Commuting - Just how often do you get hurt commuting?

I have been moaning and groaning this evening, as I have to go back to work tommorrow, and my leg & arm/shoulder *still* hurt from crashing out last Tuesday (i.e. 6 days ago)

I've managed to crash out on a rainy railroad crossing (in pouring rain) and I've also been hit by a car who took my right-of-way...and now this. I'm not counting the occasional road contact caused by snow or what not, just stuff that has caused more than minor damage. That's the toll for about 5 years of riding.

How does it look from your saddle? I'm torn between beliving that I've been pretty lucky and aggravated at thinking that I've been pretty stoopid.

*Sigh*

thanks,
Tom

How does it look from your saddle?

I've flopped twice while commuting. Once I tried to hop the front wheel over a curb and hit it head on instead. Bounced me off the bike. No damage.

Another time I thought I would coast over a sheet of ice. Didn't make it. Also no damage.

I'm clumsy and slow, so I don't push it very hard when cornering or riding over loose surfaces. Keeps the number of accidents down. And all of my adult cycling accidents have been low speed flops. I crashed several times as a child, leading to scrapes, bruises and one concussion.

Sorry to hear about your injuries. I've been commuting for a uneventful year until last week. So now I can relate. Up until now I've just had the usual stuff. A curb jumped out at me in the dark. I wasn't going to fast, so I just got tossed onto the sidewalk. When commuting in the dark, even with a light, know your route well! I've also had gravel thrown at me from trucks. All in all, nothing serious.

Last week was a bit different. I had just finished coming down a freeway overpass and was booking along at fast pace, as were the few other cars on the same street. Then I heard right behind me a large and loud rumbling. All I could think was CRAP CRAP!! :eek: Gotta get out of the road! As I went to bunnyhop the curb, I got wiped out from behind. A landscaping trailer carrying lawnmowers and leafblowers had come unhitched off its truck and veered right into me. Next thing I know, I'm lying in the street covered in grass clippings. The police and paramedics came and I was whisked off to the ER. Luckily, and I've been told this over and over, I didn't break anything. I came away with a concussion (helmet cracked in two places and has red curb paint transfer) and a palm sized roadrash on my thigh.

I'm very sore now. My head is sore. My neck is sore from doing a hands-free headstand on the concrete and I've bruised all over. In fact, I keep finding new bruises. The road rash should take a bit of time to heal. However, I'm not phased. I'll be needing a new bike, but this freak (and negligent) incident won't stop me from commuting.

Shimpie

I've flopped twice while commuting. Once I tried to hop the front wheel over a curb and hit it head on instead. Bounced me off the bike. No damage.

Thanks for the comments! I average around a 30-40 kmh avs over 18.5 km so that's 18.5-25 mph over 11.5 miles one-way trip.

Maybe I'm just trying to go too fast? :o

Honestly...sometimes I wonder...

thanks again,
Tom

P.S. of course, when I'm not riding, I'm not going ANY speed...so...

Sorry to hear about your injuries. <snip>

</snip>
I'm very sore now. My head is sore. My neck is sore from doing a hands-free headstand on the concrete and I've bruised all over. In fact, I keep finding new bruises. The road rash should take a bit of time to heal. However, I'm not phased. I'll be needing a new bike, but this freak (and negligent) incident won't stop me from commuting.

Oh man. Sorry to hear about that! Road rash I'm used to, but this hematoma stuff is taking some time to get used to (and it's taking MORE time than I'd thought I'd need, which is very irritating! :mad: )

Glad to hear that the damage wasn't greater. Don't stop for a freak incident like this. Look forward to your new bike!

Have fun shopping,
Tom

Maybe I'm just trying to go too fast? :o

Honestly...sometimes I wonder...

No, you are probably going well within the limits of your skills.

If I was capable of riding that fast, but with my current level of coordination, I'd be crashing on a daily basis. Maybe hourly :eek:

try to stay away from garbage trucks.. the grimiy gravly crap that surrounds them just feels awful when it gets on ya.

what's "hematoma stuff" ?

