GlennR

99% of my riding is on my road bike but today I had to run some errands so I took the MTB out. While cutting through a parking lot I went down at 16mph hanging a left... it was on damp black top. Landed on my left side. I was a bit stunned but quickly got up realizing I smacked my head. I moved the mike to the side and examined myself only finding some road rash and a cut on my right hand. Then I realized I lost my glasses and went to recover them. Finally i took my new helmet off and found it someone banged up. After a few minutes I got back on the bike to find the handle bars twisted so out came the multi-tool. I have the bike a quick once over and headed home.

It's now about an hour later and my neck and left shoulder are pretty stiff. I have some road rash on my left shoulder and left leg. Minor damage to the bike, just a few scrapes and tweaking the handle bars. My cell phone was in my pocket and the back has a few scrapes. My glasses are unbroken, but needed some straightening. And the helmet has a few small dents.

I'm lucky, it could of been much worse.

Little did I think that MTB tires don't have as much grip on damp blacktop as road tires. D'oh.



The helmet is a brand new Giro Synthe MIPS. I felt my head it the pavement but it was sort of "soft", not a hard bang. I guess the MIPS really made a difference. I'm not sure if I should continue using it... i'll contact Giro and my LBS. SAFETY FIRST. If I have to buy another, it wil lbe money well spent.

SirrusEliteDisc

Glad you were wearing the helmet !! If you are already stiff I would take a couple of ibuprofen.

I remember my first real crash. Brand new MTB bike and helmet. Took off down the trail to find cross-tie stair steps about ten feet apart. It was downhill and there was no stopping. Somehow I made it to the bottom upright. Instead of stopping to consider this trail might be way out of our league we rode on. At the bottom of the hill was a hard left onto a boardwalk. The greenish color should have tipped me off. Five feet onto the walk when I pushed down on the left peddle the bike shot out over the right side of the walk and I hit the ground on my left hip and shoulder hard enough to knock the wind out of me. As I got up I realized the green color was green scum growing on the wood. I could not even walk on it. Picked up the bike and carried it past the boardwalk through the woods and check it out. It was fine. This all happened within five minutes of leaving the parking area. We pressed on for another 45 minutes before another obstacle stopped us. While discussing what to do my riding partner noticed something on my helmet. I took the helmet off to find a piece of tree bark stuck in one of the many cracks in the helmet. Guess I hit my head after all. We found a dirt road and rode it slowly back to the truck. Since our ride was cut short we stopped by the LBS and I got a new helmet on the way home. I was sore for a couple of days.

Glad I had a helmet on this otherwise hard head !!

79pmooney

You did one thing that helps with stiffness - you rode home! On routine crashes I prefer it if no one sees me simply because I can then just get back on and ride instead of being told by someone trying to be helpful to lie down and be still. I find almost always that getting back on the bike pays big dividends later. (I do go through a check for broken bones first. Gotten pretty good at it. I am usually right about my assessment of the structural damage on scene when I haven't had head injuries.

Thanks for getting back to us. You probably saw I asked about 'the rest of you" in your MIPS thread.

Ben

fietsbob

I crashed as a child , what took you so long?

GlennR

I took the helmet to the LBS and after a close examination you can see the outer shell is separating from the EPS foam. Of course they didn't say it was OK to use... too much liability on their part. But I know one of the guys well and he said not to use it. After talking to one of the managers they told me Giro has a crash replacement program which is 30% off (that's what I originally paid for it) and the LBS would take another 20% off. So i'll be getting a new helmet for 1/2 price.


I'm totally satisfied with the performance of the helmet because if I wasn't wearing it, i'd be laying in the hospital. And getting a new one at 1/2 price makes my wallet happy.

I'm thrilled that Giro has a crash replacement program. And MIPS are well worth the extra cash in my mind.

doctor j

Ouch!

Glad that you're OK and that you've lived to fight another day.

Perhaps a Viking funeral to honor the old Giro for its loyal and efficacious service?

GlennR

I think i have to give it to them when I get the new one. That way I can't get another as a crash replacement for the same crash. Makes sense.

Yes... if gave it's life so i can ride again.

Totally satisfied with it.

As I was waling into the LBS a guy rode up on a MTB with no helmet. I said "you really should be wearing a helmet". He replied "i'm very careful". I showed him my road rash and the dents on my helmet and said "so am I". I don't think he got the message.

Kindaslow

Does that make him an underachiever?

cale

Replacing the helmet is a very good idea. It might show more damage on the inside (splitting, compressed, etc.) where your cranium slammed against the foam but little on the outside where a semi-rigid cap tends to resist denting and splitting.

PS now you can say you'll consider shaving your legs. Haha

GlennR

Nah... i'm not that hairy and after washing the grit out, I 'manned up" and scrubbed the skin to get it nice and clean.

