WOW that puts the "Fear of Driver" in me. I have mostly relied on eye contact but will incorporate vrkelley's suggestion on watching wheels. I have also started to be a bit more assertive also by pointing my intended direction which seems to get noticed.

Your Pannier physics lesson reminded me of a crash I had years ago when I hit a pot-hole and flipped over the bars.... Somehow me and the bike (old 10-speed) danced in the air and when we hit the ground my FOREARM was between the Fork and the Rim. Yes there was major compression which forced the perimedics to cut my beloved steed to release me.

Wow; I occ. work with our fire dept., and have had convos (and a couple of, er, "client" contacts) with many paramedics. Don't think I've ever heard of them having to use "extrication tools" on a bicycle. Yoiks!

Glad to hear you're allright N7CZinMT, that's a scary one. Looks like you've got a tennis ball in your pocket, was it your serve? I'm sure that's gonna hurt like hell at some point, hope you feel better soon. Everytime I see a cracked helmet or a reck like in stage 1 of the Tour, I have to wonder how any of us ever rode without one.

Hey Kern,
It was not the car or driver's fault. It was my fault. I should have noticed my panniers moved around when they were not weighted down. This is my new route home.

Bob

Your right. It does today. I'll be sleeping on my right hip or stomach for a while.

You're assuming that back roads are safer. In this part of the world, one who makes that assumption would be wrong. More witnesses=less trouble every time. Guaranteed.

Watching wheels rather than making eye contact should be a given. However, I'm just wondering why people seem to be blaming the driver for this one. From my reading of the original account, they stopped at the intersection just like they were supposed to. I really don't see how this crash was a "driver" incident.

Thanks for taking the time to post the pictures. I hate to admit it, but I haven't been wearing a helmet recently. After seeing the aftermath of your accident, I went straight to my LBS and picked one up.

This is another reminder of what you can walk away from when you're wearing your lid.

Glad you were able to walk away from this one.

Your right Chris. This was not caused by the driver. This was caused by MY actions. Rather the actions of the panniers. There was no way to forsee the panniers getting caught in the rear wheel. Its just a fluke. This is a prime example of why, even if you have excellent cycling skills, a helmet is a MUST. There are things that can happen that no measure of skill can save you from injury.

Thanks Vision! Good job on getting to the LBS! One thing that every cyclist has to remember is that ONLY YOU can protect yourself.

Something doesn't ad up here. How can a rear lockup cause an endo?

Hmm, good question.

As best as I can remember (from witnesess statements), since I was standing and mashing hard, when the bike STOPPED, I kept going. Since I was standing, (and doing a rather good clip) that means I was launched forward. Also from the damage to my bar tape, the front wheel also appears to have turned sideways. I can only guess that it did so violently. I'm also not sure at what point my SPDs disengaged either. But since I was some distance from the bike, I know they did.

This is only speculation, since I can't remember the actual event. I have to rely on the witnesses.

I don't think it takes a Physics Professor to figure it out.

Dude, I'm happy you're ok. God bless you.

I assume what happened was he was going along on a good clip, mashing away and putting slightly more weight on his handle bars. When his rear wheel suddenly locked up, his momentum pitched him foward at which point the stronger of his arms pushed the handle bar causing the front wheel to violently jerk in one direction at which point the bike pitched over and he flew off.

Thanks! I'm feeling much better today. I'm gonna try a test ride on Sunday to see how it feels. I really hate being off the bike. The ribs are still quite sore, but are better.


Thanks slvoid. That is pretty much my understanding of it. I was over the bars pretty hard leading up to the intersection. I was sprinting for all I was worth. I had visions of Lance or perhaps Cipolini. Ok, a fat Lance or Cipolini.

Bob,

Watch that hip situation. I had a similar situation about two years ago, and mine was a sheer injury to the hip. It swelled up like that, and the trauma physician immediately drained it of liquid. I had lost feeling on the skin in about a ten-inch diameter area. This is the skin that had sheered from the underlying tissue. Fluid developed between the two layers, and for a month after the accident, I had it drained weekly. After that, for another month and a half, it was drained every two weeks. Finally, it filled in with connective fibrous tissue, and no more fluid could be drained out. At that point, the physicians were satisfied that it would heel on its own. I maintained circulation to that tissue throughout the period.