I've bike commuted 9 of the last 11 years and the only accident I've had was one night when my feet froze to my pedals and toeclips and I slowly fell over at a stop sign. Other than that, nothing.

My routes have all been urban and varied in length (one way) from 3.3 miles to 15 miles.

Paul

I've only ever had one crash while commuting, and that was just a totally stupid one arising from failing to unclip the pedals at a set of lights. The reason it was really stupid? Because it happened six years after I started using that type of pedals.

I've actually fallen very few times (knock on wood) while riding on the road.

As far as commuting, I went down once when crossing some frosty train tracks at an oblique angle. BAM - I didn't know what was happening till I started getting up. Another time was riding an home in cold rain when I found that it was cold enough for the rain to freeze. I slid out and almost recovered, then hit the ground and slid some more.

Other falls I can think of had to do with either overconfidence in track stands (embarrassment) or dogs (concussion and road rash).

Been commuting for almost a year now. No falls/injuries of any sort.

That includes winter commuting...

Sorry to hear about your injuries, hopefully you will recover quickly. I have commuted to work steadly at least 80% of the time for the last 25 years, and during that time I had only one accident and that one destroyed my bike, helmet and dislocated my shoulder and that accident occured in 1984. I have commuted to work in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, Glendale, Pasadena, and Bakersfield (all in California for you out of town folk), and now in Fort Wayne Indiana.

I try not to commute in the rain due to increased stopping distance and slippery conditions-such as railroad tracks! But also the roads are very slick just after the start of a new rain. I have had to commute in the rain only because when I went to work it looked like a good weather day but it changed dramitically by the time I had to go home. The accident I had happened on a good weather day.

You have to become street smart while riding, anticipating slippery situations like railroad tracks or steel gratings or steel manhole covers when wet. Slow down in the rain and start braking early to wipe the water off the rim so the brakes have time to grab. Listening for cars around you that may suddenly accelarate behind you so they can turn on street before you get there cutting you off and forcing you to stop fast. Watching park cars by looking through their rear windows and side mirror to make sure there's no one sitting on the drivers side who may suddenly open their door into your path. Coming to intersections with other cars opposing you and making sure they make eye contact with you before you proceed. Obey all traffic laws and signals. Don't ride weaving around parked cars-keep a straight line. Even if you have the right-away don't take it to prove a point because even though your, right you may be dead right. Don't get in an ugly mood just because some dope cut you off, your anger may prevent you from thinking rationally about the next traffic problem. Don't wear headphones, keep those ears free to hear what's going on around you and be constantly scanning for traffic and pedistrians at least a 1/10 of a mile ahead.

I have been moaning and groaning this evening, as I have to go back to work tommorrow, and my leg & arm/shoulder *still* hurt from crashing out last Tuesday (i.e. 6 days ago)

I've managed to crash out on a rainy railroad crossing (in pouring rain) and I've also been hit by a car who took my right-of-way...and now this. I'm not counting the occasional road contact caused by snow or what not, just stuff that has caused more than minor damage. That's the toll for about 5 years of riding.

How does it look from your saddle? I'm torn between beliving that I've been pretty lucky and aggravated at thinking that I've been pretty stoopid.

*Sigh*

thanks,
Tom

uh I crashed 3X last year due to "flat free tires" and then ice. Now last week, I crashed into a baracade when a rabbit ran out in front of me on a new dirt short cut. Saw the bunnie, was braking hit the baracade dead on. went limp and didn't get hurt.

I'm embarrased but know that this is part of learning new routes. etc.

No, you are probably going well within the limits of your skills.

That is exactly what I'm worried about... :o

according to the sport instructors at our university, I'm probably looking at two weeks of wincing. Oh well...

ride carefully out there (the next time, I'm doing a poll... ;) )

Tom

uh I crashed 3X last year due to "flat free tires" and then ice.

(ex cut out stuff) To paraphrase Elmer Fudd..."Kill da Wabbit!"

