You're going down...what do you do?

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sharktamin
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Postby sharktamin » Thu Feb 12, 2009 10:00 pm

PANIC!!!

My most recent stack (two weeks ago) found me on the road elbows first with gravel under my skin before I knew anything was wrong!

I remember as a kid going too fast down a steep hill (a sealed road surface) on my coaster brake only bike.
Chain came off, I realised I had no brakes and there was a brick wall at the tee intersection at the bottom of the hill. I just had time to line up a spot on the nature strip grass and bail out.

At 47 youd think I'd have learned to avoid self imposed accidents.

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Tale
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Postby Tale » Thu Feb 12, 2009 10:04 pm

My worst crash was over the handlebars at speed when they skewed while diagonally crossing a wet tram track. Ripped open my palms because I had left my gloves behind after washing them. My knees were worse.

I remember my first thought was "can I get up?", then "gotta get up because I'm on a busy road", so I threw myself and bike onto the nature strip. While healing, I wondered if I could have landed better, but I went headfirst over the handlebars so I think the options were hands or faceplant.

Last year I had a slo-mo crash that turned nasty. A child ran in front of me, I braked and swerved, but a pedal got caught on a low wall. I fell sideways and actually had time to think "how will I land?". But the side of my body was falling towards a sharp corner of the wall, so I stuck out a knee to stop myself, and landed on that. Very bad.
Fuji Roubaix RC 2009 - Trek 520 1998 - Touring videos - Commute

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tallywhacker
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Postby tallywhacker » Thu Feb 12, 2009 10:10 pm

3 crashes and been hit by cars twice, the 2 times I held onto the bars in one I broke my scaphoid and tore the tfc in the other I fractured one of the metacarpals. The only time I came out of it relatively unscathed apart from burns (it was on the track) I let go of the bars and pulled my arms into my chest.

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winona_rider
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Postby winona_rider » Thu Feb 12, 2009 11:33 pm

why do collar bones break so much in cycling?
( i think i can imagine why - but just wanna ask anyway)

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Mulger bill
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Postby Mulger bill » Fri Feb 13, 2009 1:47 am

Had to alter me original answer cos this aint penthouse forum :oops:

Try to relax, usually fail. Thud, slide, tumble. Get up hoping no one saw it.

Shaun
...whatever the road rules, self-preservation is the absolute priority for a cyclist when mixing it with motorised traffic.
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wombatK
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Postby wombatK » Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:25 am

winona_rider wrote:why do collar bones break so much in cycling?
( i think i can imagine why - but just wanna ask anyway)
IIRC rightly, it's also to do with sticking your arm out to break your fall - driving the upper arm upwards which over-extends the shoulder and collarbone.
WombatK

Somebody has to do something, and it's just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us -Jerry Garcia

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Hebden
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Postby Hebden » Fri Feb 13, 2009 9:26 am

bowie wrote:man if you have time to do any of these I'd be reaching for my google phone and searching "MATRIX SPOON" and then "JEDI FORCE PUSH" then combine the 2 wisdom's and create your own inverse reality where its not you that is falling.. but the earth :shock:
+1

There is no spoon. :lol:

rustychisel
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Postby rustychisel » Fri Feb 13, 2009 10:49 am

Same experience here: never had time to rationally react. If you've got time to think about it the crash is not inevitable, IMO. You still have a chance to save it.

Last one for me involved a guy I was riding behind moving off line - and I saw a road 'bump' (yellow painted lump like the top half of a loaf of bread) right in front of me. I did have time to think 'this is going to hurt'... >>>> busted collar bone, etc

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JV911
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Postby JV911 » Fri Feb 13, 2009 10:53 am

1st reaction is usually getting up off the deck and wondering Say What just happened :shock:
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martinjs
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Postby martinjs » Fri Feb 13, 2009 1:28 pm

OUCH!!!!
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity!

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Cyclaholic
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Postby Cyclaholic » Fri Feb 13, 2009 3:14 pm

When you crash aren't you supposed to draw your two 9mm's while in flight, then shoot all the bad guys as you roll sideways in slow motion.... and place every shot with the precision of an SAS sniper?

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Cyclaholic
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Postby Cyclaholic » Fri Feb 13, 2009 3:15 pm

JV911 wrote:1st reaction is usually getting up off the deck and wondering Say What just happened :shock:
Quickly followed by a thorough health check - of the bike! :D

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Cyclaholic
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Postby Cyclaholic » Fri Feb 13, 2009 3:17 pm

winona_rider wrote:why do collar bones break so much in cycling?
( i think i can imagine why - but just wanna ask anyway)
It's not the cycling that breaks them, it's the falling off and hitting the pavement. :lol:

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wombatK
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Postby wombatK » Fri Feb 13, 2009 3:42 pm

rustychisel wrote:Same experience here: never had time to rationally react. If you've got time to think about it the crash is not inevitable, IMO. You still have a chance to save it.
There are many situations where you don't have time to think about what to do - but where training can equip you with the skills to react instinctively in the right way. Going into battle in the army is one obvious case.

The crash may be inevitable as any battle, but how you react to it might be something that appropriate training can help you get right.

That's why brendancg's mention of training looks promising to me, and why other suggestions above of practice with low-speed MTB crashes makes sense. Dancers, for example, practice in slow motion, so that they can eventually get it right at full speed.
WombatK

Somebody has to do something, and it's just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us -Jerry Garcia

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mikesbytes
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Postby mikesbytes » Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:41 pm

It the time an accident happens, you don't really get to make decisions. I don't let go, so I end up on the ground still on my bike so to say.
If the R-1 rule is broken, what happens to N+1?

brendancg
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Postby brendancg » Fri Feb 13, 2009 9:40 pm

wombatK

It was a government departmental course at Goulburn. I suppose you can guess which department.
Yesterday was an easy day.

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toolonglegs
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Postby toolonglegs » Fri Feb 13, 2009 10:07 pm

mikesbytes wrote:It the time an accident happens, you don't really get to make decisions. I don't let go, so I end up on the ground still on my bike so to say.
When crashing a mtb off road you quite often have time to change the out come of an accident....do I crash into that tree or that rock :lol:
I always try to get rid of the bike...does less damage to it if 100kg isn't attached to the pedals :wink:

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wombatK
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Postby wombatK » Fri Feb 13, 2009 10:08 pm

brendancg wrote:wombatK

It was a government departmental course at Goulburn. I suppose you can guess which department.
Thanks Brendan. That departments officers get into plenty of situations where there's no thinking time and good training is needed so that instinctive reactions work.

We've had ex department officers turn up at my works "safety theme days" to conduct safer driving seminars. Wonder if there's any ex bicycle operator instructors that could do the same for cyclists ?
WombatK

Somebody has to do something, and it's just incredibly pathetic that it has to be us -Jerry Garcia

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