Advocacy & Safety - First Crash

Today I was riding to a friends house, and I guess I wasn't paying enough attention to the road. I hit a small but very deep pothole, and fell on my side. Got up and noticed a few cuts on my hands, then looked at my bike. Darn, I gotta replace my fenders and bar tape... So I gather everything up that fell out of the basket on the rack, and continued to my friends house. Pull up, take off my helmet, and wow. Big crack on the side. And amazingly, the mirror that was attatched to the helmet is what hit the ground, and it is still in great condition. Get some more adhesive and I could use it on my next helmet. So then I start bandaging up the cuts (Of course, my friend hands me some Hannah Montana bandaids, lol) and also notice some rashes on my shoulder and shin. So glad those were covered by my shirt and shorts....

Anyways, from what I can tell, all that was damaged on the bike was the front fender and the bar tape. I did a quick look over of the rest, but is there anything in particular I should look at?

The helmet is toast, toss it and get another if you are going to wear a helmet. Check the wheels to make sure they are true and not bent. If you can't tell yourself, you may want a friend who knows bikes or the LBS to look at the fork to make sure it wasn't damaged.

...is there anything in particular I should look at?

Besides the bike and your cuts, are you feeling OK?

I almost feel like congratulating you on your first fall, as I am good for at least one fall a year. Mostly scuffs like you described, never anything serious. And I am not saying that you will fall once a year as a rule.

My point is, even the most experienced cyclists take a tumble now and then. Sometimes on the most insignificant little thing. I hope you don't let the fall inhibit your cycling. My wife took her first fall last month (she's 50) and skinned here knee. As I was helping her care for the skinned knee she told me she had NEVER had one before. When she told me that all I could say was "Well, it's about time!"

Still, she was a little tentative about biking for the next few weeks. That's why I asked how are you feeling?

Hope the bike and scrapes are ready for more riding soon!

- Joey

I'm fine, and I'll still be riding to work tomorrow. (Might not feel great with the scrapes, but I'll manage) The front wheel is still true, so I imagine the fork would be ok, but I'll make sure I look at it more tomorrow. I think it would take quite a crash to do any real damage to this bike, seems built like a tank.

I'm fine, and I'll still be riding to work tomorrow.

Nice!

If the wheel is still true it is unlikely the fork is bent. It takes a pretty nasty collision or wheel-in-drain crash to bend forks.

congrats! :D At least you didn't end up with a bunch of road-rash. Potholes can be nasty.

Replacing your helmet is a good piece of advice - give the manufacturer a call. I know that Bell gives a slight discount on a new one (my roommate essentially got free shipping plus a couple of percent discount) as long as you send them a photo of the old helmet with the straps cut (so a damaged helmet can't be re-used)

good luck - and good job gettin back on that hoss! :D

Just replaced the helmet today, it was really easy. Walked in the store, showed them the helmet, they let me grab a new one for free. Also grabbed some bar tape. I'm kind of dissappointed I didn't find any like what was on the bike, seems like it would pretty much last forever if I hadn't crashed. Stuff I got now I won't be suprised if I have to replace in a few years.

Great you got a new helmet, and that you were using your old one. I haven't had a crash yet (started riding again this summer, started riding to classes this month), but I've been wearing my helmet since the start of the month. Most of the cyclists I see on campus aren't wearing, but I'm not wearing it for them, I'm wearing it for me.