Goldor

Was doing my normal ride this afternoon when I came across another rider (he is also a Clyde), me and him ride together (at least on the flats where I can keep up with him, about three times a week as we ride the same route for those days) for around 5-6 miles chatting and generally being friendly with one another. As we were riding along there was another gent who came up from behind us and asked us to make way for him (there is never anyone else on this route, I think I'll see one other person other than the guy I was riding with in a month or two), I let him know I'm slowing down and get behind my friend and he takes off powering away from us, as he is doing so a rock was thrown up by his back tire and tagged my riding buddy right in the nose causing him to go down and me to go off into the ditch on the side of the road before I hit a hole and went down as well. I checked him out first and he had a bloody nose (not broken thankfully) and some road rash on his left arm and his finally injury of note was a bruised ankle, I personally only got a few scraps on my left forearm and thigh luckily enough. We then went about checking the bikes, his bike was slightly damaged, one of the pedals and it needs replacing (it was torn up on the edges where it hit the ground) but had no other readily apparent damage, but my bikes front wheel was bent enough that I didn't want to ride on it (it still turned but was noticeably bent when I rotated it) and I wound up calling the rest of the ride off and having someone come pick me and him up so that we could take our bikes home. The gent that passed us never even looked back or slowed, not sure he even realized that we had crashed, though I'm not sure how he missed the commotion.

I've learned that I need more room when I'm letting people by/following behind somebody even if I'm intending to be there only for a moment.

I've got to go see my LBS and find out what I can do with the tire, and have them do a general look over to see if there is any other damage as I'm not very mechanically inclined and may have missed things. The worst part of this (for me) is I'm stuck with out a bike to ride until next Thursday as I have no money for repairs till payday (my riding buddy was annoyed about the same thing, though I've made him promise to make an appointment to get his ankle looked at if the swelling doesn't go down with icing it and a day or twos rest).

Is there any tips on what I should have done right afterwords?

Edit: Sitting here at home I notice a big of damage to my helmet, though not much just a small depression on the outside of it. Should I replace it?

Black wallnut 

Sorry to read of your crash. Be sure to replace the helmet, they are designed for one crash only.

Velocivixen

Sorry about your crash. Definitely replace your helmet before your next ride. When you throw away your current one, cut the chin straps so nobody can find it and use it. I am always cautious and leave a lot of space between myself and other riders, just in case something like this happens.

Cychologist

Sorry about your freak accident. In all my years of cycling, I have never heard of a bike kicking up a rock and hitting someone in the head.

Yes, get a new helmet like mentioned above.

Your front wheel sounds like it was just knocked out of true, in which case your local bike shop should be able to repair it quickly without too much cost to you. And I might add that is the most common damage a bike gets when you run off the road.

The only thing I would have done differently, if a faster rider is approaching me while riding two abreast, I speed up and get in front of my riding companion. Otherwise I am making the approaching rider slow down even further and bike handling is more difficult while braking. By picking up my pace temporarily, the rider passes more quickly and safely. (Note, this is when I am riding to the left of my partner. If I am on the right, he is responsible for getting out of the way, just like when a car is approaching.)

Dave Cutter

Bummer about your accident. Nobody enjoys ouchies! Thanks for sharing your story. Too bad about losing the helmet and damaging the wheel.

I had a very sudden and unplanned rest stop myself a couple years back.... which kept me off my bike for a month. Thank God... there was no real damage to my bike. After decades in the work force [I think like yourself] I mentally completed my "accident report". Of course.. like any good accident report I came up with a procedure change that would prevent a repeat of the same accident. Not sure my procedural change will ever make any difference.... but old habits are hard to break.

I also learned to accept that bicycle accidents will happen. Injuries and bicycle damage are all part of cycling.

I also picked up a nice old co-mo 10 speed road bike. I cleaned and restored it myself and learned a lot about bicycle repairs in the process. Mostly it's just a pretty bicycle to show to friends... but its fully restored and a little bit updated and rides great. So I no longer have to concern myself with bicycle down-time should that issue arise in the future [and we just know it will].

Hope your riding buddy heals well too.

Northwestrider

No suggestions, it seems you handled it just fine. The fellow that passed you likely didn't know you had crashed IMO. I've never noticed a rock being kicked up by a bicycle before, so your experience is rare. Is there a chance it could have been a large insect ? I've been hit by those a few times. I'll second the suggestions to replace your helmet. Glad you both weren't hurt too badly.

eja_ bottecchia

OP, some bike helmet companies used to (or still have) a replacement policy for helmets involved in crashes/accidents.

