Was riding my usual route to work this morning, which includes a four mile stretch on a MUP that lets me take a more direct route across town and avoid some busy streets. Usually things are pretty quiet on the path in the mornings. This morning, at about the halfway point on my commute I started seeing lots of riders coming from the other direction. I was later to learn that they are on a coast-to-coast bicycle trip and had about 2000 miles logged so far.

There were about 100 of them. I successfully went by 99. One guy wasn't paying attention and pulled out into my "lane" to talk to his buddy. I started yelling, "Heads up!" and hit the brakes hard. It looked like he was going to swerve back onto his side of the path, so still squeezing down on my brakes I made a split second decision to maintain my line rather than riding off the pavement and into the trees. In retrospect, this was the wrong choice.

I anticipated incorrectly and he didn't swerve back. We collided head-on. After the impact of hitting each other, we both went down. My head, left jaw, neck, left shoulder and left knee took the brunt of the impacts. Thankfully my helmet absorbed quite a bit of the blow. I was pretty disoriented for a couple minutes and may have said some rather angry things about him learning how to stay on his side of the road and paying attention.

The part of the group that witnessed the crash stopped and made sure I was OK. One of the guys was a doctor and gave me a quick concussion check, which he said I passed. Thankfully the other guy was relatively uninjured too. I'm a clyde and he said he felt like he took a good shot from a linebacker. We hit hard enough that it threw my headlight into the trees which one of the other people in his group retrieved for me.

After about five minutes of regaining our bearings and checking out the bikes, we resumed our respective journeys. I'm pretty bruised up but amazingly don't have any road rash at all. I have a feeling most of my forward momentum was spent from braking and after we hit each other I didn't slide very far.

Just this weekend I was thinking about how I hadn't gone down on my bike in years. I guess if I had to hit someone I should be glad it wasn't a car. Amazing how fast it all happened.

The leaders of the group should have warned the others that there was a rider up. I've seen a group of runners like that and was watching closely to make sure they had their "heads up" too.

Glad you're okay.

Wow, glad you are OK and you were both able to continue on!

Reminds me of the time i rode into a parked car because i was talking to family member in back seat of moving family car going up the street....

- Andy

Glad you weren't more seriously hurt. Even though you passed a quick concussion check, I wouldn't be surprised if you do have a minor one, especially with the disorientation you experienced. If you get any headaches or feel confused at all today, take it easy for the next 4-5 days.

You da Man! 100 of them vs one of you, an' you're just bruised up! :respect:

nah, seriously, glad you're more or less ok

Not sliding only means you both hit with equal energy... eg. The lighter guy traveling faster.

From the sounds of it, you hit DAMNED hard. Even 5mph can be a hell of a hit.


Please consider getting properly checked out. Head injuries can take a while to show up. Swelling can be delayed. Any nausea, thinking issues, either sleepy or can't sleep, balance, grumpiness, other personality or attitudinal changes, reaching for words and on and on. Please google for complete list...

Also what every you do, stay away from aspirin...

--- I've had more head injuries then I can count, for a number of "reasons"...---

Glad to hear you're not too beat up. Same thing happened to me earlier this year. Difference being that the other rider was a crack head on a bmx bum-bike and we met in a dark tunnel. Double check the alignment of your frame. I noticed my bike tracking persistently to the right following the impact. Had it checked and straightened by a local builder.

Oh man! I am glad you are not more hurt. Expect more pain tomorrow and take it easy.

Thanks everyone for the well wishes.

As the day progresses my jaw is getting more and more sore. It was kind of tough to eat lunch and I noticed that at the moment when I chew my teeth aren't lining up quite right. I'm sure things will shift back after the swelling goes down. Probably be a good evening for soup.

