Are you ready to crash?
#1
Peloton Shelter Dog
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Are you ready to crash?
I figured this was a natural follow up to the 'Are you ready to race?' thread. In 150+ races in the 1990's I never actually crashed, but since then I've crashed enough on my own in the past couple of years (typically ice-related in the winter) that I'm ready. It's like getting tackled on artificial turf, without the turf. And it happens so fast that by the time you realize it's happening it's over. So I'm ready. And even if I'm not, so what?
#2
slow up hills
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I've crashed in races more times this season than most of you have raced. HTFU.
#4
Peloton Shelter Dog
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#5
I miss my bike.
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I've been hit by a car every year for the past three years. I want a gold star or something.
#6
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tumbling classes/practice improved my crashing ability-- there's really a lot of time to think about things on the way down. My girlfriend used to be a competitive gymnast and has a tendency to do full endos and land standing up next to the bike. She dragged me to the tumbling gym ~weekly for about a year and it was a lot of fun and changed my attitude about being upside down.
#7
going roundy round
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When someone new shows up for our weekly geezer ride, we can tell by the scar tissue on their left elbow/knee how much pain they are going to inflict upon us.
#9
Senior Member
I'm more ready to crash than I am to race. I went through a spate of stupid crashes in '06. Always on the right side - apparently I suck at right turns.
#10
Il cucchiaio
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#11
How much does it weigh?
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tumbling classes/practice improved my crashing ability-- there's really a lot of time to think about things on the way down. My girlfriend used to be a competitive gymnast and has a tendency to do full endos and land standing up next to the bike. She dragged me to the tumbling gym ~weekly for about a year and it was a lot of fun and changed my attitude about being upside down.
#12
Raising the Abyss
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#14
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i had a nice get off over a 55 foot table top riding motocross a few weeks ago but i'm still more scared to crash in a crit race than i am of riding moto. something about that asphalt and only having bib shorts, a jersey and a cycling helmet covering me up makes me a feel a little bit vulnerable.
#15
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I haven't been there in a while, but they still have adult tumbling Mo/Tu/We/Thu 7 to 10 pm. Adult tumbling is kind of a trip-- it was usually a combination of ex-gymnasts and stunt people (with some overlap) doing what sometimes looks like strange combinations of things.
It helps a *lot* if you have someone who comes with you who actually knows what they're doing and can teach you things, since there aren't generally people there to help during non class times, though some of them do private instruction, too. I'd be sort of interested in going back if I could round up an "instructor" who's free or cheap (i.e. an ex gymnast who wants company to go turn flips).
It's loads of fun-- I really don't like to go lift weights and things, but the gymnastics stuff gives you a really good dynamic strength workout. It would probably be good for getting a little more sprinting snap back, since I do too much endurance stuff.
#17
old & slow
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#18
Peloton Shelter Dog
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#19
Carbon Fiber Bones
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Quite a bad patch there, but it seems to have passed. No doubt skin will be lost this season with all the hilly racing I'm doing (read: insane B-grade riders on 70+ km/h technical descents ).
#20
Isaias
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Crash!?
I've been prepared for the eventuality, but I always seem to get surprised when it happens:
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1122071026.jpg
I won't post this pic with [img] tags, because some people seem to get bent out of shape when they see someone with their shorts torn to shreds.
Btw, I've never crashed in a race. I was delayed by one that occurred in front of me, but avoided the pile-up. All of my crashes happened either on rec rides or while commuting to and from work.
I've been prepared for the eventuality, but I always seem to get surprised when it happens:
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...1122071026.jpg
I won't post this pic with [img] tags, because some people seem to get bent out of shape when they see someone with their shorts torn to shreds.
Btw, I've never crashed in a race. I was delayed by one that occurred in front of me, but avoided the pile-up. All of my crashes happened either on rec rides or while commuting to and from work.
Last edited by NoRacer; 01-29-08 at 07:26 AM.
#21
Peloton Shelter Dog
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#22
Senior Member
I crashed at least once a year for about 10 years. At first they were all on training rides as I did things like learn to corner:
https://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.co...hen-youre.html
or just try and visit my girlfriend:
https://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.co...rash-ever.html
or whatever.
After a bunch of years crashing on training rides, I found myself in the thick of things during crits, i.e. I was strong enough to be up front in the final bits of a race and I was a good enough bike handler that I felt okay being up there. I can't recall actually causing a crash (except my last one when I inadvertently unclipped sprinting out of a turn - but the only guy that crashed was me). Typically it was someone sliding into my wheels and taking me out, or being pushed off the outside of a corner. I did have a lot of saves - bunny hopping onto a grassy median, stretching a bunch of "police line do not cross" tape, and then jumping back in, or one where a guy slammed me from the inside (numerous times), or bunny hopping off the road to get away from an ongoing stackup.
I took Judo for a short time (year or two). As part of our exercises we'd start sprinting, jump over other kids in the class standing upright with their heads bent down (i.e. 4 or 5 feet tall), and then do a tumbling landing, our hands hitting first. Scariest thing the first time I did it, coming down on your hands from 5 feet in the air, but it got to be where I couldn't wait for my turn to sprint at the guys standing there and leap over them. We started just doing slow-mo tumbles over nothing but it quickly progressed to leaping over 4 or 5 guys.
I have no "with Judo" and "without Judo" stats for myself but I believe that this tumbling type training really helped me deal with the bike falls.
cdr
*note* - isn't 55 feet like 5+ stories? Good lord.
https://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.co...hen-youre.html
or just try and visit my girlfriend:
https://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.co...rash-ever.html
or whatever.
After a bunch of years crashing on training rides, I found myself in the thick of things during crits, i.e. I was strong enough to be up front in the final bits of a race and I was a good enough bike handler that I felt okay being up there. I can't recall actually causing a crash (except my last one when I inadvertently unclipped sprinting out of a turn - but the only guy that crashed was me). Typically it was someone sliding into my wheels and taking me out, or being pushed off the outside of a corner. I did have a lot of saves - bunny hopping onto a grassy median, stretching a bunch of "police line do not cross" tape, and then jumping back in, or one where a guy slammed me from the inside (numerous times), or bunny hopping off the road to get away from an ongoing stackup.
I took Judo for a short time (year or two). As part of our exercises we'd start sprinting, jump over other kids in the class standing upright with their heads bent down (i.e. 4 or 5 feet tall), and then do a tumbling landing, our hands hitting first. Scariest thing the first time I did it, coming down on your hands from 5 feet in the air, but it got to be where I couldn't wait for my turn to sprint at the guys standing there and leap over them. We started just doing slow-mo tumbles over nothing but it quickly progressed to leaping over 4 or 5 guys.
I have no "with Judo" and "without Judo" stats for myself but I believe that this tumbling type training really helped me deal with the bike falls.
cdr
*note* - isn't 55 feet like 5+ stories? Good lord.
#23
Carbon Fiber Bones
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#24
Throw the stick!!!!
Just out of curiosity, if you are still a cat 5 (user title) how many crashes could you have had while racing? In order to have crashed in races more than most of us have raced you must crash numerous times in each of your cat five races, unless of course you are a lifetime cat 5'er. If you crash that often you might want to consider another sport.
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#25
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Never crashed on the road, but I've had my fair share of craziness on the mountain bike. Does that do anything to prepare you? (Probably not).