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Your worst accident ever?

Old 08-25-11, 12:29 PM
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Originally Posted by ClemY
What is perhaps most amazing is that inspite of significant accidents and injuries, I don't see much talk of not riding in the future.
Why quit riding just due to hearing of a couple accidents? Many car accidents take place every year all over the world, but this doesn't seem to encourage car users to stop driving.
This thread should only act as a warning to us cyclists to be careful, but it shouldn't recommend us to stop using this wonderful mode of transport. Wouldn't it be a pity if we all gave up cycling upon thinking of an accident?
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Old 08-25-11, 01:03 PM
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Since I've only hit the ground twice in my years of riding I'd have to say it was the one where the car rear ended me. Lowish speed, my rear wheel gave it's live to save me. That was the only damage to the bike and I had a mild skined knee.

The other wa on a ride where we cut through a gas station, hit the driveway at a bad abgle and that little 1 - 1 1/2 inch lip was like someone kicked the wheel out. An owie on my thumb.

I've has a few close calls. Hitting a patch of what I thought was old asphault only to find it was gravel at speed. Luckily it was only about 15 feet and straight. That could have been nasty as it was the access road to Fire camp 7 and there was a nasty fire going on at the time. I was alone and might not have been found for days. I've hit a pothole on a decent hard enough to untrue both wheels and actually cause the handlebars to rotate a couple in inches.

But the worst was on Sepulveda pass decending into the San Fernando valley. There ahd been road work and there were big, like 8' by 20' patches that had been repaved, badly. They looked nice bit one had a 1-2 inch lip. I hit that at a bad angle and almost went down, I was all over the road and was just sort of regaining control when I hit the second one. It was flush! If it had not been I was down for sure. About 45 minutes later a ride from the LA Wheelmen came through. One of the ladies on that ride was not as lucky, she went down, ruptured spleen and broken collarbone.
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Old 08-25-11, 01:12 PM
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Originally Posted by Paranoid.Guy
Why quit riding just due to hearing of a couple accidents? Many car accidents take place every year all over the world, but this doesn't seem to encourage car users to stop driving.
This thread should only act as a warning to us cyclists to be careful, but it shouldn't recommend us to stop using this wonderful mode of transport. Wouldn't it be a pity if we all gave up cycling upon thinking of an accident?
I was referring to the victims of the accidents not giving up riding.
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Old 08-25-11, 01:22 PM
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If those cars and motorcycles didn't exist, it would be much less likely for a bicyclist to have an accident with severe consequences

Last edited by Paranoid.Guy; 08-25-11 at 01:29 PM.
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Old 08-25-11, 04:18 PM
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Yeah, but just imagine how few bicycling accidents there would be if bicycles didn't exist? Panacea, finally...
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Old 08-25-11, 06:33 PM
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FYA Wabbit, a picture of my bicycle at the accident scene taken by the EMT.


Today I crossed the street where this accident took place! Hyper alert and happy to be riding once again!!!
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CIMG0174.jpg (101.1 KB, 17 views)

Last edited by Cyclomania; 08-25-11 at 06:40 PM.
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Old 08-25-11, 07:10 PM
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I was trying to put my foot onto my pedal and some how ended up getting stuck in my forks while getting started at a stop light. Got pole vaulted over my handlebars and broke my fall with my forearms. Got some wicked road rash to accompany my split forks and bent frame. The bike was probably two weeks old.
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Old 08-25-11, 11:40 PM
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Originally Posted by ClemY
Good luck on your continued recovery.

What is perhaps most amazing is that inspite of significant accidents and injuries, I don't see much talk of not riding in the future.
Giving up riding never even crossed my mind, though I was scared when I got back on the bike, and even wore body armor for a while at first -- had to stop doing that, it just got too sweaty and stinky! I had a bike instructor evaluate my riding to see if I was doing anything wrong too.
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Old 08-26-11, 09:44 PM
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Originally Posted by ClemY
Good luck on your continued recovery.

