Tandem Cycling - First crash on the tandem

Well, it finally happened this morning...

Kathryn and I were out on a 90 mile AIDS Lifecycle training ride, riding our tandem bike this morning in the Oakland Hills. It was raining. We were on Grizzly Peak Road. We weren't going fast, say 15 MPH at the most. Suddenly, I hit a rut in the middle of the road and because the road was slick, it... caused our bike to veer left off the road. There was a Mercedes parked and I veered to the right of that car and we went down. As we did, my head hit a rock. Kathryn was unhurt. We were transported by a park ranger to the BART station where our van was and we went to Kaiser. Four stitches above the eye and two below. Yup, I'm working from home this week I hope.

Bike Update. No damage to the bike, just me. I'll be riding in a week.

ouch!

well, the important thing is the bike's not hurt. :D

(seriously, may you heal up quick!)

Quick update on the bike. As I was taking it out of the van I noticed the front water bottle cage had ripped out of the frame. Kath is taking the bike to Crank-2 to asses if any further damage occured and what if anything can be done about teh ripped water cage bosses. I'm not sure if that will hurt the steel frame. I don't think so but you never know. Besides, it's a new bike!

Dan, the important think is that your dear stoker escaped unscathed. Captains are expendable, stokers are not. Heal fast!

Man, that's a nasty looking bump! At least the bike is "broken" in now and you don't have to worry about that any more! :) Hope you heal up fast.

Glad you're ok, (i.e. no catastrophic injuries). Heal fast.

Agree, glad you have no major or serious injuries. This takes the "chicks dig scars" to another level.

Hopefully the bike is fortunate also.

PK

Looks like Kaiser is doing well on your account lately!
Glad all is well, keep on riding
R&J

There are those that will crash and those that have crashed . . .
It could have been much worse. Stitches get removed, bike gets fixed and stoker still loves ya!
Get well soon!
Pedal on TWOgether!
Rudy and Kay/zonatandem

Good wishes! So glad that you were able to miss the car and it wasn't any worse. Hope you can still do the ride.

For the files, what tires?

Sorry to hear of your crash. Get well soon, and be safe out there.

Glad to hear you're okay and nothing was broken! Get well soon.

For the files, what tires?

And what size at what pressure?

And what size at what pressure?

Conti four seasons (28's) at 115 psi. Original tires (It's a new bike), maybe 1K on them.

I'm glad it wasn't more serious. That is a nasty black eye though. No doubt that you're relieved it's on you and not your new bride. Get well soon.

Sorry about the crash Dan...glad it was not worse and that your stoker came through fine. Get well and enjoy the forced rest.

Bill J.

Healing vibes -- glad there were no broken bones!

We had our first crash this weekend as well (mountain tandem). My first thought was "how is my stoker?!", second was "how is the bike?!"... then a few miles later I realized that my leg was bleeding all over.

Conti four seasons (28's) at 115 psi. Original tires (It's a new bike), maybe 1K on them.

Good tires at a decent size and pressure for a 2fer! Just one of those things, I guess.

I'm always amazed at the things we cyclists come thru, and conversely, the tiniest things that take us down. Jens Voigt's spectacular crash in last year's tour comes to mind. A dip in the road takes out one of the most experienced riders in the peleton!

Here's hoping you're back on the bike 3 weeks before the doctor tells you, "You're not ready yet"!

what IS it with old guys and black eyes?
and THIS one was the second
on the SAME PLACE
in just four months.
get well soon!!
150210

Old guys are smart enough to avoid a broken collar bone by taking first impact on the least important part of their anatomy, the cranium.

what IS it with old guys and black eyes?
and THIS one was the second
on the SAME PLACE
in just four months.
get well soon!!
150210
;-)
taken today 24 hours after incident

You need an eyepatch, a big gold earring, a bandana, ...and a parrot for your shoulder.
So glad you weren't more seriously hurt and that your riding-partner-who-makes-it-all-happen is OK, too.

Now, have you gone over the incident to figure out how to avoid a repeat? Your crew is counting on you.

;-)
taken today 24 hours after incident

I hope that left eye heals fast!

Now I'm feeling very lucky. The wife and I tried to take off going up a steep hill from a stop, I missed the pedal and we lost speed and went over sideways in the middle of the street. Wooo we were very lucky. I can't even consider that a crash.

Glad to see your taking it in stride. Hope your back to 110% very soon.

My understanding is the FDGB does not count as a crash, but rather as a humorous incident.

^ Could depend on whose perspective, but yeah, I think even the dumped stoker could see it that way, eventually....

Today, I'm a lot better all. When I look at that last picture I posted, I want to yell out "Yo, Adrian....")

Thanks for all the kind words.

Good to hear the stoker is OK. The funny thing about a tandem is that the pilot is actually protected by the stoker's handlebars, which act like crash bars on a motorcycle. So the stoker takes the brunt of the impact in most crashes. Don't tell your stoker!

L.

Well, it finally happened this morning...

.

Oh my goodness. All my very best wishes

Whilst I don't discount the pain that occurred ---

I'm happy to read that your pain is containable (I trust) and that stokerspouse wasn't harmed

Best wishes, heal fast