"This was supposed to be the Summer of George, Jerry, The Summer of George!"

Two Saturday's ago I went out on a not unusual ride. It was a beautiful morning, wind at my back and the sun shining. This particular route incorporated a 12 mile stretch of MUP along the Little Miami River in Dayton Oh. I was feeling strong and the tailwind was encouraging my 20mph velocity. I was approaching a couple on their shiny new E-Bikes and called out to them "on your left, coming from behind". They accommodated my command and I proceeded to move to pass them. First, I passed the husband and thanked him and then without any notification and in a split second the wife locked up her brakes and proceeded to jack-knife her very heavy and quick machine. I only had a moment to respond and hyper-quickly swerved left of the lady/bike so as not to kill her/me and I had a clear path to escape when suddenly appeared the largest Canadian goose in the city. There was no where to go except dead center into the belly of that goose and with that collision I lost control of my Aethos and landed on my right side directly on the asphalt. Most of the force of the fall went through my right buttock and hip, resulting in a fracture of the inferior pubic ramus. It is pretty amazing how the inertia moved through my body and resulted in this injury. I also road-rashed my right arm/shoulder and dented my helmet (again life saver).

Some Good Samaritan cyclists stopped to attend to me and two of them helped me climb over a ravine to get to an access road where my wife's son was able to retrieve me and get me to the ER. 7 hours later I was able to go home with my sweet wife after much testing. I have mulled this accident over and over in my head. I often tell people that I ride on the road because the danger is less than on the MUP. The proliferation of E-bikes on these trails has only reinforced my desire to be on them less. I ultimately blame myself for not having a clear vision of what about to occur and perhaps my speed could have been a bit less. I do know that people are riding these very heavy/fast machines and they don't really have control of them.

In this time of recovery, which is quite painful both physically and mentally, I am trying to practice gratitude for all the blessings in life.

Thanks for listening/reading

Ouch! Hope you heal up asap.

I feel your pain- literally- in 2012 I had a similar crash except I don't know why I crashed, but landed on my right side, broke my clavicle and fractured pelvis, in addition to the ramus I chipped off a piece of the anterior pelvic bone, No surgery for the pelvis, clavicle repaired. Helmet had a crack and although I didn't lose consciousness I lost obviously the memory of what happened and why. Recovery was a walker for 10 days, a crutch for 3 weeks including walker my daughter down the aisle, and a cane for 3 weeks. Recovery one the bike was initially a recumbent at the gym, then finally after about 3 months back on the bike. You'll get there, don't lose hope, sorry you had to go through this because of stupid goose.

Very sorry, and I hope you have a speedy recovery.

Did the e-bike people stop to help?

Did the goose get terminated?

good description. concise & I got shivers down my spine. recalled my own crashes. jack knifing a front wheel will send anyone down. did the lady crash? I understand you did not jack knife. did the freaking goose survive? got x-rays to share?

looks very painful

because I know everyone's injury is different, what is your prognosis?

Wow. That really sucks. Heal fast!

I treat bikes/riders the same way I treat cars/trucks... like a damn snob. I am definitely more comfortable riding by a well-kitted up cyclist on a high-end road bike than I am a cargo shorts-cladded dude on a hybrid, or worse, someone (gulp) my age on an e-bike. Like the beater Altima with purple tinted windows, I just assume they're doing to do something dumb and the dumbest time... and plan accordingly.

Also yeah - MUTs suck.

Three evenings ago I had similar conversation at a neighborhood party. MUPS are dangerous for fast moving bicycles, therefore I avoid them unless on my loaded touring rig. Fast riders should not be on a trail designed for 12mph max traffic. Live and learn. The recovery will come, just not at a speed that will agree with you.

Very sorry to hear this. Hope you heal up soon. But if you have to have a season-ending crash, at least this one has an epic story that should be good for a while until ("We heard that one already!!")

Wonder if the goose has an umbrella liability policy?

When I used to commute, there is a section where I could go on a MUP or a city street. After a few rides on the MUP I decided the street is safer, as the cars are much more predictable than the bikes and pedestrians on the MUP. I now avoid MUPs whenever possible.

The E Bike people did stop. The husband was helpful. The wife was making a lot comments deflecting off of her losing control.

The goose is cooked. Yes, very dead goose.

The lady miraculously did not crash although I was sure she was going down. Goose was terminated. X-rays are not available on MyChart due to recent hacker attack on local hospital network. Fracture of Inferior Pubic Ramus. It could have been much worse and when I arrived at hospital they started prepping for surgery as they thought is was likely lateral compression fracture. I am basically on walker and waiting it out for 3 months or so.

Thank you. I've been riding a long time..but you are spot on about assuming they aren't doing correct. I always do this with family setting/children and walkers. Didn't see this one coming.

I AM that cargo shorts-cladded dude on a hybrid cruiser. And some riders assume I have the corresponding skill set. But several seasons of racing taught me to hold my line when I'm around other riders, especially on a shared-use path. I admit I'm an outlier in more ways than one.

I've studied bicyclist crashes during my professional career (but fortunately not much by firsthand experience). Unfortunately, bicyclist crashes that don't involve a non-parked motor vehicle don't make it into agency crash databases or statistics, and so aren't studied in much detail. One of the few ways to collect this data with any accuracy is by analyzing anonymized emergency room admission data where available. ER data has in the past shown some interesting findings, including that motor vehicle impacts make up a relatively small percentage of bicyclist crashes (but with disproportionately high severity in some cases), but bicycle-bicycle crashes (which OP barely avoided), impacts with fixed objects such as poles and bollards, and bicycle-animal crashes (which the OP did not avoid, alas) are all causes of significant numbers of injury crashes. And that single-rider "just riding along" falls can comprise up to half of all injury crashes for bicyclists.

Yes and thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you for sharing your story and empathy. My biggest hurdle is lack of endorphins and frustration with just doing the basics.

Very glad, all things considered, that you are okay.

Some things we only learn by having the accident. It creates a life event that sticks with you from then on. Mine is fawns. When I see one of them alone on the edge of the road or MUP, I slow down to almost a walking pace. And three times since, I've been safe because I do.

but, is the bike okay?

The proliferation of E-bikes and untrained riders is growing rapidly. Lesson learned to now to avoid MUP at all cost...unless riding with my wife...pace goes down quite a bit.

Supplements: Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc, Glucosamine, Chondroitin, D3, no NSAIDS for first few weeks, think good thoughts...

And what happened to your bike?

Duck, Duck, ... Goose!!!!

or should I say

Bike, Bike, ... Goose.

Feel better.

Good advice on supplements. Already in my daily regimen. Bike damage was contained to handlebar tape and Force being scraped off the right shifter. Since I haven't really been outside, I still need to inspect. Love that bike.

Thank you.

Seems to be only cosmetic damage. I am interested in the new Force AXS shifters. Bike shop quoted $750 for the pair. Probably will hold off until they no longer function.

I did ask a colleague of mine to order a couple of Van Rysel helmets for me from Decathlon and he is shipping to me. They don't sell in the U.S.

Scary horrible ! Do whatever it takes to get well. Resisting the temptation to rush it is always the most difficult part for me.