Burnt Sienna

So I had my first wreck ever on a bike today and thought I'd share. I was riding to an alderman meeting, and going at least 20 mph down a busy city street when all of a sudden a kid throws a ball out into the street (completely by accident). Instead of reacting, my brain went "I think I'm going to hit this ball" and I did. I flew over my handle bars and onto the other side of the street where fortunately there were two men standing. They pulled me off the street almost immediately and out of traffic. A lady that was playing with the kids saved my bike (which got hurt just as bad as me). I was purely amazed at how quickly these people reacted to help me out.
I managed to not bonk my head, but I have nasty case of whiplash now and some pretty messed up knees and arms. I learned my lesson that I will share with you all: slow down when kids are nearby, especially when they're playing with balls. Also, I thought this was pretty neat how kind these people were. I could have easily been hit by a car if they hadn't gotten me up so fast.

joejack951

On a somewhat related note, I'm riding home from work on Monday and there's a guy walking towards me with his small dog on a leash. The road is narrow (~9 foot lanes) with no sidewalk and he's walking against traffic on the edge of the lane taking up about 2 or 3 feet (nothing wrong so far). As I'm approaching, I'm thinking in my head about how much room I should give this guy. I can easily fit by in the same lane without crossing the centerline and would probably pass another cyclist using that position assuming they had acknowledged me passing before I got next to them. I decided to cross the centerline for my pass after realizing that I was putting way too much thought into this scenario (long day at work didn't help) and had a clear lane to use.

As I'm passing this guy with my tires about 3 feet to the left of the centerline, his little pooch jumps about 5 feet in my direction (didn't realize the leash was that long), just about reaching the centerline of the road. Aside from making me jump a bit, nothing happened other than giving me a good reminder why I don't like cycling around peds and why it's always good to give anyone you are passing (motorist, cyclist, ped, etc.) as much room as possible just in case. And like Burnt has reminded us, it can't hurt to slow down either (I did not but I was only doing about 15mph anyway).

Burnt Sienna

I hear you. I've been waiting for one of these dogs that are on *surprise* long leashes to take me out. I always go out of my way around them because I couldn't image how horrible it would be to actually hit one of these pets.
And I notice, every time I call out to someone walking a dog, they always seem to respond by whipping their dog around at me before moving over (if they move over). Strange reaction.

irabidfish

I was preparing for a photo essay I was working on, and working on handling while I took photos over my shoulder. Long story short, I should have known that would not work and I am damn luck both I and the camera still work. I went over my handlebars and landed on my several thousand dollar SLR camera. All that broke was the UV filter ($5-$10). It still needs to be repaired though, the metal ring of what once was the filter got jammed into the treading on the lens. I do have a small scar still on my knuckle from it being dragged along the roadway.
After I crashed two cars drove past me without offering assistance, and once skateboarder went past me on the other side of the road looking at me while I struggled to get up.

That was perhaps the stupidest thing I have ever done.

andrelam

Could be worse. My brother in-law while doing his residency at Mt. Sini Hospital in NYC was trying to figure out how a guy managed to break most of the bones on the side of his face while riding his bike through central park. The first few descriptions of the accident just didn't match up with the damage he saw. Finally the guy admits to looking nice and long at a very attractive lady jogging past him. Apparently he didn't notice the street lamp that he was now riding towards... That is a lot of damage and subsequent pain to ensure to a quick look. I hope the view was worth it.

Sadly we all do some stupid things every so often. Thankfully most of the time luck is on our side and we can learn from the mistake.

Happy riding,
André