Originally Posted by
savethekudzu
Had my first real spill this morning.
About 60 degrees with wet roads and an occasional drizzle; was feeling good about my pace. I made the silly mistake of trying to jump the metal threshold between the asphalt MUP and a wooden bridge. Lost control and stayed upright for a few yards; then went down on my left side on the bridge. A nearby family of pedestrians stopped to check on me, but I think all is well.
The impact took a good bite out of the left side of my helmet (behind my left ear) and broke my pager. Was stunned for a few minutes, but finished the ride; no obvious damage to the bike or my cargo (though I did have to straighten my handlebars).
This happens to have been the first morning I seriously considered wearing a baseball cap instead of the helmet in order to shield my glasses from the rain!!! Even had one lashed to the rack, just in case.
Glad to hear you weren't hurt. Wet wood can be very slippery. I've only had one crash in 35+ years of riding, but it kept me off my bike for several months afterwards. All it takes is one accident to realize how important a helmet is. In my crash, I suffered mostly road rash but would have been seriously hurt without a helmet as my head hit the pavement hard. It is pretty hard to crash without hitting your head.
BTW, a cycling cap will fit under your helmet and works well to shield your glasses from rain. I've got several cycling caps that I wear whenever there is a threat of rain. They're also good for shielding the sun from your eyes.