Commuting - Man Down! Man Down!

Today I was on my way home on an alternate route through the city. Crossed "The KILL ZONE" (otherwise known in these parts as 10th Ave. South) Which is the busiest street in Montana, per state traffic statistics. Its a nice sunny hot day. The legs feel great. I feel great. Even got off work an hour early!

Cruizing down 12th St So. after getting through "The KILL ZONE", left on 9th Ave. So., right on 10th St. So., left on 6th Ave. So. to catch the stop light at 9th St. So. (The only way to safely cross 9th St during the day)

I'm cruzing up to the red light. It changes to green. The Pickup on the other side of the intersection is waiting on me to cross. I'm doing around 19MPH, I stand and begin to hammer so I can clear the intersection quickly. I mean, afterall, the lady driving it was so nice to wait for me instead of cutting in front of me. Seemed to be a nice jesture for me to move it along a bit. A quick check of my "cycloputer" shows my speed to be 23MPH. Ah, I am pleased with myself! :D

The last thing I remember is making eye contact with lady driver. The next thing I know, I'm laying on the ground about 10 feet in front of my bike!?! The lady in the pickup is yelling at me, "Are you ok!? Are you ok!?" I'm thinking to myself, "Well, I was a second ago!" I got up, grabbed my bike out of the intersection with the rear wheel dragging. My reply to the lady was, "I'm not sure. Thanks for asking." There were a total of 4 vehicles that had seen what happend and stopped to render aid, offer a ride to the hospital, or a ride home. I was filled with warm fuzzies at the out pouring of humanity! I thank them all!

From what was described to me, I sort of endo'd. Not the face plant kind, but I was launched over the bars landing on my back. (left side) I slid a few feet rotating onto my left side. I wonder if I bounced?

Anyway, I get the bike up on the sidewalk and begin trying to figure out why the rear wheel won't spin. I mean, this thing is locked up harder than hard. I can't believe what I see. My left side pannier is wrapped into the spokes and wedged between the rack and wheel!

I pull the pannier loose. Try to figure out why it got caught in the first place. Looks like since it was empty it was flopping around when I was hammering. I guess its just a fluke! (I hope it is a fluke)

I rode the bike the 6 miles home. The bike has some strange new noises. The panniers are ok. The helmet is craked big time. I am very glad I never ride without one! I have a little road rash on my left leg. Nothing real bad. The worst is the softball size hematoma (sp) on my left hip. I also feel like I may have broken a rib in my back on the left. There is a pretty good bruise there too. I also have a cut over my right temple.

Not the worst external carnage, but I just had to share the story. There has been some posts asking why you should wear a helmet. Not to mention, I have to share my "battle wounds." :D (edit: scars changed to wounds)

You can see the swelling on my left hip in this shot.

My little weenie road rash.

I see no scars :P

hehe, j/k, glad you're ok :)

Here is the helmet.

The left side of the helmet.

The inside of the helmet.

Wonder if the shorts and jersey will come clean. :p

Good god... that helmet really saved your life. Well I'm glad you're ok and all of the cars responded to you. Definitely get that baseball sized lump out of your hip.
Heard a story of someone getting a large twig kicked up from the guy in front of him and that got caught in the front wheel, cracked the fork and off he went. Walked away though, and I'm glad you did too.

Go figure!

Man that lump looks badass though. :)

What a great example of why we should always wear our helmets!!
Glad your ok!

:lol: you look so defiant in that pic. waht are you going to do about the paniers?

Wow! Blows to the back of the head can be nasty. Glad to see your helmet gave it's all for you. Give it a place of honor.

The lesson for the day: Keep loose articles secured on the bike. Maybe a bungy cord or similar on that pannier to prevent a repeat performance.

Thanks for the comments guys. I just got back from the doctor. He says that I could have fractured a rib, but that there is no treatment for it. He said if the hip is much worse in the morning then I should go back in and get x-rays. Otherwise, 2 days off from work. (yea right)

I think I'll try the bungie on the panneirs. Actually, I may bolt on some rigid sides to the rack. This is the first problem I have had with my panniers. I'm normally loaded to some extent which keeps them from moving around much. Lesson learned. :rolleyes:

:lol: you look so defiant in that pic. <snip>

Thanks! :D

... and he walks away..Dude you be 'd man!

Remember eye contact don't cut it 'cept in Bridge.
Always let the big dog go first!

Something else that should be learned from this, too. Never, never let what a motorist does (or doesn't do) change what you are doing. It's entirely possible here that you may have hit some debris on the road and just not seen it in your attempt to get across the intersection quickly. Forget about this whole "they were so nice to me by stopping" attitude. Since when has following the law been a "nicety"?

Sure, it was good that she enquired about your safety after you crashed, but if you were concerned about "holding her up" in anyway, you would have been better to just be more careful proceeding through the intersection in the first place.

