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#1
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I crash into religion
Today I fell down hard on my road bike. I figure I was going about 25
mph when I hit new paint at the end of a wooden bridge I’ve been over dozens of times never finding any traction issues. However, sometime recently, the City decided to put new wood and paint on the bridge. Add some dew at 0600h and it made for a slippery surface. I skidded sideways and then, when I hit the tarmac again, I high sided. I was not wearing a helmet, but have good reflexes in the curl and roll. I ended up with a terrible case of road rash, my eyeglasses embedded in my cheek (the lens came out and stuck into my cheek right at the cheekbone) and a lot of debris embedded into my muscles plus other injuries. I truncated the ride returning 20 miles instead of the planned 40. My bike sustained minor injuries with the saddle being the most badly damaged. Evaluating the crash, I figure that I may have been more badly hurt wearing a helmet, but ironically, I’ll will buy and from now on wear a helmet when riding. This sounds paradoxical, but here is my logic. The only place I hit was my face from the cheek down. I hit the glasses very hard, scraped away a lot of skin from my face, nose, upper lip and chin. There are other lower body injuries as well including a badly hurt right arm and leg. I would guess that had I hit just that way with a hat on, the visor would have exerted rotational force on my neck making for, perhaps, much more serious injuries. However, what will remain with me for a long time, and it was the first thing I remembered when I woke up there on the bike trail, was the sound of my face / head hitting. It was a loud crack-like sound. I had some time to review things on the ride back home and then waiting in the hospital urgent care to think on things. I was mentally unprepared for the suddenness and ferocity of this crash. Had I hit higher up on my head I surely would have had a great chance of sustaining serious brain injury. Instead of a little nap and a hideous headache now, (along with at least two weeks off) I may have been looking at permanent injury or even death. It was the realization that even at bicycle speeds, something I dismissed before, one can get badly hurt. Yes, I’m still opposed to mandatory helmet laws, but I doubt you’ll be seeing me ride without one from now on. |
#2
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I crash into religion
Paul Cassel wrote:
Today I fell down hard on my road bike. I figure I was going about 25 mph when I hit new paint at the end of a wooden bridge I’ve been over dozens of times never finding any traction issues. However, sometime recently, the City decided to put new wood and paint on the bridge. Add some dew at 0600h and it made for a slippery surface. I skidded sideways and then, when I hit the tarmac again, I high sided. I was not wearing a helmet, but have good reflexes in the curl and roll. I ended up with a terrible case of road rash, my eyeglasses embedded in my cheek (the lens came out and stuck into my cheek right at the cheekbone) and a lot of debris embedded into my muscles plus other injuries. I truncated the ride returning 20 miles instead of the planned 40. My bike sustained minor injuries with the saddle being the most badly damaged. Evaluating the crash, I figure that I may have been more badly hurt wearing a helmet, but ironically, I’ll will buy and from now on wear a helmet when riding. This sounds paradoxical, but here is my logic. The only place I hit was my face from the cheek down. I hit the glasses very hard, scraped away a lot of skin from my face, nose, upper lip and chin. There are other lower body injuries as well including a badly hurt right arm and leg. I would guess that had I hit just that way with a hat on, the visor would have exerted rotational force on my neck making for, perhaps, much more serious injuries. However, what will remain with me for a long time, and it was the first thing I remembered when I woke up there on the bike trail, was the sound of my face / head hitting. It was a loud crack-like sound. I had some time to review things on the ride back home and then waiting in the hospital urgent care to think on things. I was mentally unprepared for the suddenness and ferocity of this crash. Had I hit higher up on my head I surely would have had a great chance of sustaining serious brain injury. Instead of a little nap and a hideous headache now, (along with at least two weeks off) I may have been looking at permanent injury or even death. It was the realization that even at bicycle speeds, something I dismissed before, one can get badly hurt. Yes, I’m still opposed to mandatory helmet laws, but I doubt you’ll be seeing me ride without one from now on. A visor will break off (quite easily) before "exerting rotational force on {your} neck". Good decision; questionable reasoning. Bill "glad you weren't hurt worse; heal quickly and fully" S. |
#3
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I crash into religion
On Sat, 06 May 2006 15:38:26 -0600, Paul Cassel