Regarding the ice...get yourself a set of Nokian studded tires. They are the thing to have, ice-wise. You'll never-ever regret getting a set of these tires. HIGHLY recommended...I've been riding on them for two seasons now, and have yet to go down riding on both. (did go down once on riding only on the front one in an ice storm) but NEVER have slid out, gone down using both.

Gotta love those things, and the studs last and last, even on dry pavement!

Sorry to hear about your injuries, hopefully you will recover quickly.

Thanks...


<snip>...You have to become street smart while riding, anticipating slippery situations like railroad tracks or steel gratings or steel manhole covers when wet. Slow down in the rain and start braking early to wipe the water off the rim so the brakes have time to grab. Listening for cars around you that may suddenly accelarate behind you so they can turn on street before you get there cutting you off and forcing you to stop fast. Watching park cars by looking through their rear windows and side mirror to make sure there's no one sitting on the drivers side who may suddenly open their door into your path. Coming to intersections with other cars opposing you and making sure they make eye contact with you before you proceed. Obey all traffic laws and signals. Don't ride weaving around parked cars-keep a straight line. Even if you have the right-away don't take it to prove a point because even though your, right you may be dead right. Don't get in an ugly mood just because some dope cut you off, your anger may prevent you from thinking rationally about the next traffic problem. Don't wear headphones, keep those ears free to hear what's going on around you and be constantly scanning for traffic and pedistrians at least a 1/10 of a mile ahead.

Oh I agree with you there. The noises in my head are more then enough to cope with... Having a mirror also helps, once it's dialed in. Also agree with the anger advice. Difficult to do, but I do ride defensively, although fairly agressively, and I also ride legally.

I basically ride as if I'm invisible, and try to improve my visibility & predictibility to compensate for this.

Hope to be back in the saddle tommorrow...
Tom

what's "hematoma stuff" ?

Big nasty *ss bruising. Imagine a largish photo sized bruise.

Tom

As far as commuting, I went down once when crossing some frosty train tracks at an oblique angle. BAM - I didn't know what was happening till I started getting up. Another time was riding an home in cold rain when I found that it was cold enough for the rain to freeze. I slid out and almost recovered, then hit the ground and slid some more.

Oh yeah, been there, done that. :o

The best silliness that I had was back in Seattle when I did a summersault on my bike when my front wheel came out of the forks. Just lay there with my bike pointed at the sky...the auto traffic wasn't amused, as I'd been track standing and then...whuups.

Whence the one knee? Also, liked your ice shoe article. Quite hackish!
Tom

Well, I would love to report that I hadn't had any accidents while commuting, and until this month, I hadn't (other than failing to unclip and ice incidents, etc...) On March 31st, however, I was struck from behind by a car, tumbled over my handlebars, landed square on my chin at about 25mph, then kept tumbling for awhile. My right foot didn't come out of the pedal, and the bike twisted sideways, so I messed up my right quad pretty badly. The driver didn't stop, and I had absolutely no time to get his or her plates, so I'm stuck with the medical bills. I broke my jaw, chipped a front tooth, did some nerve damage in my back, and had to have several stitches along my chin. Other than being on a liquid diet and having tons of back pain, I feel pretty good now. I was only off the bike for four days, and I've actually been logging more miles than ever in the past couple of weeks. I guess I should just feel lucky that I was wearing a helmet and my bike barely had a scratch on it, since it pretty much bounced exclusively off of my body. The CAT scan came out perfect, although as goofy as I've been acting lately, it makes me wonder!

It really is amazing how quickly it can all happen.

i get hurt too often while commuting. i think i go too fast for my environment. i'm working on taking it easy while commuting through the city. 2 big accidents per 6 months is gonna get tiring(and expensive). i can't keep that pace up.

i'll ride fast after work and on weekends. i do love riding through the city though.

dan

i get hurt too often while commuting. i think i go too fast for my environment.

Oh man...that's what I've been thinking...


i'm working on taking it easy while commuting through the city. 2 big accidents per 6 months is gonna get tiring(and expensive). i can't keep that pace up.
i'll ride fast after work and on weekends. i do love riding through the city though.

