Foldy313

I crashed my bike Monday and I thought you might enjoy hearing about it.

I was riding through a parking lot across the street from our condo when it hit me I was on ice. I was thinking, "All right, my mountain bike tires are really digging in, unlike my old folding bike tires." And I was feeling good about myself.

But then, like it was in slow motion, I saw the front tire tilt to the left and then the whole bike was going down.

I've been having carpal tunnel in my left wrist, but I put it down to break my fall and wrenched it. Then my helmet glanced off the ice.

Again, I was feeling good about escaping relatively unscathed, when the ice started to crack and then broke.

Black parking lot water soaked my left foot and leg, and as I scrambled up and grabbed the bike, my right foot went through the ice.

My bike was fine, so I hurried home and changed my shoes and socks and left again. My pants started to freeze up on the way, but the pants in my bag were still dry and I still made it to work on time.

Le fin

CliffordK

Glad you're doing well. I hope you're doing well tonight too.

A year or two ago I was riding down my driveway... heard my neighbor's car alarm going off, and glanced that way. Somehow the bike slid out from underneath me (not enough driving on the drive,and wet fir needles are treacherous). I think banged up the shoulder and stretched some ligaments around the collar bone that time. Not enough to break anything, but enough to cause some pain for quite some time.

Nonetheless, that was a couple of days before Christmas, so I got back on the bike, with trailer, and rode the 16 miles to Mom's house. Then was off the bike for a few sore days before the return trip.

rumrunn6

ice is evil

AlmostTrick

Sorry you crashed, and glad you weren't hurt badly. Good job still making it to work on time, you are quite the warrior!

My last bike crash/fall was on ice. That was ten years and 30,XXX miles ago. *crosses fingers*

Leebo

OP, bought some studded tires yet?

ussprinceton

good thing you and your bike are fine after the crash

ksryder

Glad you're OK. Parking lot ice is treacherous. A couple weeks ago the temperature had gotten above freezing during the day, enough to start thawing things, but then dipped back to freezing when the sun went down.

I was riding home and took a shortcut through a parking lot that I take all the time, and failed to realize that the city doesn't de-ice parking lots, only the roads. I was going around a gentle left hand curve when suddenly I was just on the ground. You know those instantaenous crashes? One of those.

I was fine - just a bit of road rash -- and the bike was fine (non-drive side, thankfully). The worst part about those sorts of incidents as I get older is that I know I'm in for a couple weeks of being sore.

Winters aren't bad enough around here to warrant studded tires, so I'll just pay more attention and stick to treated surfaces now.

baldilocks

Glad your OK. I have a love hate relationship with ice. I hate that it is a problem with cycling but I've ice skated my whole life. I don't have studded tires yet either, and wonder If I want studded tires, fat bike or both. Your perseverance after getting wet is awesome.

Foldy313

Nah. I'm from the cheap/anti-theft school of commuting. I ride a mountain-bike shaped object by Huffy no one would want to take. But it has a wire basket up front, a Cloud 9 seat, and a rear rack/fender in back and suits me fine.

Foldy313

Thanks for the kind wishes, everyone. My wrist is just about back to normal. My crash was comical until I got wet. I shared it because I figured winter riders could relate and might share their own stories. As I'm sure you know, you've got to get back on the horse that throws you, even when the horse is ice and snow.

55murray

That this play had two acts was cool!

Leebo

Or just waiting until you break something? Look for used, 26 er studded tires can be had cheap or even free around these parts. Staying upright is important to me. Done 2 pavement body slams, not fun. YRMV.

fasthair

OK, so I will share mine then. This was my second year winter commuting and I think I've got it all figured out. Nice warm clothes, studded snow tires, fenders, bike working well, no frozen shift cables, winter bike #2 has disc brakes. I've got this winter bike thing handled.

Riding home from work after a good snow I have this hill on a four lane busy rode. As luck would have it there is a frontage road next to it so I always used it to get to the top of the hill. This required that I ride on a sidewalk for two blocks to get to the top and my street, one of the very few times I choose the sidewalk.

All the plows had been out doing their thing so you know how they pile up snow at driveways. As I approach the one lone drive crossing I don't think much about. I'll just climb over the top of it I think to myself. I get to it, pull the front end up to get over the pile and BANG I high side the crank on the top of the pile. I hit the ground on the top of my head so fast and so hard I was stunned as I sit there on my butt wondering WTH? I slowly pick myself up, thankfully nothing broke on me or the bike, hop back on and get home without further issues.

