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

[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.

[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.

[jobob]

I'm still riding.

That said, perhaps if I had any memory of my crash, or the helicopter ambulance to the trauma center, or the two days in intensive care (well, OK, I have vague memories of that), or if I didn't heal up practically 100%, then maybe I'd feel differently.

[Eden]

Of course.... like my teammate who read the story, my first thought was not about whether on not she'd get back on, but what she was doing half wheeling....

I've crashed a few times, hit by a car once. I never thought twice about getting back on the bike. The car incident was right before my favorite race... I was back on my bike probably way sooner than I really should have... as soon as I could bend my knee (I think it was about 4 days later) again I was commuting and I went to the race a week after the accident

[LivetoRide]

I read this on RBR the other day to which I posted-

""Is it the drama of a crash, or is it that a crash makes you realize you could actually be killed on a bike? Is it the type of injury? Or the fact that you can feel, as I did, that the accident was unfair and out of your control?"

This article made me think of horseback riding (another sport in which I do a lot of). You will see some beginners perhaps quit after falling for the first time and then you will also sometimes see riders quit after a fall that leaves them injured, or more than just shaken up. Riding horses is exactly like cycling in the sense that you have to accept the fact that you will fall at some point and you may get hurt, or even worse."

Here's a link to the thread on RBR.

[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.

[Sylvia]

I'd have to say I agree with much of what has already been said. It depends on the person. I took up cycling again after having not ridden in about 25-30 years. Took a while trying to find a road bike that would work for me. I'm short 5' with a 25" inseam, and I'm disabled (can't lift my leg up over the top tube). I discovered Bike Friday and had them make me a bike with road components.

Well within 6 months I got into a cycling accident. I fractured my tibia and the doc said I would be wheelchair bound for six weeks. After six weeks, it took another 4-6 weeks before I could even get back on the bike. 1 and a half months later I took my bike out to Maryland to ride at Blackwater refuge where Terry's Wild Goose Chase was held. It is amazingly beautiful there. My leg is still healing, the bones are healed, but the tendons/ligaments are still not 100%. But I am still riding.

So it true, cycling can be dangerous, but it also has its rewards. In the end each person needs to weigh the pros and cons and decide for themselves if it is worth continuing.