I will admit that it's nice (expensive, but nice) to be insured over here. It's also nice to have even vacation revert to sick leave when injured. The insurance thing was NOT nice (i.e. getting money out of the accident creator) but other than that it was OK.

What happened?

Thanks,
Tom

Well, I would love to report that I hadn't had any accidents while commuting, and until this month, I hadn't (other than failing to unclip and ice incidents, etc...) On March 31st, however, I was struck from behind by a car, tumbled over my handlebars, landed square on my chin at about 25mph, then kept tumbling for awhile. My right foot didn't come out of the pedal, and the bike twisted sideways, so I messed up my right quad pretty badly.

I'm really sorry to hear that. You always think about how you fell, and how you could have fallen better, don't you? I obsessed about that for some time when I got nailed a couple of years ago...


The driver didn't stop, and I had absolutely no time to get his or her plates, so I'm stuck with the medical bills. I broke my jaw, chipped a front tooth, did some nerve damage in my back, and had to have several stitches along my chin.

Did that for 7 days in March...it's good for you (the liquid diet) Do your physio!


Other than being on a liquid diet and having tons of back pain, I feel pretty good now. I was only off the bike for four days, and I've actually been logging more miles than ever in the past couple of weeks. I guess I should just feel lucky that I was wearing a helmet and my bike barely had a scratch on it, since it pretty much bounced exclusively off of my body. The CAT scan came out perfect, although as goofy as I've been acting lately, it makes me wonder!

I'm really glad to hear that!


It really is amazing how quickly it can all happen.

Like I sang on Sunday in choir...AMEN, brother, amen. Thanks for letting me know.

Take care,
Tom

Whence the one knee? Also, liked your ice shoe article. Quite hackish!
Tom
Thanks - I've had surgery on my left knee twice and I can't pedal with my left leg. I can walk a few blocks with a limp, but that's it.

I'm riding short distances now, but hoping to get back up to relatively serious riding. I've removed the left crank arm and my left foot sits on a peg which sticks out from behind the bottom bracket.

I really love to ride and this way I can at least get out there. (I've been thinking about putting together a website about one legged/one kneed cyclists - I'll get it done in my spare time :mad: .)

Thanks - I've had surgery on my left knee twice and I can't pedal with my left leg. I can walk a few blocks with a limp, but that's it.

I'm riding short distances now, but hoping to get back up to relatively serious riding. I've removed the left crank arm and my left foot sits on a peg which sticks out from behind the bottom bracket.

I really love to ride and this way I can at least get out there. (I've been thinking about putting together a website about one legged/one kneed cyclists - I'll get it done in my spare time :mad: .)

The reason that I mentioned/asked is that back when I wrenched in Seattle, one of our customers had a one banger a.k.a. he rode with one leg. You might think about getting a counterpoint/viewpoint if your significant other liked to ride, you'd be very comfortably off!

Take care,
Tom

(ex cut out stuff) To paraphrase Elmer Fudd..."Kill da Wabbit!"

Regarding the ice...get yourself a set of Nokian studded tires. They are the thing to have, ice-wise. You'll never-ever regret getting a set of these tires. HIGHLY recommended...I've been riding on them for two seasons now, and have yet to go down riding on both. (did go down once on riding only on the front one in an ice storm) but NEVER have slid out, gone down using both.

Gotta love those things, and the studs last and last, even on dry pavement!

Great idea! The ice here is black and it takes a sharp eye esp. on the turns to notice and avoid it. If there's traffic, sometime I have to come to a complete stop (confuses traffic behind me). I hate swapping tires if it snows one week and then clear and cold the next...So are they legal to run on dry pavement?

I don't see these in the narrow size (that'll fit my rim)? Do they come in a 700X25CM?

