I was riding my most-common route (31 miles through beautiful NE scenery). I was feeling fine, riding fine. I started at 9:30 AM, it was sunny and dry.

I was riding on River Road and BOOM! I'm sitting on my ass on the pavement. I am surrounded by people, cars are stopped. "Do you want help to stand up?" "Why don't you sit in my car?" Some EMT type is feeling my head and neck (maybe he arrived in the Police SUV?)

Where's my bike? What happened? I am even more clueless than normal. Obviously I must have had an accident, but that's based 100% on deduction.

I stood (with help) to sit in someone's car. I noticed I'd left a tiny blood mark on the upholstery: Oh, I have a raspberry on my right forearm. EMT's arrive. Lots of official checking out my body and head. "What date is it? Who's President?" They fit a neck brace and load me into the ambulance. "No, we can't take you bike, the Police will take it."

What happened? Policeman: "An observer says your front wheel snapped sideways and you went over the handlebars."

At Emerson Hospital about 11:30. CAT scan, X-Rays, then an IV, etc. They finally let me try to stand - it hurts too much to stand on my right leg. I fractured the right "horn" on my pelvic girdle. Nothing to be done, just heal. So I left using a walker. VERY hard, pain explodes when I move occasionally but I haven't figured out what motion I need to avoid.

Obviously the fork cracked, or the handlebars collapsed, or the wheel failed. Kathy and I just got the bike from the Carlisle Police. Nope, the tire is still holding pressure. Everything appears normal. Now that I have the Garmin GPS computer, I can see that I went from 15 mph to zero in front of 241 River Road. And the GPS shows my bike (with the GPS attached) flew left, across the street. My helmet is trashed from the top right towards the back. My right arm and right side my left calf got scraped. Big bruises on the back of my right scapula and my right hip.

Lessons:

1. I'm not as competent as I thought. I've ridden about 20 K miles in the last 6 years (when I started). Except when I got distracted while leading 70 riders on one ride (hit curb, broke hip), I have not had any accidents. Even though I am somewhat more adventuresome in how I ride! I can only remember about 3 close-calls, and they were mainly in my first year.
2. I need to examine the road in front of 241 River Road (100 yards beyond Skelton Road) to see if I can find a hole in the pavement. But regardless, I study the road ahead when I ride - I almost never hit a bump or hole I didn't see.
3. My concussion wiped out the previous 30-60 seconds (?) of memory and slowed my thinking immediately after I became conscious. FWIW, I had the same sort of concussion about 40 years ago, riding a motorcycle, and doing an endo on dirt in a highway construction zone.
4. I am hoping that recovery is swift! Although I have not recovered much after 24 hours.
5. Adjusting to being an invalid is horrible. Last night it took me 33 minutes to get out of bed, pee, and get back in. I cannot predict when a forward, backward, bending, or twisting movement is going to hurt significantly. Ibuprofen and Percocet help (I think).

PS - I know this is drivel for most. Maybe it will be useful to someone. FYI, I'm 70, I ride 4K miles per year, my speed has dropped with age. So I'm lucky I was only going 15 mph, but I'm unlucky that I heal more slowly! So that's my tale of woe. Take pleasure that you are reading this, not experiencing it.
I look forward to getting back riding again. I will be curious to see if it changes how I ride.

Ouch, Sorry to hear. Are you thinking that there's a chance that you were actually hit from the right side?

Scary stuff. Hope you have a speedy recovery. I've had a couple of concussions over the course of my life and it's not fun

Wow. Glad you're OK. Can't imagine how scary that must be, biking one moment and then surrounded by EMT the next.

Do you ride without hands?

About 35 years ago I was practising riding without hands... gentle curve.. wheel snapped sideways... over the bars. And that was the last time I rode without hands.

Any history of seizures, blackouts, unexplained crashes, etc? Long HOT thirsty ride?

Anyway, I'm glad you seem to be recovering.

