Originally Posted by Doug64 (Post 19808517)

One thing that will prevent many arm and collar bone injuries is not to use your arms to break your fall. It is best to keep your hands on the bars and roll onto you shoulder as you come in contact with the ground. Using the body to decelerate the speed, and lessen the impact of a fall is a basic principle used in Judo.

Watch the way pro cyclists react in crashes especially in slow motion replays. Most often the ones that come out of the crash with their collar bone in one piece, keep their arms tucked to their sides and hands on the bars.

Originally Posted by FBinNY (Post 19812845)

+1, It's counter intuitive since most people think in terms of protecting themselves by using their hands, but the "safest" way to crash is to ride the bike all the way to the ground.

Otherwise, most spills are to the side and if you "ride" the bike to the ground, you'll take the brunt of the impact on your shoulder, and to a lesser extent on your ribs, hip, and thighs. If you have normal bone strength and muscular padding, odds are you'll walk away and be complaining about road rash for a few days.

Originally Posted by HawkOwl (Post 19813252)

Totally subscribe to the posts on knowing how to fall. My years on the judo mat have benefited me in most every way. A previous poster talked about the Thousand Repetition Rule. It is true.

But, the fall that changed my life was slipping on the ice. Survived lots of big and little falls. But that one that broke the figurative camel's back. Impact was flat on back at shoulder level.

So, learn how to fall, practice often. Be strong and rested so your body can react, and heal if needed. But, accept that you will fall and come to grips with it.

Originally Posted by WNCGoater (Post 19813140)

Maybe we should develop some "clipless grips" and gloves. Then not only would we not be able to get our feet loose from the pedals, but also unable to let go of the bars and have no choice but "ride it to the ground".

Originally Posted by canklecat (Post 19813739)

This is derived from Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hour rule, which Gladwell himself says has been distorted and misrepresented.

In a 2014 interview Gladwell was quoted as saying:


In a recent interview Gladwell said one of his main points was that such dedication to achieving excellence is all-consuming, requiring a support base to free that person from all distractions in pursuit of a single goal. That pursuit of accomplishment comes at the expense of family, friends, coworkers and a community who take on larger burdens to free up the individual to achieve personal goals.

This is an unpopular corollary to the 10,000 hour rule because it contradicts the concept of individual accomplishment, the one man army, pull yourself up by your bootstrappers, the rugged individual carving out a niche at no expense to others,

And, again, mere repetition does not accomplish excellence, clarity or even any improvement whatsoever. If anything improper repetition reinforces errors and leads to physical injuries or mental blocks that are extraordinarily difficult to repair.

The body is less adaptable with age. There are greater risks of brain injury even from impacts that don't directly impact the head.

Add to that the psychological barriers involving painful impacts to the body. It changes even very experienced martial artists. Some boxers experience impaired cognitive abilities and slowed reflexes. Others become gun shy, mentally scarred by knockout losses or painful, grueling fights. Rather than learning from those experiences and developing better defenses, they instinctively and reflexively do exactly the wrong things that make them more vulnerable to repeated knockouts or injuries. Other athletes involved in non-contact sports and activities never recover mentally from crashes or serious injuries from accidents, collisions, etc.

So I'm skeptical of the notion of 50+ casual cyclists and amateur athletes learning to "roll with a fall" or any other method that demands physical mastery involving a complex stew of reflexes, coordination, strength, flexibility and an instinctive mindset.

I suspect that we often give ourselves credit for happenstances, falling the right way accidentally despite ourselves, and selectively forgetting the times we screwed up. If we crash and emerge unscathed, we congratulate ourselves on our youthful reflexes and instincts. If we're injured, we chalk it up to unavoidable circumstances. That's what enables us to pursue potentially risky activities in the first place.