Something else that should be learned from this, too. Never, never let what a motorist does (or doesn't do) change what you are doing. It's entirely possible here that you may have hit some debris on the road and just not seen it in your attempt to get across the intersection quickly. Forget about this whole "they were so nice to me by stopping" attitude. Since when has following the law been a "nicety"?

Sure, it was good that she enquired about your safety after you crashed, but if you were concerned about "holding her up" in anyway, you would have been better to just be more careful proceeding through the intersection in the first place.

Yep, you are right, Chris. If I had simply kept pace and line, I would not have crashed. Live and learn. :rolleyes:

Yep, you are right, Chris. If I had simply kept pace and line, I would not have crashed. Live and learn. :rolleyes:

Now don't be too hard on yourself. That helmet,reflectant, and hi vis stuff probably saved your life.

But think primal rather than racing. Keep an eye on car's wheels rather than their eyes. As a wheel nearest you begins to move, you'll know when you're in trouble more quickly. Begin braking and swerving away if possible.

Now don't be too hard on yourself. That helmet,reflectant, and hi vis stuff probably saved your life.

It's never really a matter of being hard on anyone. I myself have had some remarkably stupid crashes over the years. I was merely pointing out that:'

a) we should always seek to learn something from these crashes. After all, the lesson here may be sufficient to avoid far more severe consequences next time; and

b) the fact that the lady in the car was actually following the law and giving way should never make us lose sight of some of the fundamentals.

Thanks Kelly. She was actually stopped and waiting. I have avoided some nasty situations by evasive manuvers.

I am very safety minded. Like I said before. "Just a fluke."

It's never really a matter of being hard on anyone. I myself have had some remarkably stupid crashes over the years. I was merely pointing out that:'

a) we should always seek to learn something from these crashes. After all, the lesson here may be sufficient to avoid far more severe consequences next time; and

b) the fact that the lady in the car was actually following the law and giving way should never make us lose sight of some of the fundamentals.

So true. I hope by my sharing this experience, others will also learn from it as well.

I admit to being euphoric about the nice weather and good pace I was setting. All would have been ok if the equipment failure had not happened. OR I had kept my pace. This is by far the worst crash I have had to date. Most damage to myself and my equipment. Fastest speed just before the sudden stop as well. When I got hit by the car in March I was able to avoid the worst of that situation. Managed to stay up. This is much worse.

I never saw this coming.

OUCH!!! That hip looks nasty.

You rode to work today, right?

Looks like typical mountain bike honor marks to me! HA!
Just funnin ya....Glad yer alright!

Thanks for sharing your ordeal bro, I truly hope you get well. I'd advise you go to a chiropractor to have your spine checked, there are little things in a fall like that which won't come out until later, I know that first hand. So have yourself checked up thoroughly.
It obviously paid to ride equipped (helmet, gear, hi-vi gear, etc), to think that I see
many guys out on the road riding their bikes in the morning (to work obviously) w/o helmets, w/o proper gear, and a very precarious way, sometimes they even ride along the major highways, don't they know that with a little planning you can get to your destination using BACK ROADS and be safer that way?
There so much need for traffic and safety riding education.
Corsaire

man.... bob, time to take that bulls eye jersey off....you have wayyy to many encounters with cars......may not be so lucky one of these times.....change your route or walk the bike to a safe point.....commuting is not worth getting killed!!!!!!



kern

WOW that puts the "Fear of Driver" in me. I have mostly relied on eye contact but will incorporate vrkelley's suggestion on watching wheels. I have also started to be a bit more assertive also by pointing my intended direction which seems to get noticed.

Your Pannier physics lesson reminded me of a crash I had years ago when I hit a pot-hole and flipped over the bars.... Somehow me and the bike (old 10-speed) danced in the air and when we hit the ground my FOREARM was between the Fork and the Rim. Yes there was major compression which forced the perimedics to cut my beloved steed to release me. :(

Somehow me and the bike (old 10-speed) danced in the air and when we hit the ground my FOREARM was between the Fork and the Rim. Yes there was major compression which forced the perimedics to cut my beloved steed to release me. :( Wow; I occ. work with our fire dept., and have had convos (and a couple of, er, "client" contacts) with many paramedics. Don't think I've ever heard of them having to use "extrication tools" on a bicycle. Yoiks!

Glad to hear you're allright N7CZinMT, that's a scary one. Looks like you've got a tennis ball in your pocket, was it your serve? :D I'm sure that's gonna hurt like hell at some point, hope you feel better soon. Everytime I see a cracked helmet or a reck like in stage 1 of the Tour, I have to wonder how any of us ever rode without one.

man.... bob, time to take that bulls eye jersey off....you have wayyy to many encounters with cars......may not be so lucky one of these times.....change your route or walk the bike to a safe point.....commuting is not worth getting killed!!!!!!



kern

Hey Kern,
It was not the car or driver's fault. It was my fault. I should have noticed my panniers moved around when they were not weighted down. This is my new route home.