wrote: Today I fell down hard on my road bike. [big ol' snip] Dude, I'm sorry you got all banged up. May you heal quickly and ride again soon. Not fun.... |
#4
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I crash into religion
Glad to hear that you came away with repairable damage. My long
experience with oh-s**t moments (including one this AM that was of a non-bike nature) is that you don't know when or if they're going to happen; all you can do is figure what the odd look like to you, and decide what you want to do about it. Sometimes, that's nothing; sometimes it isn't. To each his own. Ride on! -- Typoes are a feature, not a bug. Some gardening required to reply via email. Words processed in a facility that contains nuts. |
#5
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I crash into religion
Wooden bridges are deathtraps. The slime that builds up on them can be
a terror as well. Last fall I took a spill on one due to similar loss of traction. One second I was spinning nicely, the next I was laying on my hip going WTF?? I got a hip bruise and lost a couple nice old Cinelli end plugs. Damn you bridge! Now I slow down and only coast across wooden bridges unless I'm positively sure they're dry. You'll heal up fine. I've taken a couple to the face, including going headfirst into a snowbank at night, losing my glasses in the snow, and having to ride home, one-handed to keep the blood from gushing out my eyebrow. Fun for all! Commuting as extreme sport! w00t! |
#6
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I crash into religion
landotter wrote:
Wooden bridges are deathtraps. The slime that builds up on them can be a terror as well. Last fall I took a spill on one due to similar loss of traction. One second I was spinning nicely, the next I was laying on my hip going WTF?? I got a hip bruise and lost a couple nice old Cinelli end plugs. Damn you bridge! Now I slow down and only coast across wooden bridges unless I'm positively sure they're dry. You'll heal up fine. I've taken a couple to the face, including going headfirst into a snowbank at night, losing my glasses in the snow, and having to ride home, one-handed to keep the blood from gushing out my eyebrow. Fun for all! Commuting as extreme sport! w00t! It shouldn't be a blood sport. Not every accident is avoidable, but most are, including this one. Bike paths often have unique hazards, traps for the unwary. How many more crashes will be caused by this particular situation? I hope the OP reports this. |
#7
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I crash into religion
On Sun, 07 May 2006 07:23:42 -0400, Peter Cole
wrote: landotter wrote: Wooden bridges are deathtraps. The slime that builds up on them can be a terror as well. Last fall I took a spill on one due to similar loss of traction. One second I was spinning nicely, the next I was laying on my hip going WTF?? I got a hip bruise and lost a couple nice old Cinelli end plugs. Damn you bridge! Now I slow down and only coast across wooden bridges unless I'm positively sure they're dry. You'll heal up fine. I've taken a couple to the face, including going headfirst into a snowbank at night, losing my glasses in the snow, and having to ride home, one-handed to keep the blood from gushing out my eyebrow. Fun for all! Commuting as extreme sport! w00t! It shouldn't be a blood sport. Not every accident is avoidable, but most are, including this one. Bike paths often have unique hazards, traps for the unwary. How many more crashes will be caused by this particular situation? I hope the OP reports this. Dear Peter, (AP-Pueblo, CO) "Authorities were informed of a recent 6 a.m. bicycle crash involving a rider who slipped and fell at 25 mph on a dew-covered wooden bridge that had recently been re-painted." "Signs, warning that any surface may be slippery when covered with early morning dew, are being posted at 100-foot intervals along the 20-mile ride." "In related news, Carl Fogel announced that he was damned glad that Paul Cassel wasn't hurt worse." "Mr. Fogel added something incoherent about being up at an ungodly hour himself, having been struck by a thought about hanging a biccycle wheel from its upper spoke in an unrelated spoke-testing thread, stated that the accident confirmed his long-held opinions about early rising, and went back to bed at 5:52 a.m. MST." Cheers, Carl Fogel |
#8
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I crash into religion
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#10
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I crash into religion
Per Paul Cassel:
I surely would have had a great chance of sustaining serious brain injury. Instead of a little nap and a hideous headache now, (along with at least two weeks off) I may have been looking at permanent injury or even death. My recollection is that you still might be looking at death. Something about subdural hematomas swelling up after the fact. Maybe somebody who actually knows something can comment on this - I think it's a reasonably serious consideration anytime you get whacked in the melon. -- PeteCresswell |
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