In the past two months alone, I have been sideswiped by a car racing me to a red light--I took the lane and he just gunned it and ran me to the curb at 20mph. I was also doored full-on by a cab fare...on my left side, no less. I am by no means the perfect rider, but I am confident in both of these incidents it was not my fault. You get pretty good at predicting driver behavior, but a guy getting out of a still rolling cab in the middle lane of traffic isn't one you see everyday. This guy didn't even make the tell-tale lean to his left before opening the door. A Fed Ex truck was double parked in the right hand lane I was riding in. As I was passing the truck, while remaining in my lane, yahoo opened the cab door. No apology was forthcoming, naturally. Thankfully, I got by with a couple of bruises and a rear wheel I had to retrue.

Great idea! The ice here is black and it takes a sharp eye esp. on the turns to notice and avoid it. If there's traffic, sometime I have to come to a complete stop (confuses traffic behind me). I hate swapping tires if it snows one week and then clear and cold the next...So are they legal to run on dry pavement?

I don't see these in the narrow size (that'll fit my rim)? Do they come in a 700X25CM?

I think they have 700x35C The studs are VERY tough, and would work fine all through the winter even on dry pavement. Works great!

cheers,
Tom

My advice: Know your commute. I commuted to University for five years year round (in Canada, where you're likely to hit ice 8 months of the year). I figure I crashed probably once or twice a month, but I picked my crashes carefully. They were mainly from too-deep snowpatches/ icy patches in alleys or sidestreets, or from just riding something a bit too technical on my way home from a long day. But always know your commute, including the weather conditions of it. If it was too icy, I would just pick my way slowly down the sidestreets, or even *gasp* down the sidewalk. My rule was to make sure that if it was at all possible that I would fall, that I would be away from moving vehicles. The other thing I did was I made a rule that I wouldn't ride if it was both very icy and dark outside. I would just suck it up and take the bus home.

In the five years, no major injuries from the crashes. Lots of scrapes and bruises, and the occaisional hurt wrist or ankle, but nothing major.

I've had one crash in 5 years of commuting, which was my fault. On the same route I take everyday, I ride over a small lip (<1 cm) in the pavement at an angle to get on to a bike path. This one day it was wet (I live in AZ, wet pavement is a novelty sometimes), and I didn't adjust enough for it. Hit the ground not too hard and slid for quite a ways. No damage to much of anything.

I consider myself lucky so far.

nearly got run over by a tow truck the other night when i went to braums. i had no lights on me.. so.. heh.. i'm wiser now.

I've managed to crash out on a rainy railroad crossing (in pouring rain) and I've also been hit by a car who took my right-of-way...and now this. I'm not counting the occasional road contact caused by snow or what not, just stuff that has caused more than minor damage. That's the toll for about 5 years of riding.

How does it look from your saddle?
Not much different.

I've had two mishaps.

The first was a pedestrian that stiff-armed me. I hit face-first and got to ride in the ambulance. Yay. (Don't try to block this attack.) The second was that wet-and-slippery railroad crossing (the old wooden kind.)

Stupid people, stupid roads designed with just cars in mind, and stupid me.

Thanks for the replies...my hip is on the mend, and now I just need to get my right arm back together...on the good side, had a 40.8 avs on the way home on Friday! (that's 25.3 avs back in non-metric land)

zoomie,
Tom

i've been full-time commuting for over 6 years now - various distances, but averaging about 4 miles each way...

and i've had a total of 4 accidents, none of which kept me from commuting:
1) fall 2003 - i wiped out coming down a hill on my regular route. it was wet and i was riding my old bike with a different geometry and just didn't handle the curve right and the front tire slid out - i got road rash on my hands but i was able to keep riding and it healed up after a week
2) spring 2003 - a kid ran into the bike path and i hit the brakes and flew over the bars - i hurt my hand but didn't break anything
3) winter 2002 - wiped out on ice commuting in the dark and sprained my wrist which took almost 6 months to fully heal. i wore a brace and was able to keep riding. the heat from the car tires had melted the snow during the day and then it had re-frozen as sheet ice and i was riding about 3 hours after sundown. (damn cars are always causing problems!)
4) spring 2001 i wiped out on a wet wooden bridge on a bike path - no damage to me or the bike

i've had MANY close-encounters with cars, but with my defensive cycling i have managed to avoid all the idiots... but maybe some day i won't and some idiot will get me.

