Today's bike injury tales, in two chapters

OK, I suffered what some would call a "serious bicycling injury" today.

Chapter one: Early in the morning I was grabbing my folded bike down in the
basement to take it to a day-long visit an hour away. I scraped my knuckle as
I grabbed the bike. When I tossed it into the back of the car, I saw a drop of
blood fall into the car. That's when I saw I was bleeding very nicely from not
a scrape, but a 20mm slice.

I washed it out, although the blood was already doing a pretty good job of that,
then grabbed a box of band-aids and a roll of paper towels. My wife drove while I applied pressure and kept the hand elevated. I soaked one wad of paper towels
before switching to a second wad, but the bleeding slowed way down.

An hour away at our destination, it was still seeping slightly. Worse, if I moved the finger, the slice re-opened. There was no way for band-aids or
steri-strips to hold it closed. I ended up at a nearby clinic getting three
stitches.

According to the standards of at least one "Danger! Danger!" study, this is a
serious bike related injury. Some part of the bike (the plastic bottle cage, I
think) cut me; and I saw a medical professional. Note, Joerg, no car was
involved.

Chapter two: In the clinic, the nurse who took my (very normal) vitals and pre-
cleaned the wound said "My boyfriend is a cyclist. He keeps wanting met to
ride with him, but I'm too afraid to ride on the roads. He's been hit three
times, and one of them made him fall and break his wrist."

Me: "How did he get hit?"

She: "They were all passing him way too close."

Me: "You know, a lot of riders don't know that the law allows them to ride
near the center of a lane if it's too narrow to share. If he does that, the
drivers will almost always wait until it's clear, then go way around."

She: "Oh, he rides _right_ on the white line!"

I tried to tell her to have him read _Street Smarts_ or something else that
would teach him where to ride. But I could tell she wasn't the least bit
interested. For that couple, like many others, riding will happen only at the
road's edge, and will [therefore] be very scary and dangerous.

- Frank Krygowski

On Tuesday, July 11, 2017 at 3:54:09 PM UTC-4, Frank Krygowski wrote:
Snipped
Chapter two: In the clinic, the nurse who took my (very normal) vitals and pre-
cleaned the wound said "My boyfriend is a cyclist. He keeps wanting met to
ride with him, but I'm too afraid to ride on the roads. He's been hit three
times, and one of them made him fall and break his wrist."

Me: "How did he get hit?"

She: "They were all passing him way too close."

Me: "You know, a lot of riders don't know that the law allows them to ride
near the center of a lane if it's too narrow to share. If he does that, the
drivers will almost always wait until it's clear, then go way around."

She: "Oh, he rides _right_ on the white line!"

I tried to tell her to have him read _Street Smarts_ or something else that
would teach him where to ride. But I could tell she wasn't the least bit
interested. For that couple, like many others, riding will happen only at the
road's edge, and will [therefore] be very scary and dangerous.

- Frank Krygowski

I see so many bicyclist either a) riding the fog line or b) riding in a bicycle lane that's painted rigt in the door zone of parled cars. I refuse to ride in such a bicycle lane unless there are no cars parked in it or if I don't intend to make a left turn at a nearby intersection. It's surprising (or maybe not)how hard it can be to get into a traffic lane from a right hand bicycle lane if you want to man=ke a left turn. I find that using a hand signal to turn left when attempting to merge into the traffic lane works wonders and most drivers will let me in. However on busy streets in rush hour that signalling may not matter much and you're stuck in that dumb right hand bicycle lane.

Weird too that some drivers think that bicyclists are NEVER allowed to come out of those bicycle lanes.

Joerg says that he rides ONLY in segragated bicycle lanes or single track. I often wonder how he gets to those areas in the first place if riding a bicycle is so dangerous. Does he teleport himself and the bicycle to where the bicycle lane/trails start?

Cheers

On Tue, 11 Jul 2017 12:54:06 -0700 (PDT), Frank Krygowski
wrote:

OK, I suffered what some would call a "serious bicycling injury" today.

