Ever crash?
 

This poll is to see how many have been involved with bike crashes, and what kind.

poll?

jkjk MY B!

My stoy is i was one day climbing wiht my dad and i went to shift gears then suddenly everythng stopped my feet were stuck in the clip (couldnt undo before falling) and my crank was stuck. Pretty much it was all down hill, i kind of roled a litle then slid down 10ft. of the hill, killed my bar tape.

I got my arm stuck in the spokes when I was 4.

The reflector in the spokes of my wheel came off and I flew over the handlebars when I was 16. Now I always take those off.

Chest plant into a big tree during a downhill run.

How about this one: was following a driver who suddenly slammed on his brakes to make an unsignalled left. I braked in plenty of time but was unable to get out of my powergrips in time since I was in boots and the soles hung up on the pedals.

Does learning how to use clipless pedals count? ;)

I crashed one time when a set of delta style handlebars snapped off right at the steerer tube from metal fatigue. I braked while holding the bars with one hand and grabbing the steerer, but still laid it out. Ah, the early days of mountain bikes...

One time I crashed solo...Suspect I did not see an object in the bike lane...
When hit by a car it was about a 5 mph crash..In a parking lot...Car turned right in front of me. Making a left turn..Turned into my right of way as I was continuing in a straight direction.
Car was barely moving..But the bike and I were almost pinned under the bumper of the car..Wearing a bright orange jacket . Azz h+++ said he did not see me . Barely gave me enough time to get up, before he took off...

I had a sign jump in fornt of me. And a crash in a group of under 15 year old girls I think me and about 4 or 5 others went down.

I voted SOLO but it wasn't on my commute....they is probably a better term than it. Back when I rode in MTB races in HS I wrecked all the time.

I was ghost riding my girlfriend's bike from the shop, (riding mine, hers to my right). I had just completed the thought 'this is easier than I thought', looked out at the tugs pushing up the East river, and then I was on the ground, her bike tumbling 15 feet away mine under me. The best part, besides the cracked ribs ceasing to ache, were the fishermen who heard the crash, saw two bikes and only me. "Where's the other guy?"

I voted in the poll but the poll does not take into account haw many incidents of each and those incidents that could be classified in several categories.
It also ignores encounters with animals (more common than you might think)
See the threads below:

http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/foru...&highlight=hit
http://www.fixedgeargallery.com/foru...&highlight=hit

I voted in 5 categories. However, I agree I've been involved in the same type numerous times.

The worst and funniest was when I was selling my neighbor my mtn bike. I had just replaced the front shifter cable. He test rode it and said it wasn't shifting. I climbed on, and reached to adjust the barrel adjuster with my right hand while pedaling and looking down at the derailleur. Rode out of my driveway and into the street. (Cul-de-sac road, no traffic) and BAM! Rode right into the back of my neighbor's parked van!

Broken nose, sore jaw and a cut above the eyebrow.

All that and $300 for my bike!

Went down on my side after slipping on wet leaves at a corner. Damage: scraped shifter, torn bar tape, bent deraileur hanger, torn tights, tiny bit of road rash. No big deal.

Lesson learned: be careful going around corners in winter!

You also should have a category for road conditions - I once went over when the front wheel stuck in a drainage grating.

Been in crashes three times in over 20 years of commuting...

Once the dreaded quick right turn in front of me... bent wheel.

Second just as I left a stopsign and a car (no signal) left turns into me. Scratches and bruises, bent frame and taco'ed rear wheel.

Third I am on a major boulevard and going past a small street that is sign controlled... driver is sitting there and looking right at me... he takes off just as I am about to cross in front of him. I dented his fender pretty well according to the police. Spent the afternoon/evening in hosp. required some surgery to fix my face, bike totaled.

All three of the accidents were the auto drivers' fault, two of which I collected insurance from. Two involved drivers that were looking right at me AND LEFT STOP SIGNS TO HIT ME, one had just passed me... therefore my conclusion, riders on bikes ARE invisible.

Only if you hit something?

The ground counts right?

Stuart Black
Done every single one of the items listed

returning from class at college, fell asleep, hit a parked car, three stitches in my nose...

Never sleep while riding a bicycle...

Three times! You haven't been trying too hard have you?! I figure I've had a good year if I only crash 3 times! I've been avoiding this but here goes:

Most memorable: A running woman jay walks into me at about 15 miles per hour. Knocks us both to the ground. She gets up without so much as a rip in her nylons, keeps running and leaves me scraped and bleeding on the ground.

Most painful: On the way to school. I was going to set a personal record for the 12 miles from my house to school. A guy turned left in front of me on the busy street section of the ride. I smacked into the side of his car, slide over the hood and fell to the ground missing my left shoe (still in the toe clip). My right knee looked like someone had made hamburger out of it but, strangely, it didn't hurt. I had severed the nerves that go down the inside of the knee. Spent 4 days in the hospital and still, 20 years later, can't feel a damn thing in that knee.

Dumbest: Ran into the back of a parked car in Washington, DC. I don't live there and didn't know that it is common practice to just park your car in the middle of the street. Left a thigh shaped dent in the back of a Colt Vista.

Best Greg Lougainis dismount: While riding home one night I caught a great tail wind. Here in Colorado that can translate into a 40 or even 50 mile per hour wind. I was able to get this one to pushing me at about 40 mph on a downhill! Heaven! At the bottom of the hill, there is a slight jog to a rather narrow bike path that cuts several blocks off my trip so I alway take that route.

On this particular fast night, I missed the corner and hit the curb at about 35 mph. The fork collapsed and I was thrown into the air. I went all limp like you are supposed to but I remember watching the grass in the little traffic island coming at me. I smacked into the ground with the upper right side of my helmet, dug out a little divet of grass and pivoted on that spot up and over and flat onto my back, as pretty a piece of diving as you will ever see. (The Russian judge, however, only gave me a 6.8.) There is something peaceful about lying on your back looking up at the sky through a spray of green grass and wondering what parts you broke this time.

Stuart Black
Nothing beats picking the scabs off road rash.

Hit by a car in March. (right hooked me)
Had a mechanical malfunction in July that launched me over the bars in an intersection at 23MPH. 2 cracked ribs, busted helmet, and a bit of road rash.

Perhaps.

I think some people have a difficult time judgeing cyclists actual speed. Some people only "see" what they expect to see (cars/trucks). I find if I ride too far too the right at speed i'm not "seen" as well as compared to further out (best is taking the lane).

If I suspect a driver is dazed (looking at, but not seeing me), I will do things to grab there attention. I shake my head from side to side, perhaps a handsignal and usually a yell. Some drivers simply do not look, so would hit a car, truck, bike, pedestrian or alien space ship.