A long time ago I had a car (oncoming lane) make a left turn into my left side as he lost me in the sun. He was driving a 70's Toyota landcruiser and I felt like a deer rolling up onto the hood. Amazingly enough he stopped and I dropped off the hood onto the pavement with my bike still up and inertia let me keep moving without even falling down. Anyway, I knew the guy and the only injury was a hurt toe so we didn't escalate the incident to insurance or anything (don't know how wise that was but it turned out well). I am a little more defensive now and haven't had a collision in many years. I have had lots of stupid clipless trick crashes but those are ummm, completely to my embarrassment. :)

Despite many close calls & some clipless pratfalls, my only real crash came while negotiating my way through a grocery store parking lot: I was turning down an aisle of parked cars & leaning pretty far when my rear tire did a slow blowout (went from hard to flat with a loud whoosh). I went down but not to hard. Slid about 5 feet & ended up between 2 parked cars near their rear wheels. A sweet little old lady was just getting out of one car & she said "Oh dear, did I hit you?" I reassured her that nothing was hurt but my pride & that I had arrived there without any help from her. Took about 3 weeks for the road rash on my leg & arm to heal. Don

<snip>I went down but not to hard. Slid about 5 feet & ended up between 2 parked cars near their rear wheels. A sweet little old lady was just getting out of one car & she said "Oh dear, did I hit you?" I reassured her that nothing was hurt but my pride & that I had arrived there without any help from her. Took about 3 weeks for the road rash on my leg & arm to heal. Don

gag.

The best thing that happened to me, blowout-wise, was when I was trackstanding and my front tire just, well...went. :eek: I was VERY VERY VERY happy. :D

...especially considering I'd been recently blasting along at 40-45 kmh (24-27 mph) just a few moments before.

How's things back in Oly land?

Thanks,
Tom

i gave up riding for a few years and back in feb. I dug out my old c-dale and started riding again.my first day out I was coming around a corner into the ally behind my house and wiped out. I'm stll not sure what caused it but the bike was ok after. I wasn't. I did the stupid hand fling thing.and I know better!. ended up with a hairline fracture in my left wrist and a broken scaphoid in my right wrist. 3 weeks off with a cast on each arm,then one cast and a brace. I am down to one brace on the right hand but it really hasnt slowed me down much.not that I was going real fast anyway!

Only one spill since '74.
I was slowly moving away from a Metro Water Dept.
work zone, maybe 10mph, and rolled over one of those
big metal plates that they lay over a dug-out trench in
the road. The Water Dept. boys were draining a water line,
and it was rolling downward, over the metal plate...for some
ignorant reason I drove right over the plate, it was slick as ice,
and the bike zipped out from under me before I could even
blink. Got a big, nasty abrasion on my hip that interfered with life
in general for two weeks, quite painful.
Luckily, I only scratched up the rear wheel hub skewer on
my six month old IF, no paint damage.
I briefly glanced back at the geniuses with the
Water Dept., and they just were sort of casting me a few
bemused looks. Thanks fellows, don't bother to even ask.

As for the '74 spill, that's too stupid to even talk about.










Oh okay, what the hell.
Firstly, I was fifteen and utterly thoughtless.
I was tooling along a neighborhood street, not fast
at all, and noticed that my front quick-release could
be closed a little tighter. So I casually reached down
and forward to just see if I could do it without stopping.
The front wheel caught my hand and threw me to the pavement.
Hit my head (this was back when only racer-geeks wore helmets)
along with the rest of me, and my '73 Peugeot U-08 was disabled
because my forearm had actually bent the front fork in such a way
that the wheel wouldn't roll. As I was lying there in the ditch of a
suburban front lawn, the lady resident and her friend arrived home
(such timing), and naturally were very concerned for my well-being.
I quickly assured them that I would be fine and waved them away,
aghast at my apparent inability to stop doing abysmally stupid things
like that.
At the bike shop, I was describing the cause of the damage; the shop
guy looked at me with thinly-veiled disbelief and said, "...while you were riding???"
All right, all right, I was going slow, okay? Yeah, I know, I'm incredibly stupid...
just fix the damn bike....
But hey, I was a dumb fifteen.

i gave up riding for a few years and back in feb. I dug out my old c-dale and started riding again.my first day out I was coming around a corner into the ally behind my house and wiped out. I'm stll not sure what caused it but the bike was ok after.