Chapter one: Early in the morning I was grabbing my folded bike down in the
basement to take it to a day-long visit an hour away. I scraped my knuckle as
I grabbed the bike. When I tossed it into the back of the car, I saw a drop of
blood fall into the car. That's when I saw I was bleeding very nicely from not
a scrape, but a 20mm slice.

I washed it out, although the blood was already doing a pretty good job of that,
then grabbed a box of band-aids and a roll of paper towels. My wife drove while I applied pressure and kept the hand elevated. I soaked one wad of paper towels
before switching to a second wad, but the bleeding slowed way down.

An hour away at our destination, it was still seeping slightly. Worse, if I moved the finger, the slice re-opened. There was no way for band-aids or
steri-strips to hold it closed. I ended up at a nearby clinic getting three
stitches.

According to the standards of at least one "Danger! Danger!" study, this is a
serious bike related injury. Some part of the bike (the plastic bottle cage, I
think) cut me; and I saw a medical professional. Note, Joerg, no car was
involved.

Well of course it is proof that those vicious two wheel devils are
dangerious. Why, even when you treat them benignly they are poised to
savage you any time you give them half a chance.

But, had you had a blindly bright light installed on the demon machine
it would have probably protected you. At least sufficiently that you
might not have had to visit an emergency clinic for treatment.

However, I suspect that the underlying cause was that you had
neglected to wear your bicycling helmet when approaching the machine.
Had you been wearing your safety hat AND had the bright there is no
doubt that you would have been safe.

--
Cheers,

John B.

On Tue, 11 Jul 2017 12:54:06 -0700 (PDT), Frank Krygowski
wrote:

OK, I suffered what some would call a "serious bicycling injury" today.

Chapter one: Early in the morning I was grabbing my folded bike down in the
basement to take it to a day-long visit an hour away. I scraped my knuckle as
I grabbed the bike. When I tossed it into the back of the car, I saw a drop of
blood fall into the car. That's when I saw I was bleeding very nicely from not
a scrape, but a 20mm slice.

It's not a "serious bicycling injury". You were not riding the
bicycle at the time of the accident. For example, walking your
bicycle and getting clobbered by a car is not a bicycling related
accident. To be classified as a bicycling related injury, I would
expect you to have been sitting on or above the saddle, and moving
under pedal locomotion.

I washed it out, although the blood was already doing a pretty good job of that,
then grabbed a box of band-aids and a roll of paper towels. My wife drove
while I applied pressure and kept the hand elevated. I soaked one wad of paper
towels before switching to a second wad, but the bleeding slowed way down.

Amazing. You walked from the basement, through the house, through
wherever you store the first aid supplies, out the door, and into the
car, while dripping blood all over everything? Presumably you were
either distracted by something more important, in some altered state
of mind, or merely in shock.

An hour away at our destination, it was still seeping slightly. Worse, if I
moved the finger, the slice re-opened. There was no way for band-aids or
steri-strips to hold it closed. I ended up at a nearby clinic getting three
stitches.

Perhaps a wad of gauze over the cut held in place with duct tape?

I don't know if this stuff works:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/CURAD/193462634
but my body mechanic suggested it because I'm on blood thinners. Also
available in powder form:
http://www.cvs.com/shop/health-medicine/first-aid/first-aid-kit/wound-seal-powder-for-people-on-blood-thinners-prodid-888211
When I bleed, I really bleed. I had to switch to an electric shaver
to keep from looking like Count Dracula every morning. These might be
a useful addition to your first aid kit, but ask someone who knows
something about first aid (not me) before you try using them.



--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On 7/11/2017 10:35 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Tue, 11 Jul 2017 12:54:06 -0700 (PDT), Frank Krygowski
wrote:

OK, I suffered what some would call a "serious bicycling injury" today.

Chapter one: Early in the morning I was grabbing my folded bike down in the
basement to take it to a day-long visit an hour away. I scraped my knuckle as
I grabbed the bike. When I tossed it into the back of the car, I saw a drop of
blood fall into the car. That's when I saw I was bleeding very nicely from not
a scrape, but a 20mm slice.

