Have you ever crashed?

[Joy]

When I would go down very steep hills I would fear a groundhog or other small animal running out in front of me. When I finally really did crash, afterwards, it was very scary getting back on the bike. A walnut in the middle of the bikeway was enough to give me the hebbie jebbies! But I got over it. I had just one big crash and I have been riding 37 years. That's not a bad average. We have had several people die on our club rides. Some from natural causes and 2 from encounters with vehicles. Its a risky passtime but beats the heck out of television. (If you die on a club ride, you usually get a bench somewhere with your name on.)

[ladyjai]

age 16 - riding on the sidewalk the wrong way - hit by a car, shattered my leg.

4 years ago - trying to turn up onto the sidewalk from the road. didnt turn sharp enough, the tire stayed in the street, following the road curb, i kept going in my original destination. road rash and scratches to my glasses.


within the last year, I've had enough to make me wonder if I'm in too dangerous a sport. i keep telling myself that there are commuters who have no major incidents for decades....

--April - was riding and due to construction and large netted fences, i realized I needed to turn NOW. the bike had just been in the shop, but i didn't realize they'd tightened my front tire brake...i wasn't going to fast, but I still went over the handlebars. only thing hurt was my pride.

--may - new to slicks on my hybrid. i was riding on gravel and decided to turn while riding at 16-18. My tire slid out from under me and i hit the ground hard. i still have rocks in my hand, and am skittish of turning at high speeds. i've gotten much better, but skittish anyways. 4 stitches, 2 weeks off the bike, and a broken computer. not official road rash, but worse - you could see the fatty tissues in my knee! I'd say it was 7 months before the insides of the knee stitched themselves together.

--june - fell over when i couldn't clip out. twisted my ankle a little. it bothered me off and on for about 4 months. Broke my computer.

--last fall - got run over by another cylist. tight paceline of 2. the light turned, and it was one of those iffy ones, but with a car waiting to turn. I stopped too fast for my companion. While I was on the brakes, he hit my bike frame, knocked me over and proceeded to ride over my leg. I had a tire burn mark on my leg, more road rash on my arm (on top of the area healed from june!) I had a nasty headache for a few days, broke my computer.

--1 week before christmas - i was out riding my solo 200mile ride, crossing some baaad train tracks (they cross the road at worse than a 45 degree angle). had some truck drive into my bike lane, and scare me bad enough not to turn sharp enough, i went down. road rash (under my clothes) and arm, I'll bear the scar on my hip for years if not a lifetime). got up, and managed to finish the 60 miles i had left to ride.

--This last February - Got hit by a car when turning left. Rode the ambulance, my bike road the firetruck. off the bike for 3 weeks, and even still recovering. Damaged rib cartilage and muscles, some spine damage, but nothing to severe there. more road rash - one right on top of the june knee scar and june/Fall arm scars. the arm one was clothing rash. took out the computer, clothing, helmet, and i couldnt lay down for several weeks without pain (especially transitions from sitting to laying and vice versa. getting up was the most painful part of any day). I still feel my side whenever i try to lift anything.

kinda painful laying them all out to realize. sometimes it seems like some of them were a very long time ago, not so recently.

of course, the most important lesson is to have a large supply of computers or at least new wiring

[DeniseGoldberg]

...lots of crash stories...

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

...crossing some baaad train tracks (they cross the road at worse than a 45 degree angle). had some truck drive into my bike lane, and scare me bad enough not to turn sharp enough, i went down.

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.

Have any of you crashed on the road? Is it as bad as it looks?

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

[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.

[tjodit]

Ouch - 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

You're right. I wasn't really looking to hear all those horror stories!! (I may not be able to sleep tonight ;-) ) But it's comforting to know that you can move on after a bad crash. I love speed and I want to take corners fast...it just feels so cool to lean the bike into a curve. But if I see any gravel or sand on the road I turn into a big weenie and brake and cross it going very slowly. And maybe there isn't anything wrong with that.

I was really hoping to find out how painful laying the bike down on a road was...but I guess realistically that would depend on the individual circumstances.