Bob

Glad to hear you're allright N7CZinMT, that's a scary one. Looks like you've got a tennis ball in your pocket, was it your serve? :D I'm sure that's gonna hurt like hell at some point, hope you feel better soon. Everytime I see a cracked helmet or a reck like in stage 1 of the Tour, I have to wonder how any of us ever rode without one.

Your right. It does today. :o I'll be sleeping on my right hip or stomach for a while. :rolleyes:

get some of those cobbworks panniers. you'll be cooler and safer then... well safer. plus you can take em off and beat someone with them if needed... or a dog. what ever ya need to beat.

I see
many guys out on the road riding their bikes in the morning (to work obviously) w/o helmets, w/o proper gear, and a very precarious way, sometimes they even ride along the major highways, don't they know that with a little planning you can get to your destination using BACK ROADS and be safer that way?
There so much need for traffic and safety riding education.
Corsaire

You're assuming that back roads are safer. In this part of the world, one who makes that assumption would be wrong. More witnesses=less trouble every time. Guaranteed.

WOW that puts the "Fear of Driver" in me. I have mostly relied on eye contact but will incorporate vrkelley's suggestion on watching wheels. I have also started to be a bit more assertive also by pointing my intended direction which seems to get noticed.

Watching wheels rather than making eye contact should be a given. However, I'm just wondering why people seem to be blaming the driver for this one. From my reading of the original account, they stopped at the intersection just like they were supposed to. I really don't see how this crash was a "driver" incident.

Here is the helmet.

Thanks for taking the time to post the pictures. I hate to admit it, but I haven't been wearing a helmet recently. After seeing the aftermath of your accident, I went straight to my LBS and picked one up.

This is another reminder of what you can walk away from when you're wearing your lid.

Glad you were able to walk away from this one.

Watching wheels rather than making eye contact should be a given. However, I'm just wondering why people seem to be blaming the driver for this one. From my reading of the original account, they stopped at the intersection just like they were supposed to. I really don't see how this crash was a "driver" incident.


i've noticed a lot o people here don't pay attention to posts.. they don't pay attention to me chainging my mind, when someone made a thread about a $1200 FRAME they thought he wanted a $1200 BIKE, and some other examples i've forgotten.

Watching wheels rather than making eye contact should be a given. However, I'm just wondering why people seem to be blaming the driver for this one. From my reading of the original account, they stopped at the intersection just like they were supposed to. I really don't see how this crash was a "driver" incident.

Your right Chris. This was not caused by the driver. This was caused by MY actions. Rather the actions of the panniers. There was no way to forsee the panniers getting caught in the rear wheel. Its just a fluke. This is a prime example of why, even if you have excellent cycling skills, a helmet is a MUST. There are things that can happen that no measure of skill can save you from injury.

Thanks for taking the time to post the pictures. I hate to admit it, but I haven't been wearing a helmet recently. After seeing the aftermath of your accident, I went straight to my LBS and picked one up.

This is another reminder of what you can walk away from when you're wearing your lid.

Glad you were able to walk away from this one.


Thanks Vision! Good job on getting to the LBS! One thing that every cyclist has to remember is that ONLY YOU can protect yourself.

Something doesn't ad up here. How can a rear lockup cause an endo?

Something doesn't ad up here. How can a rear lockup cause an endo?


Hmm, good question.

As best as I can remember (from witnesess statements), since I was standing and mashing hard, when the bike STOPPED, I kept going. Since I was standing, (and doing a rather good clip) that means I was launched forward. Also from the damage to my bar tape, the front wheel also appears to have turned sideways. I can only guess that it did so violently. I'm also not sure at what point my SPDs disengaged either. But since I was some distance from the bike, I know they did.

This is only speculation, since I can't remember the actual event. I have to rely on the witnesses.

I don't think it takes a Physics Professor to figure it out. :rolleyes:

Dude, I'm happy you're ok. God bless you. :)

Something doesn't ad up here. How can a rear lockup cause an endo?

I assume what happened was he was going along on a good clip, mashing away and putting slightly more weight on his handle bars. When his rear wheel suddenly locked up, his momentum pitched him foward at which point the stronger of his arms pushed the handle bar causing the front wheel to violently jerk in one direction at which point the bike pitched over and he flew off.

Dude, I'm happy you're ok. God bless you. :)

Thanks! I'm feeling much better today. I'm gonna try a test ride on Sunday to see how it feels. I really hate being off the bike. The ribs are still quite sore, but are better.



