smart falling?

[latelatebloomer]

Hi, support team (estrogen) - the rides are going great, but I had my second fall. This time I wiped out on gravel as I made a sharp turn, probably didn't help that it had rained 2 hours before. As I went down, I instrictively tried to catch myself on left knee and both palms. I don't think that was smart, but falls happen so quickly....How to fall smarter in the blink of an eye? I'm seriously considering calling an Akido sensei I know to see if he can help.

Now that I know to ice right away, I'm hoping knee and hand bounce back fast. And I used arnica, and....um...tequila.

[Fredwina]

Suuposedly you should try and 'Roll' i.e , keep your hands tucked in. If you stick them out (which is quite instictive), there's a chance you can break your collarbone(not a good thing). Of course, this assumes you know your'e falling and can't do anything about. I think some people (mainly racing types), practice falling, so they get in habit
of doing this. Make me glad I don't race....

[RoadRaven]

YAY!!! Lets hear it for arnica!!!!!

Sorry about your fall, LateLate always a bugger!

Um... I know you're ok... but hows the bike? Priorities, y'know?

Seriously... I don't know that there is a smart way to fall, I have only had one major crash and rolled in that several times... but that was not a concious descision.

I knew I had to get off the road pronto but I'll be damned if my body would do what my head was telling it - fortunatly a couple of marshalls were at that particulalr corner and got me and the bike off the road.

[salsabike]

See this thread on BikeForums. There is some really useful info there about this question.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...hlight=falling

[Trekhawk]

Oh no!!!! Glad to hear you are ok.
Tips for falling - sounds good to me.

[Trek420]

Glad to hear that you're ok.

And working on falls if you know an Aikido (or any other Martial Art where we throw each other in the spirit of loving protection for all things gleefully across the room) sensei sounds like a good idea, great cross training too

Aikido is something I do, and it takes a lot of work, years, decades to learn to fall well, it's a lifetime thing.

That's not to say you can't learn a few things quickly that will help. It's hard to know where to begin in this but I'll be glad to try to toss out a few tips ...once I bring in the groceries.

[roughingit]

I've had a couple of those slo-mo ohnoImstillclippedin! falls where you knew you were going to fall. I try to bring my arm in and just fall on my side and shoulder. Figure that way the impact is more distributed.

[Trek420]

that's perfect, Grasshopper!

[Tuckervill]

I fell yesterday, too.

We had a rain overnight. I was approaching a wood-decked bridge over a creek on the bike trail. It's 90 degree left turn from the path, with a post in the middle to keep motorized vehicles off. I always hit it kind of fast, straightening the curve and sliding between the post and the bridge rail, which is about head high. The bridge is an arch so it's easy to lose speed going up, so I was leaning into the fast turn after the post to avoid the other side of the bridge...leaned too far for traction and my bike slid out from under me. The deck boards were all swollen up and smooth from the rain, and my nobby tires just couldn't get the grip anymore.

Luckily I hit the deck on my left hip and thigh, brushed my elbow a little. It was a sudden stop, but the bike kept on sliding towards the rail. It stopped right before it could have slipped off into the creek.

I knew my 12 yo son was coming to meet me soon, so I hopped up and grabbed the cell phone to warn him of the bridge, because he takes it the same way I do. He was still at home, and that was my biggest sense of relief.

I'm a little sore on the thigh, but otherwise no damage. My bike shorts had splinters, though.

That was my first potentially painful fall. I didn't have time to put my hands down. My first ever fall, though, looked like the guy on the tricycle on Laugh-In. Changed my mind about hopping a curb at just the wrong time, and simply fell over into the grass.

It occurred to me yesterday that, yep, falls happen and there's nothing I can do to prevent them each and every time, no matter how careful I am. No point in worrying about them too much...just be prepared. I probably should do some time on the trampoline doing body rolls to get used to the sensation again.

Karen

[Trek420]

Tuckerville,

Glad you're ok, those poles always scare me. It'll be "see the pole, ride smack right into the pole" for me.

Yes, the trampoline's a great idea, get used to the feel of falling.

Falls happen and you can't "think through them". If you practice falling it may just be part of your body memorie.

Velogirl told me (hope you don't mind my quoting you VG) that her racers do falling drills with a handlebar.

Just the handlebar, not the whole bike

I presume this is to get the idea of keeping your hands in front of you not out stopping the fall.