Today, I still have a "lump" there of fibrous stuff, but the tissue is healthy and I'm regaining feeling the the entire area. The feeling is somewhat different there, as I don't have pressure sensation, but do have feel sensation and some pain sensation. At times, the pain receptors will simply fire on their own, and I'll say to myself "Oh ya, another receptor has gained connection!"

The docs said that if the draining had not worked, they may have had to do surgery to try to reconnect the tissue. But there was a potential for infection if they did that, and a worse outcome.

I've changed a lot of my riding since then, and am now riding a Rans Stratus long-wheel base recumbant. You cannot go over the handlebars on a LWB recumbant. I don't ride on Fridays (which is when I've had my last two crashes with cars), but I cycle almost all week. This week, I'm at 54 miles, and last week it was over 70 miles. Today (a Friday), I walked to work (actually, I'm finding my running legs, and did some short running with the walks).

John

Ok over the bars while standing on it, that makes sense. I heard endo and thought endo as in the bike goes end over end like a stoppy gone wrong (been there but it was like 3mph on a slight downhill and I had time to somersault as the rear of the bike passed the apex)

Thanks for the info, John. We (doctor and I) are keeping a close eye on it. Glad you've recovered. I don't know about the recumbent idea. Would be fun to try one out some day.

I'm feeling much better today. The ribs only hurt sharply when I move "just so", breath deeply, or lift/pull with my left arm. The hematoma on my left hip is tender to the touch. Use of the hip is not painful at all. I am going to wear unpadded lycra shorts today in an attempt to help get the blood from the hematoma re-absorbed to heal faster. EDIT: I forgot to mention that I am having balance issues when I go from a sitting position to standing. The doctor says that it should pass.

I'm also heading out in a few minutes to give the bike a good inspection. Can't even read the SHIMANO lettering on the left pedal anymore. I also know that I'll have to repair the bar tape. If the bike checks out, I plan on a test ride today as well. I really want to be back on my commuting schedule this week.

Not sure if I should share this photo, but here goes.

This is the hematoma on my left hip 4 days after the accident.

Simply amazing, but those colors are the same as the one in Chris' of the view from his back yard.
https://www.bikeforums.net/foo/58163-few-moments-ago.html
Hope you heal well, and soon.

Bob,

It looks like your hip bruise is much less a problem than was mine. The color will change over the next few weeks, and you need to re-take the photos to document the changes;-) I was dizzy (really dizzy at first, like in vertigo) for about a month, but it has gone away too. It looks like you can make a quick recovery here, and that's great news.

John

Yep, your right! Those colors look much better in the Australian sky than they do on my hip.


Hey John.
Yes, I am happy to say that my injuries are far less than they could have been. I also like to think that the work I have put into my physical conditioning also helped to either recover quickly or minimized the injuries in the first place. I really can't say. Perhaps both.

I am still getting dizzy when I stand from a sitting position. Although, not as bad today.

Looking the bike over today I found the spot on the front tire that had slid sideways. Very pronounced difference in color and pattern across the tire width. The bar tape on the left side is shredded. You can no longer read the SHIMANO on the left pedal. There is some damage to the saddle as well, but not real bad.

I took the bike "around the block" for a test ride. Felt pretty good except for climbing. Climbing snapped some sharp pains in the back rib area where I may have "fractured" them.

My plan is to be in the saddle come morning. I'll take it easy and enjoy the summer weather and be thankful that I am on 2 wheels.

Sounds like the same thing that took hamilton out of the tour.

Bob,

Take it slow and easy when you ride tomorrow. You may have some back spasms, caused by the rib problem. I had a similar injury when, a number of years ago, my bike went out from under me and I fell hard on my left side. I probably cracked or broke a rib then. The next day I went out and got into a ride with another guy, who tried to beat me because I was riding an old ten-speed and he had a very new, expensive bike. We hammered for awhile, and during one I felt a "ping" in my back. I had actually torn the muscle, and to this day that area is more prone to back pain than any other spot on my body. Those back spasms are telling you, "Don't move in this manner right now. We're protecting a very sore part of your body." Heed that warning, and take it very slow and easy for the next few weeks.

John

Yeah. I really feel for Tyler! You know he had to be in some serious pain for him to abandond the Tour. What a shame. I'll be looking for him next year.


Thanks John. I plan on taking it VERY careful. If it gets to be to much, I can call my wife to come and rescue me.