BobbyG

Thank goodness you're okay.

cale

It was more wishful thinking after being subjected to that "pic" of your legs... Haha

OldTryGuy

Honey with non-stick gauze covering the road rash works wonders for preventing infection and promoting healing. Ask me how I know.

BluesDawg

Glad you weren't hurt more seriously. Also glad you are retiring the helmet. They are designed to take one hard hit. Yours has done its job.

canklecat

Good to know that you're okay, the helmet did its job and Giro has a replacement discount.

Even with a helmet and seeming to be okay, it's always a good idea to get checked out by a medical professional. At the very least, be sure to notify a family member or friend to keep an eye on you for 24-48 hours. Complications from head bonks can take time to manifest, and a concussion or hematoma may prevent the victim from taking appropriate decisions and actions for their own safety. If you don't live with anyone else, just ask someone to call and check on you a couple of times over the weekend. Sometimes it helps to have someone ask questions about unfamiliar things, such as very recent news events, things that you won't have an immediate instinctive response to. Mostly it's just a matter of listening carefully for appropriate responses. And watch for pupil responses to light, unusual headaches, that sort of thing.

The death of actress Natasha Richardson after a seemingly "minor" head injury during a skiing accident is a good example. Note the descriptions of incidents related to the frequent "lucid interval" following a head knock. When I worked in nursing, and since then responding to accidents, I'd guesstimate that half of the people I've seen who experienced head knocks suffered at least some signs of concussion, even when they weren't obviously unconscious or "knocked out".

I recently resumed wearing a helmet, about a month after I resumed riding following a 30 year hiatus. I wanted to be sure I'd stick with riding. While I don't believe a noggin-shaped beer cooler will protect me from all injuries, I know it will help reduce the risk of lacerations and skull fractures from minor head blows. Even a little help is worthwhile, and helmets now are so much lighter and more comfortable than what I used 30 years ago, so I'm more likely to wear mine. And it's a handy place to mount small, lightweight lights.

Concussions? Probably not much help there from our styrofoam and thin plastic helmets. I learned years ago from amateur boxing that even the best headgear was intended only to reduce the risk of facial bruising, abrasions and splits (the eye "cuts" are a misnomer - the skin actually splits from compression against facial bones). I saw guys knocked out cold while wearing even the best headgear. And I've seen several boxers showing strong signs of concussions even when they didn't appear to have been "knocked out" or rendered unconscious - it's very common for boxers to appear conscious and alert, while later retaining no memory of events after taking a punch or sequence of punches. Joe Louis' account of his first bout with Max Schmeling is a notable case. While he wasn't knocked out until later in the bout, he said he had no memory of most of the fight even though he appeared to be conscious. But headgear is effective in reducing some of the most common injuries.

Dave Cutter

Glad you and the bike are both OK.Those helmets can begin to seem like a uniform item in a way.... and then you crash and they keep your head in one piece. Makes a believer out of anyone. Good that you replaced the damaged helmet too.

cale

That's very interesting. I have that, an "eye cut" from slamming my face into the pavement when my front wheel slipped out (1975, pre-tab era). I never knew what it was called. Of course, I wasn't wearing a helmet because bike helmets hadn't been invented yet (aside from "brain bags").

I have fallen over many time since. Usually a pedal retention issue and not at speed. But I think these sort of "standing falls" are fairly common and my helmet has absorbed (a new one each time) more than a couple of falls which resulted significant compression of the foam. For me, at least, these falls and the resulting "whack" that my helmet has taken has provided ample evidence that they are an excellent source of protection.

JanMM

Bike helmets had indeed been invented by 1975. But just barely. I got my first one, a Bell Biker, in 1976. The Biker seems to have hit the market in 1975.
I've wasted a lot of money on a bunch of helmets since '76. 'Wasted' in that I've never made use of one in an accident. Not complaining.

freedomrider1

Glad you are ok. and thanks for the tip about mtn. bike tires.

TCR Rider

Good to hear that man and machine escaped major damage. It's also good to learn about Giro's replacement policy as I have the same helmet.

cale

You're right. The timing was ironic because Bell helmets didn't gain any traction until the V1, my first helmet, came out several years after the accident.

JanMM

Helmet-wearers were a very small minority for quite a while.
Good that oldnslow2 was wearing one.

My stoker and I just recently got matching Lazer Cyclone helmets - we are now helmet-coordinated for the first time.

GlennR

Just picked up the new helmet.

a77impala

I did a face plant without a helmet, landed on my left cheek, had a nice moon shaped cut above my eye and the pavement ground off most of my cheek bone. I now have a crease where my cheekbone used to be. Don't remember the event as I was out cold until they were putting me on a stretcher, I said I don't want to go to the hospital, they replied, we think you should as we can see your skull.
I haven't rode without a helmet since.
Three weeks later I fractured my shoulder, but no head injury, thanks to a helmet!

h2oxtc

Glad that you're okay, relatively speaking. As nice as it is to get a new helmet, I'd sooner pay full price (and not experience the crash).