Article: Fell off my bike and vowed never to get back on

[Charlotte Berry]

I got hit head on by a car and was lucky that while my bike didn't fair so well, I came out mostly with bumps and bruises. I wasn't even wearing a helmet. Lucky, I think this used up all my luck or 9 lives that day. However, I didn't ride for over a year after that and not because I didn't have a bike or healthy body. It's very psychological , nerve racking, and can play with you head for quite a while. Today, I ride again, no problems and with a helmet.

[OakLeaf]

Obviously a traumatic injury is psychologically different from a chronic injury, but I know WAY more people who have given up running because of injury, than cycling.

It was strange to me how the writer glibly brushed off the idea that a runner is able to avoid chronic injury.

But it does make sense that those who take responsibility for their own safety are less likely to give up a sport after getting hurt.

[SheFly]

I read this article yesterday, and thought it was dumb. I know A LOT of cyclists who have suffered traumatic and chronic injuries - none of whom have sworn off riding.

Last fall when I broke my ankle racing, my first thought was to finish the race (I didn't know it was broken at the time). While healing, all I could think about was getting back on the bike so that I could finish out the remainder of the race season (I did).

And when I crash on my MTB (doesn't happen often, but when it does, it can be spectacular), my first thought is usually "Is my bike ok?" . I have never not gotten back on the bike after any kind of crash/injury.

And I know I'm not the only one - there are a LOT of TE members who have bemoaned being off the bike, and counting down the days until they could get back on!

SheFly

[Crankin]

I'm pretty risk averse and ride accordingly. I stopped mountain biking because of this (and the fact that I sucked at it). However, I have had a couple of crashes, while they didn't involve cars, they did involve moderate injuries. My first crash involved me passing a water bottle to my son as he rode by me on his cross bike (like in "hey Mom, give me a drink, I don't have a bottle"). When I went to take it back, I crashed, mostly because I had visions of crashing into a phone pole that was near. This was a few months after a well known woman racer had crashed into a pole and died in a race near here. I was a very new rider and that's all I could think of. While I finished my ride, I woke up a few days later with a knee the size of a balloon. It turned out to be just blood pooled up in there, I went through it being drained, MRI, and about 6 weeks of not being able to do anything except swimming. It hurt like hell. But, I never thought about quitting riding. Heck, I crashed down a ravine in Austria (no injuries) because of my klutziness, and I never thought of stopping.

[chicagogal]

The difference, I think, is that we all live and breath cycling. It is who we are, as much as it is what we do. However, there are lots of people out there who just like to ride their bikes sometimes. A lot of them (family members of mine and friends included) don't really understand the risks involved. When something happens, and they are forced to come to terms with those risks, they are not invested enough in the sport to be willing to do that, so they give up riding and do something safer instead.

That being said, I have been lucky enough to have only had one very minor crash despite the fact that I race (and have seen countless friends go down, often in dramatic fashion). Despite my person good fortune (yes, I am aware that I could be jinxing myself right now), every time I get on my bike, I am aware of the risk I am taking, and while I don't let it get to my head, I do make decisions about what rides to do based on how much risk I am willing to assume ("A" race coming up, and I'll avoid the big aggressive crash-prone group rides). Even now, with (indoor) winter training about to start, I find myself extra cautious about riding outside for fear of crashing out on ice and missing an important training block. So the pros/cons are constantly being weighed, but I still ride!!!

I guess my point is that for people who aren't as aware of the risks, are more surprised when a crash/injury happens and so the shock factor is much greater.

[jessmarimba]

I may be counting down the days til I can get back on the trails, but that doesn't mean that when I finally get to try I won't freeze up and have a panic attack. It's easy to want something that isn't allowed, and my head might think I'm ready to ride but my gut might disagree.

[nscrbug]

I've had 2 minor crashes, neither of which I was injured except for a few scrapes and some soreness. Not once did it even cross my mind, to give up riding because of it.

On a somewhat related note...I also had a wreck on my motorcycle, too. I walked away unhurt, but very bruised and sore for weeks. Oh, and I wasn't wearing a helmet either... I honestly don't know how I managed to get so lucky...however, my Harley was NOT so lucky and suffered close to $5,000 in damage. I was back riding my Harley again, in less than a month.

In both cases, I think crashing has actually made me a "better" rider...because now I am more aware of the consequences of my actions. I ride more defensively and more acutely aware of my surroundings.

[JennK13]

I totally think it depends on how the accident happens. Chronic injuries aren't "scary"; your life isn't flashing before your eyes with a fear of death. I think this is why runners still run - those who can, go to PT, get inserts or special shoes, correct the physicality causing the injury and go on - well, maybe not....there are lots of people who keep running despite an injury and never fix it, then complain 30 years later that running ruined their knees.

I don't believe a chronic cycling injury would cause someone to give it up.

I think people come back from minor accidents, too. I'm a klutz, and fall all the time trail running, twist my ankles, literally run into trees (my flailing hands will smack them). I still forget to, or fail to, unclip and fall over on my bike; I have a gnarly looking bruise/knot on my shin right now from taking a pedal blow in a cross race (and it's sore to walk on). Most of this goes back to personal responsibility for the injury - obviously, trees arent jumping in front of me when I run, and me forgetting to unclip is my fault. Now, people stopping abruptly in front of me where I have to suddenly brake and fall over - also in my control; unless in a race, I leave more room ahead of me when riding with people I don't know, and I scan the path for anything that may run in front of me or the rider ahead of me. It taught me to be more alert.