Just to state the obvious, although you probably are aware of it already: concussions should not be taken lightly; don't cut short the rest period your doc has prescribed. If care is not taken, highly disruptive after-effects can last for a long, long time.

Hoping for a complete recovery!

Wow man, sorry to hear about your wreck. The scary thing for me would be the fact that there's no apparent reason for your spill. The "observer" rules out a car and the bike is fine so I'd have to guess road imperfection, some type of blackout/seizure, or the dreaded squirrel! I would think that if you were about to hit something like a crossing animal or unexpected pot hole you would have said to yourself "OH S***!!!" and recalled the obstacle afterwards, maybe not? I'd be looking into a blackout from something like low blood sugar, heat exhaustion, or some kind of neurological tick. Scary regardless, hope you get well soon.

I've had some pretty bad accidents (car, skiiing, bmx) -- and I've always been able to piece things together.

If you don't find a road imperfection, I'm going to go along with what dvdslw said -- some kind of blackout lead to the loss of control.

Either way, you got better stuff to worry about right now, like how to get around, how to shower, how to sit down to poop...that stuff all sucks really bad when you're hobbled up. Just rest for now man and stay in touch with your doctor. Eat as much as you can -- your body is going to need the extra protein to repair.

So sorry the read this...I crashed at 16 mph onto my head..No memory of the crash or the next Three days.

Decided to Never do that again.Sold my 5 two wheelers, bought a trike.

1000+ to this. Like an idiot I rode over 100 miles the day after wrecking out and being knocked unconscious. In fact i went to work for 5 days before finally seeing the doc. I still have memory issues, can't focus, etc 4 years later. Repetitive concussions ( I've had at least 1/2 dozen I know of) really mess you up. I'll never be the same. Take it very, very easy, heal up and let the brain rest.

I am pretty sure that the brain takes 30-60 seconds before it "stores" info. So a concussion* seems a lot more probable than a blackout or seizure. I've never had either. I don't think a squirrel would do it on a straight road - I know I've ridden over chipmunks and I think I've run over a squirrel. I weigh 230!

* "Concussion" can range from trivial to a coma, for all I know. I consider losing consciousness a practical way to determine the severity of some. The responder who lost 3 days [my sincere condolences] obviously had a worse experience than my 2-5 minutes. But I've read that those memories often don't get stored in a situation like this. I personally experienced this 40 years ago, one of my best cyclist friends just told me that it had happened to him, and I personally observed a woman have the same thing happen to her (paceline, hit hole, endo, I barely was able to avoid her).

Sorry to hear about your accident. Getting around with a fractured pelvis is tough.

I found it easier to use a special bottle from bedside during first week but also had cast on same leg.

Also, a long belt you can throw around foot and pull to help move your leg can be used if you aren't able to bother someone for help.

Hope you heal soon.

That reminds me very much of an accident I had several years ago.

At the time, I commuted about 12 miles from Clinton, MA to Marlborough. I'd been commuting on my '85 Raleigh Alyeska all summer. I think it may have been into the fall by the time I had the accident; it was getting dark earlier.

Long story short: I don't remember anything from leaving work that evening until I woke up in my own bed the next morning with a hospital bracelet on my wrist, still a little muddle-headed. Someone driving by found me on the side of the road in Berlin (conscious, I think, but concussed) and took me to the hospital. The hospital diagnosed a concussion and sent me home with my then-girlfriend. When my hip pain didn't go away after a couple weeks, I got x-rays and found that I'd cracked my pelvis (I lived in a 3rd floor apartment at the time).