In many respects, riding on MUTs is more dangerous than riding on roads. You certainly can't let down your guard just because you're on a trail. I've had similar experiences to what happened to you, although I avoided collisions. I don't hesitate to holler if someone is riding unsafely on a MUT, and I try to carry a bell. Glad to know that you weren't seriously hurt. Whoever was in charge of that tour should have taken charge, although ultimately the rider who doubled up was to blame.

Glad you weren't hurt. Airzound bicycle pump airhorn. Has saved my bacon many times over 20 years. May or may not have worked in your situation, but I recommend it for any commuter. Cars, animals, other cyclist, obliviots with full headphones on ped or pedal, all have been alerted and a crisis averted with a blast of the mighty Airzound. Now my biggest danger is myself.

Hope you heal up soon. Thanks for sharing this. I ride MUPs frequently because one runs right behind my house and takes me in the most direct, straight-line path possible halfway to work. I just might pull over and stop like people do on single-track if I ever see a big group headed toward me after hearing about your experience. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Glad your not hurt too bad and hope you heal without any ongoing issues.
I am just learning the dangers of the MUP as our town has a new one and they are expanding it. It is getting more and more use.

Glad your OK. If your interested, you can determine your approximate impact speed from the distance the head lamp travelled from the bike. All you need is the height of the light before impact. It may be insteresting to determine the braking efficiency of the bike.

These kind of low speed crashes can be bad. (Sliding scrubs energy so much more effectively than smacking into something.)

hitting the deck is always a bummer; I look at it as a right of passage. You have now become a commuting warrior. Heal quick, and get back out there.

Today I'm pretty sore, but not so bad I didn't ride to work. The biggest thing is still my jaw. Better than it was last night, but I'm guessing it'll be a while before it's back to normal.

i've yet to miss a single commute due to an injury. even road one handed with a broken scaphoid (ouch) for weeks.

Now I don't feel so alone on planet Earth - I hit a parked car while climbing a steep street, in a very low gear, head down, concentrating on spinning. Should have been concentrating on parked cars lol - -

Well to make you and anyone else that it's happened to feel even better... Long long time ago, I was too busy watching people doing things and I rode right into the back of a fully open jeep wrangler with the spare tire on back. I don't think they saw me, but I'm sure glad it was a bag on the tire vs one of those hard cases. I woulda left a gouge in that kind for sure. I just got up, and rode off like it was my plan all along!

- Andy

I hope you got - or will go get - your jaw (and head) checked up. There might a lasting injury, or one that's really slow to heal, that you can avoid with proper medical attention. If anything, it will give you peace of mind.

Multi-use trails can be dicey. I sometimes use the one by our river at night: I have full lights on. The other night, I just barely made out a cyclist wearing dark clothes, on a black bike, with no lights and no reflectors. And then there are the walkers who of course absolutely have a right to use the path, but seem to forget that there are OTHERS on the path too... and walking four abreast across both directions doesn't help either!

I sometimes prefer the MUP's to the street because the one I take allows me to bypass about ten really long traffic signals. The downside is the unpredictability of the other users, including joggers, dog walkers and other cyclists. Big pelotons make me nervous. Most of those guys know what they are doing, but it only takes one, and they are usually traveling a lot faster than the lone wobbly wally.

I'm sitting here counting my blessings that I just hit another cyclist and got bruised up.

Just received word that another bicycle rider has been killed at an intersection I frequently ride through. They've tarped the vehicle that hit the rider as apparently rescue workers are having a difficult time extracting the body from underneath. Happened about an hour ago so no further details have been made available other than the fatality has been confirmed.

I got off light.

glad you are okay and I hope you recover quickly.

Hope OP is recovering perfectly, something that does not kill you make you stronger.

Now; I like to agree with the quote above and I feel this statement is more or less correct, but it is against the logic, more speed more momentum and the harder inelastic collision of the rider against the pavement trees etc, unless it is somehow an elastic collision, that you would slide for long enough to reduce most of your momentum. It is how fast you come to an stop that is scary.

Does anyone else would like to shed light on this, discuss this please?

Thanks.