You may want to check with your LBS and/or helmet manufacturer.

Heal well!

HuffinandPuffin

Glad to hear it was nothing worse than what you said and that you were wearing your helmet. Try to do some type of exercise until you get back on your wheels again.

Phil

RIDE SAFE

JReade

I've unintentionally ran over rocks/gravel on the road before, and heard them ping off the guard rail etc before, and I've been hit in the chest from stuff flying up while pacelining. It's a freak accident, hope everyone recovers fast.

Weatherby

And I was about to call total BS on a rock coming off a bike wheel and bloodying a nose.

Goldor

I will be replacing my helmet then as well as getting my bike looked at and worked on.

Velocivixen, I'll make sure to cut the chin straps before I throw it away. I enjoy the social aspects of riding, but I do admit that this had made me a bit leery of riding so near others.

Cychologist, hopefully it is something simple like that to fix for the local bike shop (I was actually expecting to replace the rim/wheel or have to have it rebuilt). I've luckily not had the problem with damage happening to my bike before and hope this continues to be the worst of it as time goes on. I'm glad that it is a freak accident as it has made me real leery when I think of riding near/behind someone currently, would have been a real damper on riding with others for me in the future.

I'll speed up next time (I was out on the left), I haven't had much interaction with other riders and I just try and do what makes sense at the time and keep them informed of what I'm doing to keep us all safe. Thanks for letting me know.

Northwesterner, I'm not sure that a bug hitting him would have bloodied his nose like it did, but stranger things have happened I'm sure.

Dave Cutter, hopefully neither of us will have to find if our changes work to prevent another. I'm leery of doing repairs and work outside of basic maintenance (Lube, checking tire pressure and component tightness), but getting and old bike and working to fix it up may very well be something I do as time goes on, it's something I like the idea of doing.

EJA_Bottechia, thanks for the suggestion. I'll defiantly ask when I go in, I suppose I'll avoid cutting the helmets chin straps until I do.

Thanks for the well wishes and advice everyone, I really do appreciate it.

JReade

As far as the riding in close proximity, here's how this works:

You start riding, you get comfortable on your bike, then comfortable side by side riding. Next thing you know, you want to up your game, so you look into paceline riding. This goes well and good for a while,and you're comfortable 2-5 inches off the wheel of the guy in front of you. Somehow you get roped into a really big ride once or twice a year, and double pacelining occurs. You're comfortable in close proximity, talking to other riders, etc. Then a crash occurs. Go back to step one. However, the step 1-3 happens faster every time after.

sstorkel

I have to admit: I was thinking the same thing. I've kicked up rocks before, but none of them ever got to nose height nor were large enough to knock someone off a bike...

Little Darwin

Glad everyone got by with only minor issues.

I have actually dumped helmets after dropping them and cracking part of the shell, so I obviously concur on getting a new helmet.

indyfabz

You may not have noticed it, but it's not rare. I have seen it happen plenty of times. I have done it plenty of times. I even kicked up rocks that have chipped the paint on my bike and kicked up a rock that hit my GF. Going on two years ago, a woman on a group ride I was leading kicked up a small stick. It hit my front wheel, got spun up in the spokes and lodged in between the outside of my front wheel and the inside of my fork above the brake pad. This was parallel to the bike, mind you, not perpendicular. I was just starting to power up to get over a small hill. The wheeel locked up and I went flying. Split of the end of my collar bone and necessitated the replacement of my fly Orbea Odin helmet that I had gotten as a birthday present a few months prior.

gman214

Glad you guys are okay!!

Black wallnut 

I've kicked up plenty of rocks in the miles I've ridden. Most go sideways. When I rode a bike that had tread on the tires I would almost daily throw up pebbles that would land in my shoes. Riding on dirt and gravel roads I've had lots of rocks get kicked up by the front tire and loudly thump the frame. While riding a few years ago on fresh chip seal I had a car kick up a rock that hit my glasses, luckily no damage to me or my glasses. I've had lots of other rare things happen to me in my life so doubting others when they post unusual events never crosses my mind. Which is a far different thing from folks claiming that they have only had a "couple" beers or drinks, that is never to be believed.

Njbudman81

Glad you are ok