That's very much a martial arts way of teaching falling. In Aikido that is one of the things we stress, keep your hands in front of you. If you can see your hands, they are not out stopping your motion.

Velogirl (Lorri) also told me that instinctivly those sliding type falls we don't want road rash and may instinctivly move in a way that the fall is sudden. But road rash heals gals, those sudden type falls are where internal injury occurs.

Best to tuck and roll if you have a nanosecond to choose.

But things happen so fast you can't think through it so....wear your helmets, err on the side of caution TE gals.

[latelatebloomer]

Good morning, all - thanks for the tips & sympathy. Thanks to quick icing & arnica, I'm slightly sore and that's all. My cheapie workout gloves look very broken-in now better them than my epidermis -(other newbies, don't go out without gloves - clearly, even the cheapest make-do will help a lot.)

The pretty blue "Swallow" is fine, RR - but I must have spun the front wheel as I caught myself on both hands, because the right shifter/brake was pushed crooked even though I fell to the left. DH was able to push it back and it seems ok.

Thanks for the link to the Bike Forum, those are good tips, too, but it really does come down to how to get the body to do the right thing instinctively. I owe my Aikido pals a call anyway - so I will see if George is willing to help me get a "tuck" instinct rather than a "brace" instinct.

And I know where I made my mistake. A sharp gravely left turn in the middle of a steep descent. I delayed my turn waiting for an oncoming pickup truck, and made the turn too sharp, too slow. I shoulda just stopped higher up and waited a moment for the truck to pass, and taken the corner on the crown, to get cleaner pavement. 'Tis better not to fall at all!

And just to prove that I must really be a cyclist, I'll be out there again this afternoon. Even though I fell, I'm jubilant about the hill I ate. It used to make me stop twice, once in the middle, once at at the top to get my breath. (I think of "eating" hills because of that old Joan Armitrading song - Some days the bear will eat you, some days you eat the bear... )

and Road Raven, your hill climb advice on another thread was great. Thanks, buddy.

[Trek420]

latelatebloomer glad that you and the your bike are ok

"I will see if George is willing to help me get a "tuck" instinct rather than a "brace" instinct."

I sure he can, just takes practice, practice, practice, practice. And it's fun.

BTW, what dojo does George teach at? I train with Pat Hendricks at San Leandro Aikido.

found a pretty good example of a basic Aikido style roll

http://www.aikido-world.com/highligh...mi-forward.htm

Discloser: do not attempt this at home or without an instructor. There's an easy way to get to this point, and from here to breakfalls. But trying to learn from a video....not good.

Aikido falls are not summersaults. Summeraults the impact goes over the head, down the back to the base of the spine, then there's a gap till *boink* impact on the knees. So the impact is on the vulnerable spinal column.

Aikido falls can begin at any point in the circle although the basic training is from the feet back up again. But the roll follows the outside of the arm, across the shoulders, *across* the spine-not down it, follows the hip and then you could either stay down, or go back up to your feet.

Don't forget to breath! I'm convinced a lot of fall injuries are because we hold our breath.

Have fun learing with George.

[RoadRaven]

Glad you're ok, those poles always scare me. It'll be "see the pole, ride smack right into the pole" for me.

This is actually a recognised phenomanom (sp?).

An article in a the local AA magazine (thats Automobile Assoc) was discussing why, when they have a whole road and side of road, motorbikes will so often crash into a tree or a power pole...

They found that the riders were so busy concentrating on/watching the tree/pole/whatever to make sure they didn't crash if they got out of control, that they actually ended up aiming for it.

The same thing was happening if they watched oncoming headlights.

So the trick is to look for the space between the poles, or to the side of lights - and hopefully that is where you will end up, rather than wrapped around something unforgiving.

[Trek420]

Yep, look where you wanna go.

If faced with the dreaded FU fall say "ooh, that patch of grass looks comfy" and fall there.

But that belongs in the "fall avoidance" thread rather than smart falling. No, wait, better to avoid the fall in the first place so I guess it fits.

[Grog]

Tuck and roll.

Practice it so it becomes almost second nature, so you don't have to "think" when a fall occurs. I had a "emergency-exit of the bike" workshop with my club, in a gym, practicing rolls. We practiced jumping off the bike onto a big big mattress, that wasn't too bad either.

But of course try not to fall, first. Careful on corners...

Sorry about your fall, I hope you heal quickly...