I assume what happened was he was going along on a good clip, mashing away and putting slightly more weight on his handle bars. When his rear wheel suddenly locked up, his momentum pitched him foward at which point the stronger of his arms pushed the handle bar causing the front wheel to violently jerk in one direction at which point the bike pitched over and he flew off.

Thanks slvoid. That is pretty much my understanding of it. I was over the bars pretty hard leading up to the intersection. I was sprinting for all I was worth. I had visions of Lance or perhaps Cipolini. Ok, a fat Lance or Cipolini. :rolleyes:

Bob,

Watch that hip situation. I had a similar situation about two years ago, and mine was a sheer injury to the hip. It swelled up like that, and the trauma physician immediately drained it of liquid. I had lost feeling on the skin in about a ten-inch diameter area. This is the skin that had sheered from the underlying tissue. Fluid developed between the two layers, and for a month after the accident, I had it drained weekly. After that, for another month and a half, it was drained every two weeks. Finally, it filled in with connective fibrous tissue, and no more fluid could be drained out. At that point, the physicians were satisfied that it would heel on its own. I maintained circulation to that tissue throughout the period.

Today, I still have a "lump" there of fibrous stuff, but the tissue is healthy and I'm regaining feeling the the entire area. The feeling is somewhat different there, as I don't have pressure sensation, but do have feel sensation and some pain sensation. At times, the pain receptors will simply fire on their own, and I'll say to myself "Oh ya, another receptor has gained connection!"

The docs said that if the draining had not worked, they may have had to do surgery to try to reconnect the tissue. But there was a potential for infection if they did that, and a worse outcome.

I've changed a lot of my riding since then, and am now riding a Rans Stratus long-wheel base recumbant. You cannot go over the handlebars on a LWB recumbant. I don't ride on Fridays (which is when I've had my last two crashes with cars), but I cycle almost all week. This week, I'm at 54 miles, and last week it was over 70 miles. Today (a Friday), I walked to work (actually, I'm finding my running legs, and did some short running with the walks).

John

Ok over the bars while standing on it, that makes sense. I heard endo and thought endo as in the bike goes end over end like a stoppy gone wrong (been there but it was like 3mph on a slight downhill and I had time to somersault as the rear of the bike passed the apex)

Thanks for the info, John. We (doctor and I) are keeping a close eye on it. Glad you've recovered. I don't know about the recumbent idea. Would be fun to try one out some day.

I'm feeling much better today. The ribs only hurt sharply when I move "just so", breath deeply, or lift/pull with my left arm. The hematoma on my left hip is tender to the touch. Use of the hip is not painful at all. I am going to wear unpadded lycra shorts today in an attempt to help get the blood from the hematoma re-absorbed to heal faster. EDIT: I forgot to mention that I am having balance issues when I go from a sitting position to standing. The doctor says that it should pass.

I'm also heading out in a few minutes to give the bike a good inspection. Can't even read the SHIMANO lettering on the left pedal anymore. I also know that I'll have to repair the bar tape. If the bike checks out, I plan on a test ride today as well. I really want to be back on my commuting schedule this week.

Not sure if I should share this photo, but here goes.

This is the hematoma on my left hip 4 days after the accident.

Simply amazing, but those colors are the same as the one in Chris' of the view from his back yard.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=58163
Hope you heal well, and soon.

Bob,

It looks like your hip bruise is much less a problem than was mine. The color will change over the next few weeks, and you need to re-take the photos to document the changes;-) I was dizzy (really dizzy at first, like in vertigo) for about a month, but it has gone away too. It looks like you can make a quick recovery here, and that's great news.

John

Simply amazing, but those colors are the same as the one in Chris' of the view from his back yard.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=58163
Hope you heal well, and soon.

:roflmao: Yep, your right! Those colors look much better in the Australian sky than they do on my hip. :rolleyes:




Bob,

It looks like your hip bruise is much less a problem than was mine. The color will change over the next few weeks, and you need to re-take the photos to document the changes;-) I was dizzy (really dizzy at first, like in vertigo) for about a month, but it has gone away too. It looks like you can make a quick recovery here, and that's great news.

John

Hey John.
Yes, I am happy to say that my injuries are far less than they could have been. I also like to think that the work I have put into my physical conditioning also helped to either recover quickly or minimized the injuries in the first place. I really can't say. Perhaps both.

I am still getting dizzy when I stand from a sitting position. Although, not as bad today.

Looking the bike over today I found the spot on the front tire that had slid sideways. Very pronounced difference in color and pattern across the tire width. The bar tape on the left side is shredded. You can no longer read the SHIMANO on the left pedal. There is some damage to the saddle as well, but not real bad.

I took the bike "around the block" for a test ride. Felt pretty good except for climbing. Climbing snapped some sharp pains in the back rib area where I may have "fractured" them.

My plan is to be in the saddle come morning. I'll take it easy and enjoy the summer weather and be thankful that I am on 2 wheels. :D