Crash
 

Well my roommates are out of town and I have no friends so I'll tell my story here.
I was riding home from work about an hour ago, on a concrete bike path, going way faster than I should have been(around 20mph). I drifted into the center of the path just at the point where there is about a 5 foot long crack in the concrete. My front tire got caught in the crack and I guess my bike didn't like that so it sent my flying. Helmet cracked where I hit the ground and I slid into a traffic sign with the top of my head, leaving a huge gash on the top of my helmet.
Only injuries is massive road rash to my left ribs and all around my left arms. I know I'd at least be in the hospital if I wasn't wearing my helmet, heck I'd probably be worse off than that. Luckily my bike is OK too, it missed the sign that my head smashed in to. This is my first crash since I started riding in March. I'm just happy to be OK. Wear you helmets guys, and be careful!

glad to hear your ok. yeah definitely slow down at night. from my small sample size of commuter friends who've crashed, it has usually happened at night.

Hoooooly. Man, all these stories about crashing and my near-wipeout on a busy downhill street almost makes me regret getting into biking. Good thing for that helmet! I see so many people here without them even though that's illegal. I'll keep mine on for good measure.

Cheers for your health, man.

My only real crash was about 10 years ago on a MUP - screwed up my shoulder. Since then I DON'T ride on MUP/Bike paths.

I'm glad you were wearing your helmet. It sounds like it saved you.

I've only had 2 serious crashes that I can remember. One was when I was 5 and hadn't fully learned how to ride a bike (smacked into a wall before I had learned how to use the brakes), and the other was when I was 35, and was doing something stupid. (I don't count the butt-bounces that I got in my extremely brief flirtation with BMX, because those weren't really commuter...or crashes.)

The funny thing is that, after my 35-year-old crash, the nurse at my work lectured me about being "too old to engage in these high-risk activities." I never really thought of bicycling as a high-risk activity. It seems much more "pastoral" to me. There are occasional "events" but they make for good war stories, like the one you have.

Remeber.... chicks dig scars!

I biffed it a couple of weeks ago too! I wasn't paying attention and lost it on some wet RR tracks.... NWIN is coverd with the darn things! The nurses at work all think I'm crazy (including my wife and mom :D).

+1. To some, once you hit middle age you are supposed to retire to a sedentary lifestyle I suppose. Crazy.

Ouch. I had a similar crash when I was a kid, I ended up breaking one of my teeth. It was not fun.

I'm glad your helmet did its job and your bike survived.

I had that wreck in the ice in center city PHL. Damn tracks hurt like hell.