Fast forward a couple of weeks and I'm cutting through a lawn just off the bike path to get in parking lot. I see the pile of snow at the edge and think I can get over this one since it is much smaller. I guess I'm a slow learner. I didn't hit the ground as hard this time, more of a slow fall to the side. As I sit there on my butt, again(!), I ask myself, "You learn anything yet?"

So needless to say I don't try to ride over those piles of plowed snow any longer.

fasthair

rumrunn6

good share. reminds me, when I was a kid, I did something similar on my stingray, thinking I could blast through a pile of fall leaves. nope, front wheel jammed in the pile & threw me on the road, on the other side of the pile

Foldy313

Good story. Glad you're OK. The moment of impact and few moments after are scary. You're in shock and don't know how bad the damage is. I suppose if we learned our lessons we wouldn't do anything stupid like riding in winter. Thanks for sharing.

Foldy313

Thanks for the concern. Definitely don't want to break anything. I'll think about it. We have a shop here that has had lessons on how to make studded tires.

Foldy313

16 miles is maximum enduro. More power to you.

CliffordK

I'm not always doing maximum power... but 16M would be a short day (one-way that year).

Here was playing around on a mountain a few years ago.

The gate was closed, so there were a couple of Forest Service vehicles that passed me up there, but no other cars or bikes, so I suppose if something bad was to happen, it could have been really bad.




The first picture was having fun in the snow (side road), and I actually went down... soft enough that I just had a good laugh, got up and walked back to the main road.

In the second photo, there were some patches of ice on the road. I went over a couple of short patches of ice, but decided to get off and walk around that one.

it was straight, but I was about 20 miles from civilization, and about 70 miles from home. Not worth the risk.

That is a "MTB"... I just don't ride very fat tires.

GrainBrain

Glad to hear you're ok! Nothing makes a "mundane" winter ride more exciting then dipping a foot in water by accident! Somehow I'm always at least 45 minutes from home - the whole time just praying and pysching myself out "oh no it's going to be purple for sure!!"

Now I often put a pair of larger sandwich baggies on my feet when I go out. I'll wear them between two pairs of socks, works well.

Here's a picture from my last real surprise fall - shallow turn on a snowy path. The front tire tracked fine but the rear caught ice and !whack! down I go, with my bar end acting like a paper punch. Now there's a vent hole in my bar mitt!

79pmooney

A couple of tricks tire-wise to do the best you can without studs. Seek out flexible sided tires with little tread pattern and grippy rubber. (You want tires that wear down really fast.) And drop the pressure a lot. So much you can feel the tires squirm on a hard corner on dry roads. (A very good reason to have your bike set up with a pump that works. Going home in the late afternoon after all the ice is gone is so much nicer with that 20 pounds put back in.)

I don't mountain bike, so I have no tire suggestions. I'd go to a shop with a good selection of tires, ask about the grippiest and go feel the tires looking for a soft, flexible feel and rubber your hand almost sticks to. (You are trying to make your bike the equivalent of an animal that lives on ice, with really nice big, soft paws.)

Ben

Foldy313

Great analogy! "I'd like the polar bearish tires, please. Unless you can give me a discount on the wolverinish ones."

Foldy313

Nice bike, CliffordK. Thanks for sharing the pics.

fietsbob

Studded bike tires from Finland, bought street crampons, after a prat-fall, on a black ice covered rest area parking lot..

So now i'm prepared for when I get off the bike, and everything is icy.. on the bike and off..

fasthair

Had to look that up. You must not ride clipped in? You will enjoy the studded tires. What tires an crampons did you buy?

I found that I seek out ice at times because it is smoother, quieter and easier to ride then the brown beat up snow from cars and the snow plows. One of these days I want to go ride across a frozen lake just because I can. It just sounds like fun to me. Yeah I know, I'm not right in the head

fasthair

fietsbob

LL Bean carries Stabil for street shoes https://www.stabilgear.com/ another Maine company.

Suomi Nokian is the tire company Home | Suomi Tyres

47/50-559 M&G W160 T219281 https://www.suomityres.com/pdf/Suomityres_ENG.pdf






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