It's not a "serious bicycling injury". You were not riding the
bicycle at the time of the accident. For example, walking your
bicycle and getting clobbered by a car is not a bicycling related
accident. To be classified as a bicycling related injury, I would
expect you to have been sitting on or above the saddle, and moving
under pedal locomotion.

That would be reasonable. But IIRC one "Danger! Danger!" study went to
great lengths to record absolutely _every_ injury, and IIRC they did not
require it to have happened while riding. That study labeled _any_
injury as "serious" if _any_ health professional had examined it. One
author admitted that even a minor scratch could thus be termed "serious."



I washed it out, although the blood was already doing a pretty good job of that,
then grabbed a box of band-aids and a roll of paper towels. My wife drove
while I applied pressure and kept the hand elevated. I soaked one wad of paper
towels before switching to a second wad, but the bleeding slowed way down.

Amazing. You walked from the basement, through the house, through
wherever you store the first aid supplies, out the door, and into the
car, while dripping blood all over everything? Presumably you were
either distracted by something more important, in some altered state
of mind, or merely in shock.

I just went down to check. We have an outside door from the basement.
It takes less than ten seconds to carry a bike out that door. I just
found four drops of dried blood on the floor.

The cut was no more painful than a typical scraped knuckle. I suspect
the area is just not very susceptible to pain. The guy doing the
stitching warned that the anaesthetic needle would be the worst part and
would feel like a bee sting, but with three of his four injections I
felt no pain at all.

Even now, there's absolutely no pain unless I press directly on it, and
it's barely sore even then. It was just messy.


An hour away at our destination, it was still seeping slightly. Worse, if I
moved the finger, the slice re-opened. There was no way for band-aids or
steri-strips to hold it closed. I ended up at a nearby clinic getting three
stitches.

Perhaps a wad of gauze over the cut held in place with duct tape?

I don't know if this stuff works:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/CURAD/193462634

Again, the problem with the wound was more mechanical. Every time I
flexed my hand, it pulled the gash open again. We phoned a physician
friend and described it (hoping butterfly bandages, etc. would keep it
closed) but she advised stitches. The nurse practitioner who did the
job said nothing but stitches would have worked. I agree.


--
- Frank Krygowski

On Tue, 11 Jul 2017 19:35:32 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
wrote:

On Tue, 11 Jul 2017 12:54:06 -0700 (PDT), Frank Krygowski
wrote:

OK, I suffered what some would call a "serious bicycling injury" today.

Chapter one: Early in the morning I was grabbing my folded bike down in the
basement to take it to a day-long visit an hour away. I scraped my knuckle as
I grabbed the bike. When I tossed it into the back of the car, I saw a drop of
blood fall into the car. That's when I saw I was bleeding very nicely from not
a scrape, but a 20mm slice.

It's not a "serious bicycling injury". You were not riding the
bicycle at the time of the accident. For example, walking your
bicycle and getting clobbered by a car is not a bicycling related
accident. To be classified as a bicycling related injury, I would
expect you to have been sitting on or above the saddle, and moving
under pedal locomotion.


You mean coasting down grade, doing 90 miles an hour, isn't bicycling?

--
Cheers,

John B.

On Tuesday, July 11, 2017 at 4:40:22 PM UTC-7, Sir Ridesalot wrote:

I see so many bicyclist either a) riding the fog line or b) riding in a bicycle lane that's painted rigt in the door zone of parled cars. I refuse to ride in such a bicycle lane unless there are no cars parked in it or if I don't intend to make a left turn at a nearby intersection. It's surprising (or maybe not)how hard it can be to get into a traffic lane from a right hand bicycle lane if you want to man=ke a left turn. I find that using a hand signal to turn left when attempting to merge into the traffic lane works wonders and most drivers will let me in. However on busy streets in rush hour that signalling may not matter much and you're stuck in that dumb right hand bicycle lane.

Weird too that some drivers think that bicyclists are NEVER allowed to come out of those bicycle lanes.

Joerg says that he rides ONLY in segragated bicycle lanes or single track.. I often wonder how he gets to those areas in the first place if riding a bicycle is so dangerous. Does he teleport himself and the bicycle to where the bicycle lane/trails start?