But major traumatic injuries are different, and less likely to be as damaging to a runner. I step on a rock while running, I twist my ankle; I hit it while on my bike at 30mph, I'm flying over the handle bars and breaking something. The only similar injury (with major damage) that can occur to both the runner and the cyclist is getting hit by a car, and while pedestrians are hit more often than cyclists, I've never known anyone who gave up walking or running because of that kind of accident, yet cyclists do. Cycling is far more risky, and there are more dangers than being on two feet - that's why we wear helmets!
2 years ago I was out for a ride a couple days after a rain storm. The creeks here overflow up onto the trails as they are part of the drainage system. I went down a slight hill as the trail went under a bridge for a road. It's dark under bridges and I didn't see the thick, black mud that covered the entire trail the whole distance of the underpass. I hit it at about 25mph, and instantly went down and slid a good 30 feet. It was like a slip and slide, I even slipped trying to stand up. To this day, I am cautious when going through tunnels or underpasses because they almost all are drainage here. Last Saturday, my group went through two that had water/sheets of ice in them; we happened upon a guy who didn't notice it until it was too late and hit the ground hard. He was in a lot of pain leaning on his bike, called his wife to come pick him up. Again, my "fear" was reaffirmed. But I'm not giving up cycling, I'm just more cautious.

On a somewhat related note...I also had a wreck on my motorcycle, too. I walked away unhurt, but very bruised and sore for weeks. I was back riding my Harley again, in less than a month.

In both cases, I think crashing has actually made me a "better" rider...because now I am more aware of the consequences of my actions. I ride more defensively and more acutely aware of my surroundings.

On this note, about 2 years ago I started have difficulties from a medical condition where I couldn't concentrate well, couldn't focus, and the vibration of my m/c made things worse. DH and I took a 200 mile ride up through Rocky Mountain National Park in July. It was cold, which made things worse, as I couldn't really feel my hands and feet; there were hairpin turns, and when we reached the snow fields, the wind was blowing so hard it blew me across the road (and chilled me to the bone). Coming down the other side through Boulder, I missed a gear and jumped at an intersection smacking my ankle with my floor board almost causing me to drop my bike. I'm not sure why, but it scared the crap out of me, I rode it maybe twice to work after that, and sold it in February of this year. I think it was because the medical condition is out of my control, I can't swerve around it, I can't predict it....I don't know. While I still have issues medically, I still cycle and ride dirt bikes/quads (and I've rolled quads and smacked my head several times - my fault, not medically related), but I think I'd rather go down on a 20lb bike at 30-40mph than I would on a 600lb m/c at 60mph. The risk of "death" got into my head - and it is totally all in my mind, but it doesn't matter.

[arielmoon]

I am on board with SheFly. I couldn't wait to get back on the bike after breaking my pelvis when a dog ran out and into my front wheel. It did back me off a little and yes, I am always on hyper dog alert.

Ironically, the accident has kept me from riding my horse although that is not as psychological as physical. But there is a part of me that worries about being on my horse and having something happen.

[Owlie]

Jess, that happened to DBF after his crash. He admits it was his fault (he locked up his front wheel going through a patch of gravel at 30 miles an hour!), and his injuries weren't serious (a concussion, a lot of road rash and cuts to his face). Even when he was cleared to ride again, he couldn't get back on the bike for about three months.

[Charlotte Berry]

I'm pretty risk averse and ride accordingly. I stopped mountain biking because of this (and the fact that I sucked at it). However, I have had a couple of crashes, while they didn't involve cars, they did involve moderate injuries. My first crash involved me passing a water bottle to my son as he rode by me on his cross bike (like in "hey Mom, give me a drink, I don't have a bottle"). When I went to take it back, I crashed, mostly because I had visions of crashing into a phone pole that was near. This was a few months after a well known woman racer had crashed into a pole and died in a race near here. I was a very new rider and that's all I could think of. While I finished my ride, I woke up a few days later with a knee the size of a balloon. It turned out to be just blood pooled up in there, I went through it being drained, MRI, and about 6 weeks of not being able to do anything except swimming. It hurt like hell. But, I never thought about quitting riding. Heck, I crashed down a ravine in Austria (no injuries) because of my klutziness, and I never thought of stopping.

I think you are talking about Nicole Reinhart. She is the only pro women road rider to be killed in a bike race in history I think. If I am wrong, correct me. What a tragedy indeed. The only man to be killed in a pro men's bike race I think was Fabio Casatelli. Tommy Simpson died from drugs, but not from a bike accident. I'm not sure though about the men totally, since I don't follow them, too manyh druggies in the sport for men, lost interest in it. lots of men died in bike racing while training or otherwise, but not during an actual pro bike race that I know of. Getting off track here, but the Reinhart accident sure was horrible because she was just yards away from winning the largest bike purse in women's cycling history.

However, my experience was different then others. I just didn't ride for a year. For me, it was a sign to give it a break and do something else. When I went back, all ok for me, time heals all things, sometimes!

[Crankin]

Yes, it was Nicole Reinhart. My crash happened about 3-4 months after her death. It seems like a really long time ago!

[NbyNW]

It's so hard to generalize how people will respond to an accident.

Barbara Buchan has an interesting story -- had a serious crash in the 80s before helmets were commonplace in competitive cycling, but it didn't seem to impair her competitive drive.

[marni]

I couldn't wait to get back on my bike after each of my biking accidents, once caused by being brushed by a car, once for running off the trail after hitting an unexpected bunch of wet leaves coming out of a curve, probably too fast. Of course, it took me more than a year to ride the trail I had ridden off , and then only because my dh/sag guy insisted. I rode very slowly and carefully and ti was in the middle of the summer so there were no leaves.

I am so hooked on the endorphines and sense of accomplishment and just self pride that I get from bike riding that I can't see ever giving it up or quitting easily or happily. They will probably have to drag ;my bicycle out of my dead clenched hands in order to bury me.