and had faster reflexes. The slower people did more silly accident stuff like touch wheels.

I also was in one race (on the tandem) when one guy's front tyre blew on a downhill. Becuase he was in a bunch of experienced riders, the guys next to him grabbed an arm each and actually used their brakes to slow him down and then move him off the side of the road. Otherwise he would of taken out the whole bunch.

I think experience is one factor in avoiding broken bones (says the person who has broken a collarbone due to a stupid rider in front of her and a shoulder- this time due to her own inexperience.)

[bmccasland]

Hope you're feeling better soon Scrappy!

[jessmarimba]

My wrecks (both bike and snowboard) have been relatively high speed and I always break stuff too. My doctor doesn't think I need a bone density test, he thinks I just do dangerous stuff and I have small bones. But man it gets tiresome waiting for everything to heal!

[malkin]

No broken bones here--I'm a concussion kind of girl.

Feel better everyone!

[kajero]

Scrappy . . . my prayers are with you. I hope you are healing well.
Zoom-Zoom . . . give my prayers to your friends. I hope they all heal soon!
Bike Writer . . . my prayers are with you, too!

[Scrappy]

Thank You ALL for the love, prayers, and support. It sure helps :-) ((((Group Hug))))

Scrappy