Are you suggesting that your way of riding is the only way of riding? Joerg is afraid of traffic. I know some people that this fear grew to the point that they stopped riding altogether.

Dan (Danimal) Tonelli who used to put in 20,000 mile years even working normal hours finally got to the point where he stopped riding and not runs. Even though I've shown him that running is more dangerous than riding. But it's all in how you feel and not what makes sense.

On Wednesday, July 12, 2017 at 12:35:03 AM UTC-7, John B. wrote:
On Tue, 11 Jul 2017 19:35:32 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
wrote:

On Tue, 11 Jul 2017 12:54:06 -0700 (PDT), Frank Krygowski
wrote:

OK, I suffered what some would call a "serious bicycling injury" today.

Chapter one: Early in the morning I was grabbing my folded bike down in the
basement to take it to a day-long visit an hour away. I scraped my knuckle as
I grabbed the bike. When I tossed it into the back of the car, I saw a drop of
blood fall into the car. That's when I saw I was bleeding very nicely from not
a scrape, but a 20mm slice.

It's not a "serious bicycling injury". You were not riding the
bicycle at the time of the accident. For example, walking your
bicycle and getting clobbered by a car is not a bicycling related
accident. To be classified as a bicycling related injury, I would
expect you to have been sitting on or above the saddle, and moving
under pedal locomotion.


You mean coasting down grade, doing 90 miles an hour, isn't bicycling?

Speaking of which - since I'm waiting for a chain for the Basso, I rode the Eddy Merckx around the same course yesterday since I've begun feeling more or less "normal" again.

Hitting 45 mph down through the sharp downhill in almost identical conditions what I noticed most sharply about the the two bikes is that the Columbus SLX tubing of the Eddy is a hell of a lot stiffer than the Didiaccia tubing of the Basso.

As for Shimano pins for their chains - they now make their own quick links: https://www.amazon.com/Shimano-SM-CN...ain+quick+link

On Wed, 12 Jul 2017 14:34:55 +0700, John B.
wrote:

On Tue, 11 Jul 2017 19:35:32 -0700, Jeff Liebermann
wrote:

On Tue, 11 Jul 2017 12:54:06 -0700 (PDT), Frank Krygowski
wrote:

OK, I suffered what some would call a "serious bicycling injury" today.

Chapter one: Early in the morning I was grabbing my folded bike down in the
basement to take it to a day-long visit an hour away. I scraped my knuckle as
I grabbed the bike. When I tossed it into the back of the car, I saw a drop of
blood fall into the car. That's when I saw I was bleeding very nicely from not
a scrape, but a 20mm slice.

It's not a "serious bicycling injury". You were not riding the
bicycle at the time of the accident. For example, walking your
bicycle and getting clobbered by a car is not a bicycling related
accident. To be classified as a bicycling related injury, I would
expect you to have been sitting on or above the saddle, and moving
under pedal locomotion.

You mean coasting down grade, doing 90 miles an hour, isn't bicycling?

My basic test for bicycling related injuries (methods patent pending)
is that the rider is in or above the saddle and are applying some form
of pressure to the pedals. If you are in this position, you are
considered to be riding the bicycle. If in some other position, you
are considered to be either walking the bicycle or showing off. If
you are riding downhill standing on the pedals, your inevitable
injuries would be considered bicycle related because your posterior is
probably hovering over the saddle. If you are doing it in some other
position, it's acrobatics. If you are actually going near 90 mph, it
will be either an aviation related accident[1] or some manner of self
propelled missile[2][3]. If you are doing all this in heavy traffic,
it's attempted suicide and public endangerment. If your bicycle has
electric assist, you're in the gray area between bicycling, aviation,
mopeds, and motorcycles. It's not my responsibility to classify the
various modes of suicidal transport. Please inspect the speeding
ticket and medical examiners report which you should have received
when you arrived at the bottom of the hill and when you were released
from the hospital, for an expert determination as to the exact nature
of your vehicle and injuries.


[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human-powered_aircraft
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_cannonball
[3] https://www.google.com/search?q=et+flying+bicycle&tbm=isch

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558