DITCH

I guess I'm entitled to one stupid move for 2010. The sun was out and it was 50 degrees F this afternoon. Normal 20 mph wind, though. I had to go for a ride. Three miles in I turned west which then means I have a crossing headwind from the right (northwest). I'm normally leaning a little into the wind in this direction.

All was going well until I skipped a gear and looked down at the same time I hit a wind break. Well, leaning to the right with a wind break causes you to drift right. I looked up as I was nearing the edge of the road. I had time to hit the brakes and slow a little, utter a choice word and realize "this is going to hurt".

Fortunately the ditch was pretty soft, although there were some large rocks. The bike sort of sunk and my body took the brunt of the impact on the side of the road.

What a way to start the year. The worst part was a friend had just passed me in his truck and witnessed the whole thing in his rear view mirror. At least I was able to finish the ride.

The arm came out the worst. The crank arm is scraped a little as is the left seat stay as shown in the photos.

The perils of cycling...

I remember once, in a race, a guy in front of me hit the deck. I tried to bunny-hop over him, but I ended up hitting him with my front tire, which propelled me up into the sky, with my rear tire going faster than the rest of me, in a large, slow motion, arc, and me landing on my back with bike up in the air, tires skyward, feet still clipped in.

I had a jersey burn that made my back look like a side of baby back ribs and a very sore back. I couldn't raise my arms past shoulder level for a week.

The bike was OK though!

My year began like the OP's, on the American Tobacco Trail. 43 m in, 3 m to go, and a little switchback, on sidewalk, to get to the crossing area. My nice tubulars had a little dirt/mud on the sidewalls. Boom, I'm turtle-backed on the sidewalk. My arm still looks a lot like OP's, through a long sleeve jersey and nice jacket. The bike was fine, a scuff on the R drop end. First ride on the Cinelli Centurion.

One car stopped, asked if I was OK, and I said, in true Red Foreman fashion, "yeah, but I'm a dumb a$$, I think!" He laughed, said "nice bike," and took off. As he drove off, I noticed the bike rack on the back. I imagine he was agreeing with me.

That's intense!

I've had a few intense moments in my cycling lifetime...

That reminds me of something I would do in that situation. I've been known to ride bmx dirt jump trails on my commuter. Sometimes, to avoid sudden hazards or to make good time around town or the college campus, I ride my commute bike off of (or down) small to medium sized stairs sets, or bunny hop/jump over sudden pot holes/speed bumps.

That kind of adaptable riding style has served me well in avoid potentially ugly accident and being able to get from one place to the next efficiently. I can thank my bmx/skateboard/snowboard background for that.

If your riding friends are like some of mine, someone will always say "betcha can't do that again" before they ask how you are.

Oh, I was quite practiced at bunny hopping. The problem was, that he was laid out flat with his body closer to me, and his bike on the ground just past him. As soon as he saw me bearing down on him, and right at the time I was starting my bunny hop, he curled up into a ball (still laying on his side) and put his back toward me. I couldn't react to his changing position in time, so I wasn't quite high enough in the air to clear him.

In retrospect, though, had he not changed position, I would have had the height to clear him... but I would have landed on his bike. And that would have probably been an uglier crash...

All of this was happening in the last 200 meters of the race, so everyone was sprinting and we were all traveling at 30+/- mph...

Nah, my team mates all rode past me saying, "There's Frank... crashed AGAIN!" My "get even" for them was to kick there patooties up the hills...

Ah, the glory days.....

Ouch! Heal up fast!

I started the year riding no-handed in the dark without a light. I hit a rock or branch, which turned my front tire. I screamed like a girl as I landed into dirt. No harm - just stupidity.

One Christmas, my brother gave me a red winter cycling jacket. He said he chose red because it would hide the blood stains. Boy, do I have some stories to tell. There are two rules to cycling.
Rule #1: If you're going to ride, you're going to fall.
Rule #2: No matter how good of a rider you are, you can't change rule #1.

You're not riding if you never fall. Just part of the hazards or riding. I had a similar beginning of the year. I came around a wet corner and the front wheel washed out one me and down I went. Minor scrapes and scuffs.

Good rules! And I like your brother already! Great sense of humor!

i had a similar crash yesterday on my peugeot. i was heading downtown for mardi gras, trying to "pace" my buddy (as he tends to ride super slow). i'm doing about 15-17 about to make a right. well i tuck in, and just as i did i saw a sewer lid with a little hole in front of it. well i lift the front and clear the sewer lid only to put it into a pile of loose gravel. down i go, water bottle flying and my bike skidding across the road ON THE DRIVETRAIN and my Brooks Pro

nothing bad though. this is my commuter bike and it's pretty scratched up. i did manage to knock the front axle crooked in the fork, and ripped my palm up a little. now i have blood speckles on my white tape. lol

fwiw, i have also rode into a ditch. being complacent and looking out over the beach. looked up in time to brace myself. i had a good angle though, because i just rolled down, and then back up the other side. scared the crap out of me though.

A Gitane riding friend of mine from way back when noticed a group of schoolgirls gathered at the back steps of our main assembly hall. An unusual sight as we attended a private boys only college. Deciding to impress them he sped up and banked hard as he went around the steps, only to lose it and slide himself and the bike across the bitumen and end up at the bottom of the steps.

So he gets up, covered in scratches, blood and road rash and says "and now for my next trick! ...". Still cracks me up.