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Are you ready to crash?

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Are you ready to crash?

Old 01-28-08, 09:45 PM
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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?
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Old 01-28-08, 10:01 PM
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I've crashed in races more times this season than most of you have raced. HTFU.
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Old 01-28-08, 10:02 PM
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Falling on a soft bed of 150 pound waifs is one thing, getting doored at 20 mph effin' hurts.
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Old 01-28-08, 10:05 PM
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Originally Posted by kudude
I've crashed in races more times this season than most of you have raced. HTFU.
You must not be riding at the front. Pcad always rides at the front. Out of sheer terror.
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Old 01-28-08, 10:07 PM
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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.
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Old 01-28-08, 10:13 PM
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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.
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Old 01-28-08, 10:16 PM
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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.
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Old 01-28-08, 10:46 PM
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Originally Posted by wanders
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.
Why left? You guys only turn left and only go down by sliding out?

My scars are pretty symmetric.
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Old 01-28-08, 11:13 PM
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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.
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Old 01-28-08, 11:33 PM
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Originally Posted by GatorFL
I've been hit by a car every year for the past three years. I want a gold star or something.
For every car you hit, draw a gold star on the top tube.
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Old 01-29-08, 01:25 AM
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Originally Posted by bitingduck
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.
I'd actually be interested in some classes like that - any references/sources/places to go out in SoCal, specifically Los Angeles?
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Old 01-29-08, 01:44 AM
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Originally Posted by wanders
Falling on a soft bed of 150 pound waifs is one thing, getting doored at 20 mph effin' hurts.
Originally Posted by grolby
I'm more ready to crash than I am to race...
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Old 01-29-08, 01:45 AM
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oh teh no, pcad, think of the bike schwag!

-bullseye
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Old 01-29-08, 02:07 AM
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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.
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Old 01-29-08, 02:34 AM
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Originally Posted by prendrefeu
I'd actually be interested in some classes like that - any references/sources/places to go out in SoCal, specifically Los Angeles?
we went to this place in Van Nuys: https://www.gousa.org/ (the home page loads really slow)

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.
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Old 01-29-08, 03:45 AM
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In socal they call Crit 5 CRASH 5. I have never been in a crash though. Knock on carbon fiber.
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Old 01-29-08, 05:10 AM
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Originally Posted by GatorFL
I've been hit by a car every year for the past three years. I want a gold star or something.
There has GOT to be an easier way to get a new bike every year.
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Old 01-29-08, 05:55 AM
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Originally Posted by Snap
There has GOT to be an easier way to get a new bike every year.
Nonetheless, that level of dedication to Schwag Acquisition is very impressive.
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Old 01-29-08, 06:58 AM
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Originally Posted by GatorFL
I've been hit by a car every year for the past three years. I want a gold star or something.
I've been hit by a car every month for the last three months.

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 ).
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Old 01-29-08, 07:03 AM
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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.

Last edited by NoRacer; 01-29-08 at 07:26 AM.
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Old 01-29-08, 07:14 AM
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Originally Posted by elgalad
I've been hit by a car every month for the last three months.
Did you get a new bike out of it?
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Old 01-29-08, 07:36 AM
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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.
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Old 01-29-08, 08:08 AM
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Originally Posted by patentcad
Did you get a new bike out of it?
New frame, new forks, new front wheel, and new cranks.

Suffice to say my bike went from 8.5 to 7.1 kg in the space of about 6 hours
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Old 01-29-08, 08:09 AM
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Originally Posted by kudude
I've crashed in races more times this season than most of you have raced. HTFU.
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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Old 01-29-08, 10:43 AM
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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).
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