Have you ever crashed?

[ladyjai]

Ouch - I have to say I'm amazed that you still seem to be happily riding your bike with all of your crashes!

Ah, nasty train tracks. I ride across them if they run perpendicular to the road. But I am more likely to put my feet down and walk if they are angled - unless the road I am on is totally empty of vehicles. Then I'll head across at the right angle.
--- Denise

I love riding. I just hope my biggies are over for now. My boss said i was grounded, lol. He only knows about 3...

I've both walked and ridden the tracks since then. I definately am much more cautious and aware...

I'm afraid that based on your question "have you crashed" you are getting stories only from those of us who have crashed. And I think the whole point of the question was to help you get past your fear of falling. It seems that everyone who answered who has crashed has also moved past the crash and continued riding.

A certain amount of fear - or maybe I should say caution - may be good, but I hope that you don't let these stories scare you away from cycling. As I said before, I really believe that if you look at the overall number of crash-free rides vs. the rides where someone has hit the ground - well the crash-free happy rides are much more common.
--- Denise

Exactly. I've put in 7000-8000 miles in the last year. That's a lot of safe riding too. Don't let it scare you. Crashes happen. They happen everywhere. Do you drive a car? cars get in crashes too. some really really bad ones. Do you live in a home? miswiring, carbon monoxide and myriads of other 'disasters' are potential. Do you move from point a to point B? You are taking your life in your hands, you might be mugged, raped, hit by a car, or....
Life is dangerous no matter what/where you are/do. We have one life, I don't want to face my maker and say, "I burried my life, because i knew you were going to take account, and didn't want you to see my mishaps and failures" I want to say, "I lived my life, this gift you gave me to the fullest." wether it's on the bike, at work, with friends, at home, drawing, dreaming, living....

[RoadRaven]

Hmmm... have read this thread over a few times... kind've a cringe-making thread...

Like others here I have had my fair share of falls... not unclipped quickly enough... skidded on wet grass...

I have had two "major" crashes... though not as major as some of the girls here...

When I was about 15 I was biking to the library and a parked car opened its drivers door on me - I did a 3 point landing - my wrists and chin - no helmet of course in "those" days... I assured the driver I was ok, biked on to the library and then rang my dad because shock had set in and I started shaking and was holding back tears.


The second crash was last year in a team triathalon - I was biking of course, and on the greasy road, taking a corner slightly too fast, my back wheel slipped and I hit the curb and tumbled.

Was the crash bad you ask, TJ...

Well, I don't really remember the crash... I know I rolled on the road several times... I remember thinking "there's the road... oh f**k, theres the road again... S**T!!! theres the road AGAIN!" so I guess I tumbled at least three times. When I stopped I sat up but was unable to make my body get off the road even though I knes thats what I supposed to do. Thank goodness for the marshalls there to drag me and my bike outta the way of other cyclists and of cars (the road was not closed).

One of the marshalls checked my bike, said everything was still aligned and did i feel ok to finish - that surprised me as I assumed as I had crashed i couldn't... so I jumped on my bike full of the confidence of the marshalls faith in my ability to finish.

I arrived at the finish line still in good time, dripping blood from both elbows and forearms, a smudge of blood on shoulders and one hip but feeling ok. One of my team-mates took my helmet from me and noticed it had a piece the size of my fist out of the back.

So no, TJ, in short, the crash was fine - a surprise but it didn't hurt - but recovering was not good - headache for a week and very stiff and sore, but the crash itself was almost like something I watched, rather than was a part of.