Could have been a patch of oil sitting on the road. Even when it's dry, that stuff is a menace. Of course, leaning too far into a corner due to going too fast doesn't help either.

Just out of curiousity, what made you pick that username?

hey Bryan T, that was great... i've done similar stupid things... at least we learn something from such activities...


The best thing that happened to me, blowout-wise, was when I was trackstanding and my front tire just, well...went. I was VERY VERY VERY happy.

...especially considering I'd been recently blasting along at 40-45 kmh (24-27 mph) just a few moments before.
i had a similar "man i'm glad that happened now and not when i was actually going fast" expereince:
about 4 years ago in Portland i rode across town during evening rush-hour, cruising with cars at speed (30mph or so), across major intersections in heavy traffic, etc... about midway through the 20 minute ride i heard some strange noises coming from the front end and mentally noted to myself i should check it out... i even dropped a few curbs or other things in the vicinity of cars and traffic... and then i got to my destination (my girlfriend's house) and crossed turned into the house and just for the heck of it, instead of going up the driveway i bunn-hopped the curb into the grass... and found myself lying in the grass. the quick-release had come loose (that was the sound i had heard) and as i jumped the curb the front wheel came out and i broke the fork in half and landed in the grass... if that had happened at almost any other point in my ride in heavy traffic it could have been bad (or at least worse than landing in nice soft grass)

I've had a lot of accidents :

1) They put these upside-down L shaped wood things on the bike path - I didn't see one, flipped over it and put my jaw through my ear canals. Helmet wouldn't have helped at all, but seeing what is in from of me (2.5 foot long 4x4 at about 3 foot high) would have. I got up, rode home, woke up the next morning realizing I needed stitches and my jaw wired shut.

2) Got rear-ended going about 20mph in a bike path on a one way. Wrapped my back wheel around a front fender, but didn't fall over.

3) All the time in the winter. The snow plows put everything in the bike path - moving away from cars often puts a pedal in a snowbank.

Still in one peice. Still ride...

Could have been a patch of oil sitting on the road. Even when it's dry, that stuff is a menace. Of course, leaning too far into a corner due to going too fast doesn't help either.

Yeah...I tend to think that it was oil...of course, when I realized that I was at least 40 km through the turn it could have been simple physics... :o



Just out of curiousity, what made you pick that username?

Way back when it was my VAX username...or what you saw when you did a userlisting. I used to work at and manage a campus bike shop in another life.

Cheers,
Tom

the quick-release had come loose (that was the sound i had heard) and as i jumped the curb the front wheel came out and i broke the fork in half and landed in the grass... if that had happened at almost any other point in my ride in heavy traffic it could have been bad (or at least worse than landing in nice soft grass)

Oh, I love it. Reminds me of stoopid stuff that happened playing "footdown" back in Seattle. Grass is great stuff.... :D

Watch out out there.
Tom

Yeah...I tend to think that it was oil...of course, when I realized that I was at least 40 km through the turn it could have been simple physics... :o

Could also be both, that was the cause in my crash in October 2001.




Way back when it was my VAX username...or what you saw when you did a userlisting. I used to work at and manage a campus bike shop in another life.

Heh, I was referring to the username of the guy above. If you do a search on the forums, you'll see that "spanky" is one of my favourite words in the world.

Heh, I was referring to the username of the guy above. If you do a search on the forums, you'll see that "spanky" is one of my favourite words in the world.