What is perhaps most amazing is that inspite of significant accidents and injuries, I don't see much talk of not riding in the future.
Yes, if I am still able to ride following an accident, I will ride. I'm not going to give a stinking motorist the pleasure of one less cyclist on the road
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Old 08-26-11, 10:29 PM
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Originally Posted by ClemY
I was referring to the victims of the accidents not giving up riding.
I will give up my bicycle when they pry it from my cold, dead fingers. (Apologies to Charlton Heston.)
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Old 08-26-11, 10:54 PM
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Riding 25mph on a winding road, jogger coming the other direction had a dog on a leash. A car backfired, the dog tried to run, and it turned out the owner hadn't locked down the flex-lead, so the dog ran across the lane and into my front wheel. I went over the bars, did a tuck and roll to spare my head, ended up dazed on the pavement.

Aid crew came, checked me over, let me ride 12 miles home, slow and painful but glad it wasn't any worse.

Took a hot shower when I got home, which brought me out of shock, and my forearms swelled up larger than my calves, and my elbows wouldn't bend. Got a ride to the ER and found out one arm was broken in three places, the other in only two.

Never considered giving up riding. I managed to stay off my bike for almost three weeks before I couldn't stand it any more, and used a bench grinder to shape the casts to fit my brake hoods. Rode it on the trainer for a few days to get things adjusted for elbows that wouldn't bend, then got back to bike commuting.
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Old 08-27-11, 10:27 AM
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Originally Posted by jputnam
Riding 25mph on a winding road, jogger coming the other direction had a dog on a leash. A car backfired, the dog tried to run, and it turned out the owner hadn't locked down the flex-lead, so the dog ran across the lane and into my front wheel. I went over the bars, did a tuck and roll to spare my head, ended up dazed on the pavement.

Aid crew came, checked me over, let me ride 12 miles home, slow and painful but glad it wasn't any worse.

Took a hot shower when I got home, which brought me out of shock, and my forearms swelled up larger than my calves, and my elbows wouldn't bend. Got a ride to the ER and found out one arm was broken in three places, the other in only two.

Never considered giving up riding. I managed to stay off my bike for almost three weeks before I couldn't stand it any more, and used a bench grinder to shape the casts to fit my brake hoods. Rode it on the trainer for a few days to get things adjusted for elbows that wouldn't bend, then got back to bike commuting.
Insane story, you ride home 12 miles with an arm broken in three places, wow!
And you go about carving your cast to fit your bike, how die hard is that !!! I applaud your bravado--no one gonna take me off my bike attitude! Who can you blame when a car horn makes a dog act the culprit, sheesh?!!!

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Old 08-27-11, 10:33 AM
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Originally Posted by ro-monster

Final score: 2 surgeries, 2.5 months unable to work at all, another couple of months before I recovered enough strength and mobility to zip my own jacket, 7 months of rehab, 11 months before I could ride a bike again. The shoulder still hurts most of the time and probably always will.

The strangest part of all is that this was a low-speed crash, maybe 15 mph at most.
That x-ray makes my aching shoulder ache even more. Almost a whole year without a bike, and in the Bay Area no less, one of the most beautiful places to ride. Glad you survived this low speed killer crash!
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Old 08-28-11, 11:32 AM
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Originally Posted by Cyclomania
Insane story, you ride home 12 miles with an arm broken in three places, wow!
And you go about carving your cast to fit your bike, how die hard is that !!! I applaud your nothing, no one gonna take me off my bike attitude! Who can you blame when a car horn makes a dog act the culprit, sheesh?!!!
Well, if I'd known my arms were broken, I wouldn't have ridden home ;-)

Personally, while I mostly thought of it as a freak accident, I did somewhat blame the jogger who didn't keep a flexi-lead locked down while jogging on the road. Could as easily have seen their dog run under a bus or make some motorist swerve off the road. But I assume it was an accident, and the dog was seriously injured, possibly killed, so it's not anything I'd pursue. Sometimes, accidents really do happen.
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