cyclezen

ok, fixed

c0urt

for me I am going to crash, but that's because i chose to ride a bike,

the worse was when someone ran over my hand and kept going. Other than that. Such is life.

hos13

riding in the rain, loose gravel, dogs, broken chain, clipless pedals, oh yeah don't forget rollers. I haven't broken my collar bone, yet.

nesdog

Well, hoping that my crash in early August (front wheel into a crack at low speed) will serve as my donation to the cause for at least a few more years. I'm on seven weeks and counting from bad hip flexor sprain. Been doing some trainer sessions and hope to be back aboard by the first of October.

copswithguns

I used to have the "I will never crash" mentality. Then I crashed lol. I was doing 35 MPH down a steep hill at night, overestimated my abilities, and at the pavement. It's been 10 days and I'm still recovering but am able to ride. Had some road rash, a sore shoulder, and a huge hematoma on my thigh I'm still coping with.

If you ride long enough, it's gonna happen. Always wear a helmet and be as aware as possible of your surroundings.

caloso

Inevitable

dralways

The good thing about crashing is that after your first serious traumatic one your life will change. You'll slow down where you used to speed (railroad tracks, sharp corners, etc) and be so aware for the entirety of every ride that any even minor scrape is pretty much impossible. Of course this may not be beneficial in a race but then I'm personally yet to race.

Being aware is really the bottom line, period. Screw that computer and the satisfaction of the knowledge that you're doing over 30mph on a flat or bare minimum descent. Keeping your eyes on your path for as far as is visible, being aware, and pushing your pace when you see fit is all your mind needs to be on.

blarnie

Magic Eight Ball says, chances are good.

snookanglr

I've been cycling about a year and I've crashed already. It was minor and it was my fault but it was a crash nonetheless.

BoSoxYacht

It's been a few years since my last major wreck, but if you ride as much as I do(15k miles a year), minor ones are likely to happen.

99Klein 

Crashes will happen sooner or later, the real question is how often and how bad?

zinjack

There are those who have not crashed that will
There are those who have crashed and will continue to ride
There are those who have crashed and will ride no more

EdIsMe

Took my road bike out on a (relatively tame) mountain bike trail last week. I crashed twice. Does that count?

Other than that, I've had 3 really serious crashes... or rather, been involved in... in the 2.5 years I've been riding and averaging greater than 10k miles per year. 1 was a lowside in a race in the rain, 1 was a (mostly) unavoidable paceline crash directly in front of me, and the last one, the rider behind me crossed my wheel as I pulled off the paceline and just about everyone behind me crashed (I stayed upright despite a destroyed rear wheel; 2 broken spokes, cracked rim, bent skewer, and broken hub). The guy behind me only had 2 spokes that didn't break (out of 20) on his front wheel. It's amazing he was able to walk away from it.

None of my crashes have sent me to the hospital... although I did seek professional medical attention for the one during the race (only because it was easily accessable and free). The worst crash was definitely the paceline crash in front of me. Riding 2x2 at about 30 mph (1k to go training ride sprint leadout). The lead two riders butted shoulders and one of them fell under my front wheel... resulting in a massive crash. I got the worst of it with significant road rash on my arm, shin, thigh, buttocks, and shoulder, along with several bruised ribs. The rider that landed on top of me broke 3 of his ribs and another had a minor a/c separation. I rode my bike ~20 miles after the crash back to my car, drove home, bandaged myself up. I consider myself fortunate to have been able to continue riding and even attended a club race the next day. (Placed 5th out of 24)

rdtindsm

I've been down many times. Dogs, loose gravel, ice, the usual suspects exacerbated by racing.

Muust unavoidable were when slippery liquids were on the road. Oil in middle of corner once and soap on straight road once.


Started wearing elbow pads during crits. A trio of Jr.s made some sort of "expecting to crash" comment. Didn't know where or when, but it would happen again. Just figured they were always off the back where it's much safer.

Ray9

My last crash was in 2008 when I was 61 riding in a group of 30-year-olds. There were 28 of us in a pace line, balls-to-the-wall. I heard a noise that sounded like a bunch of wire hangers being shook in a metal basket about three bikes in front of me. There was a bike right beside me on the right pulling up to take his turn at the front so I could not move to the right. A rider went down hard and separated from his bike frame which pirouetted and bounced directly at my front wheel. I tried to bunny hop over the frame but my wheel stopped dead and my back wheel went vertical. I put out my hands to break the 30 mph. fall and I face planted on the asphalt destroying my glasses, breaking my nose, taking several layers of skin off my left knee and going to sleep with a concussion. I spent the night in a hospital and lost two weeks of work. I then got a call from a radiologist informing me that my left leg was broken. I refused a full cast and returned to work with crutches. I never got the whole story but one of my riding companions surmised that the crashed rider forgot to tighten the quick release on his front wheel. C'est la vie or as we say here, **** happens.

caloso

When all I did was ride on the road, I would count the miles between crashes. Since taking up CX, I count the meters.