I just figured that he was a bridge engineer from Kentucky. Could be wrong... ;)

ttfn,
Tom

Could have been a patch of oil sitting on the road. Even when it's dry, that stuff is a menace. Of course, leaning too far into a corner due to going too fast doesn't help either.

Just out of curiousity, what made you pick that username?
back in high school we were cutting class and watching the "little rascals" on tv. one of my skinny friends looked at spanky and said it looked like me.unfortunatly it stuck. I started using it on ther internet years ago with my love of 4x4 trucks and all things off road.I dont even have a 4wd anymore or even nobbies for my mountain bike,but spanky4x4 is an easy name to get so I just keep using it.

Could have been a patch of oil sitting on the road. Even when it's dry, that stuff is a menace. Of course, leaning too far into a corner due to going too fast doesn't help either.
That happened to me many years ago on a busy high volume four lane curve. Luckly, everyone has to slow way down to make the curve (visability is good there) and they all just stopped and stared. I had a new jacket on to and ripped a big hole in the sleeve at the elbow. I wasn't hurt, embarrassed, but not hurt. I didn't even see it coming. :eek:

Monday of this week I had a Canadian Goose fly right in front of me. Went down in attempts to avoid hitting the bird and went down hard on my left side. Hip and shoulder bruised and sore. Bird & bike were unharmed. :)

3 commuting crashes in 10 years:

1) Stupidly right-passing some stopped cars, and watched in disbelief as a car started right-turning into me...the distance between her fender and the tire-eating granite curb narrowing to nothing. Screetched to a stop too late, she ran over my left foot, launching me over her hood into the intersection. Did a perfect shoulder-roll and my winter coat saved my skin. Oddly no physical damage to anyone/anything. From the look on her face she got the worst of it. Love those tiny Hondas. Learning experience.

2) Total sprawling faceplant after hitting a deep pot-hole at a moment I was paying too little attention to the road surface. Unfortunately this one was summer, so I lost skin and blood.

3) Another over-the-handlebars vault after hitting invisible ice on a wood-plank bike/ped trail bridge. Could have broke my neck on that landing. The same winter coat saved my skin again.

Very lucky so far - any of these could have been major injury or death at another moment. Had much worse crashes as a kid, though. Most of my commuting has been in small towns, fortunately.

3 commuting crashes in 10 years:

1) Stupidly right-passing some stopped cars, and watched in disbelief as a car started right-turning into me...the distance between her fender and the tire-eating granite curb narrowing to nothing. Screetched to a stop too late, she ran over my left foot, launching me over her hood into the intersection. Did a perfect shoulder-roll and my winter coat saved my skin. Oddly no physical damage to anyone/anything. From the look on her face she got the worst of it. Love those tiny Hondas. Learning experience.

Oh yeah, when I was young and stoopid, I got fork-lifted onto a woman's hood when I pulled out from between two parked cars. MAJOR learning experience, and where ever you are right now (woman who "hit" me) I'm really, really, really sorry!



2) Total sprawling faceplant after hitting a deep pot-hole at a moment I was paying too little attention to the road surface. Unfortunately this one was summer, so I lost skin and blood.

Ouch! Gotta maintain SA at all times. Managed to do something like that on Green Lake in Seattle when I tried to see just how fast I could take the bike path/running path markings. Amazing markings of how I :o fell... :o



3) Another over-the-handlebars vault after hitting invisible ice on a wood-plank bike/ped trail bridge. Could have broke my neck on that landing. The same winter coat saved my skin again.

I was truly amazed at how well my skin made out, which was totally due to IMHO the Burley rain gear I was wearing at the time. Not so much that it was Burley (although I do love that stuff) but that I had a second slippery layer on.



Very lucky so far - any of these could have been major injury or death at another moment. Had much worse crashes as a kid, though. Most of my commuting has been in small towns, fortunately.

Yeah...I've only really had one major death type experience when I got hit by a car a few years ago. That being said, I wish my right biceps/triceps would just quit hurting and get on with reconstruction...