MadCat

I'm sure every cyclist has had a tumble or two out there. Anyone care to share?
Here's one...
I was merging in to the left lane in heavy heavy traffic. There was a Taurus beside me that I was going to slide in behind. I timed it perfectly but of course the Taurus had to brake. I caught my handle bar on the rear quarter panel. Of course the rear quarter panel angles upward with the rear window. It lifted me up and threw me backwards on my *** on the road. The guy in the Taurus didn't even notice me. Thankfully the truck behind me did and stopped. Rather sore tail-bone after that one.

Levi

Several years ago my brother and I were riding (BMX) at some local dirtjumps. My brother was trying a new trick, screwed up, and threw is bike in mid-air. He wound up landing on the bike, and his chin made contact with the open bar-end. It cut open his chin in the shape of the bar-end (a 1" circle, basicaly), and pulled/ripped the inside of his cheek away from his jaw. Directly after he crashed he didn't know what happened, so he put his hand up to fell the part of his chin that made contact....and was touching his teeth through his cheek. He spent the night in the hospital, had somewhere around 150 to 200 stiches (the doctor lost count), and couldn't eat solid food for over a week.

That was over three years ago, and today my brother is doing great. It healed so well that the scar looks more like a little acne scarring than a stiched up hole. I could get a picture of stiched up area, if interested.

pat5319

I once "t-boned" a car that had turned left in front of me, coming from the opposite direction. I sprained my neck and broke some ribs, landed about 30 feet down the road and sprung the car's frame, rendering it undrivable.

A week later I was having trouble breathing and went back to the ER room, I had collapsed a lung,(hemothorax). They stuck a tube in me, right at the broken ribs, and sucked out about 5 liters of blood and fluid. that hurt more than the crash, I think ?, even with morphine,(I spent a week in the hospital).
I later asked the "check in" nurse why she hadn't done the usual paperwork, She replied; "Your lips were blue".

The driver later squirmed out of the ticket, She and a witness insinuated I was riding on the sidewalk. I did sue and got 8 grand to spend after expenses. Some of it went for an extremely bright red, Italian made Masi Prestige with a Campagnolo 50th Anniversary Gruppo.

Episode 4 of 5 car "incidents" (overall crashes- "lots")
( I'm not sure of this was the worst )

Cambronne

I was bumping along on one of Paris' "quaint" medieval stone streets, and, being May, it was drizzling, so the stones were damp. Suddenly, my front wheel began "tramlining" along the remains of an old kerb... They'd widened the street, and what had been kerb was now in the middle of the kerbside lane. I got flung off, and I bounced sideways into a furniture truck, then I slid for a good distance down the street.

I stood up immediately, rather amazed that I could, and searched for my bike. As I retrieved it, the truck driver came running over... he was certain that HE'D hit ME. Very uncharacteristically for a French driver... especially a commercial driver... he was genuinely concerned for my well being.

There I was, shaken up, bleeding, and bruised, fumbling with my bike, and explaining to the truck driver that, no, I wasn't going to have him charged, and no, I don't believe I need an ambulance. I told him that IF my bike was rideable, I'd continue on my way. IF it wasn't, then I'd accept his offer of a ride.

The front wheel on my mountain bike ('86 Schwinn) had taco'd, and it was too bent to use the front brake... but it was straight enough to ride on. So, obstinate eccentric that I am, I pedaled away, wobbly wheel and all, as several bystanders looked on, shouting encouragement. (Le velo, en France c'est un amour serieux.)

On the way home, I was nearly flattened by a police car, en route to where I'd just been...

[Edited by Cambronne on 12-20-2000 at 03:37 PM]

Biking ZED

Worst crash ever nearly took my life.


I was mountain biking in Az. on a trip up in a mountanious area. We were going up switch backs ravine to my left. I was trying to keep up to my buddies. Trail was washed out on a turn. My back tire started to go around and i totaly lost it me and the bike slide down the side of the cliff. Needless to say rocks stopped my fall. Next thing i knew i woke up in hte hospital bruised ribs and all. I was told i had to revived i was out for quite a while. So word to the wise bike only as fast as conditions permit.

nickBMXr

Well, there was the time when i was takin a nice little ride in the country and then outta nowhere a drunk driver coming from the country club hit a race car on a trailer being pulled by a truck, the race car flew around and nailed my back tired and sent me flying through the air a good 30 feet and then sliding on the gravel for about another good 10 feet.....i had to go to the hospital and get rocks taken out of my right knee and thigh.....it was great fun.....

or there's the time i flipped over my handle bars and my head hit the cement(with no helmet of course, shame on me), bounced off, hit the bike that was following behind it, and hit the cement again.....it left me just a little bit dizzy.....

fantinelj

A few weeks ago, I rode in on a singletrak to camp with one of my best friends. The following morning, we went for a little 3 mile ride. This singletrak just so happens to follow a cliff side for about 500 feet, with a 70 ft drop. Well, I made one little glance over my shoulder to check on my mate and my front tire hit a mini-dippy-do, my back tire lifted and my front tire zipped in the direction that my head was turned. I fell only 3 meters or so, then a pine tree caught me by my left ribs / armpit. I have 10 + little scars and 3 good sized scars. My friend took my bike out of my good hand, then hoisted me up. I still owe him a beer for that.

Joe

RoadRash

Some of you are lucky to be alive, amazing.

My worst wreck can be found as the first post of this thread: https://www.bikeforums.com/forum/show...p?threadid=425

Hunter

Dogwood Dell Richmond Va.
Doing a Downhill run on the east side of the park. It was down a paved road on my retired Barracuda MTB. It was cool because you got so much speed going down. Anyway the left side is a brick knee wall about 3 ft. tall. Going around the lower right hand turn I hit a patch of wet leaves that drove me to the left. I hit the wall doing around 32 mph. Flipped up on the wall with the bike attached to my right foot. Me and the bike went over a few times and it broke my right ankle. Not to mention the token scrapes and bruises that accompanies hitting a brick wall at 32 mph.

Chris L

Mine wasn't as bad as some of the others in this thread, but I didn't enjoy it all the same. I hit a rock while riding along one day (and not concentrating the way I should have been). The thing was, the bike was the one that went flying into the air. As I hit the ground it landed on top of me.

However, what this ultra-aggressive bike forgot (or simply didn't know) was that I grew up in a town called Werris Creek, and men from Werris Creek always win. A Werris Creek man (or woman) is the only person in the world who can enter a revolving door behind you and come out in front.

The result was, that while I lost a lot of skin (and still have the scar on my knee five years on), the bike was worse off. It was totally @#$%ed. I had no money at the time, so I became the world's most prolific walker until I got money to replace it.

Chris

Mystic_104

I race bmx so I've seen some hard core crashes... I have crashed and bruised my ribs twice, dislocated my shoulder twice, broke a wrist, and sprained pretty much every joint in my body... well in happened at the Provincial's I was in the lead and flying durring the main, I bagged my front end after jumping a triple... I landed on my head and was rushed to the hospital... I came out alright but the bike Didnt... I was choked cause I lost my number 1 provincial plate that day and ended up 4th