Anyway, there were no witnesses that I know of, and I'll probably never know what happened. It's the only concussion I've ever had. I've never had seizures or blackouts. I'd left work a bit late, and was riding home in twilight, I think. Also, I think I'd donated blood at work that day, which could certainly be the cause, but I'll never know. I was in my late 30s/early 40s at the time.

had the exact same experience several years ago when a pit bull attacked me riding. Was going 20mph, next thing I know I am standing with cuts and bruises all over, trashed helmet with deep lacerations to forehead and a broken 1st rib ( which indicates substantial force). Zero memory. On the upside, it made me realize that if I ever undergo a really serious potentially life ending accident, there is no perception of pain or the event.
I have cared for hundreds and hundreds of severe traumas and to a person, not one recalled the event.
Good luck and get better.

Cool looking trike. How do you like it? Fast? slow?

2003 GreenSpeed GTO Touring Trike $6000 when new.
Greenspeed Recumbents GTO Trike Packing Instructions

It is Slow because of the motor. Indy TDC 2015


10 weeks after my crash had to have Emergency Brain Surgery to Stop and Remove the Blood from my brain.
TBI folks have fatigue and low Endurance.
Rest i this year to hope I gain some speed and endurance.

Just bought this for Speed:

So sorry to hear about the accident. I hope you recover quickly.

I had a similar crash last week when the fender stay go caught in my front wheel and seized it. I went OTB, landed on my right shoulder, then my head. The result was a separated AC joint, some soft tissue damage, and a sprained thumb. Fortunately not the severe head trauma you experienced. I remember quite vividly thinking, Oh *****! And then crawling off the road, rolling onto the grassy boulevard.

Any sort of front end failure is catastrophic. This is what I think about all the time now, what else could fail up front?

A concussion would be the most probable cause for a short-term memory lapse.

The question remains on how your wheel apparently flipped sideways and you flew over the bars.

With 1 or 2 hands on the bars, that doesn't just happen. Road debris? Pavement Cracks? Storm grate? If there was no other obvious cause, then one has to wonder if something happened with the rider before the crash.

The witness might help, but it probably all happened so fast that they might not be very reliable.

I will say that when my front wheel flipped sideways (zero hands) years ago, it trashed my rim, and I had to walk that mile back home. But, wheels are stronger now.

Have you done a careful inspection of the bike looking for a front wheel out of true, or signs of debris impacting the spokes or back of the fork?

As someone who's also broken their hip . . . sorry bud. Do everything you can to simply not move your leg. There likely won't be any pain-free leg movements for a while. My wife went to some medical supply store and bought this massive triangular-shaped pillow which was a God-send. I used to to prop myself up in bed, and sometimes used it when I was laying down to prop my leg up. Perhaps that could also help you get more comfortable as you recover. Best wishes.

Wishing you a speedy and full recovery!

Both hands on bars (always unless I'm mopping my brow or something). According to my GPS, the accident started 100 yards (274') beyond a cross street. I need to inspect, but I know there's a patch rough pavement in that area (I ride this route a lot). I don't have much faith in the eyewitness, but it's obvious I went over the bars. I have not checked the wheel for true yet, but it's NOT grossly out of true (I had the policeman remove the wheel to put it in the car). I did inspect the tire and rim visually - no blemishes, no scrapes, still fully pumped. [FWIW, I find this almost incomprehensible. (Unless I find a hole big enough to sink a tire, something I've actually observed once.)]

I have no idea if there were cars around, but I always stand to soak up bumps when there are cars around. If not, I swing wide around the rough area.

Keep in mind, I have 20K miles of experience riding this bike in the area. My ONLY accident was when I got distracted talking on a group ride (70 riders on a Wednesday - I was undoubtedly too excited for my own good). Almost no close calls.

And, let me be clear: I am trying as hard as possible to find some explanation so I don't fear this happening again.

There might be a clue in this, or the rough gravel. It is not unknown for a hand to slip off the handlebars forward, so the immediate effect is to turn the front wheel sharply. It might be that in wiping your brow, the other hand slipped off the bars, or the gravel was rough enough for one of your hand to slip.

Time for a test trike ride.I like my latest one.
I had 57,000 safe miles when I crashed.

OP: has your doc advised you to not read or look too much at screens for a while?

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