What cycling injuries have you suffered over the years?
 

I am curious as to the injuries we that cycle have endured from the sport. I have two notable ones......

1- Had a mailbox jump into the road and attack me slicing my right index finger all the way down to past my wrist bone (almost 8” cut) that has a nice scar to this day.

2- While riding a typical lunchtime 20 miler when I lived in the mountains I was doing a sweeping curve right at 30-32 mph and ran off the right shoulder while in a deep concentration of the white line and instinctively tried to correct back on the road and hard over left onto my left shoulder and head impact of pavement. Slid about 70 feet or so unconscious and ripped my left side up and a suspected torn labrum in my shoulder. Had to pedal my bike 6 miles up a climb to my vehicle with blood pouring and a ripped up left side.

Great sport!

Was doing the final left turn during a race to the finish line, it started raining, I had just passed the riders and was on the left lane, I wasn’t on the best line for the left turn and my front wheel slipped on wet sand in the middle of the road. Fell down on my left hip at 55kph and said goodbye to my bib, jersey, skin. The dressing change was painful for couple weeks and brushing the sand and rocks out of my skin was not fun.

Broke my neck. Had C1 & C 2 fused.

shattered my ego failing to unclip. Still recovering from that episode. (It’s been 3 days)

Broke my leg, flying into a tree on a BMX. I was twelve :-)

That and some bruises and road rashes over the years.

Hit by a car in 2018, breaking and dislocating my shoulder. Driver was looking at her phone, turned left into my path. Recovery took longer than expected. Neck X-rays for injuries revealed I also had thyroid cancer, which took priority that year. No surgery for the shoulder, which healed on its own. The AC joint healed a bit lumpy but that's typical of that injury.

Busted ribs from a self-inflicted crash in 2017. And again this March -- slid on an icy puddle on a 50F degree day. Apparently there was sleet the night before and some stayed frozen in a few spots. Painful for a few weeks but no medical treatment. No additional injury to the shoulder -- I've been pretty diligent about physical therapy, which helps.

Road rash from crashing in a turn for the sprint finish at a crit in '78.

Lots of other incidents -- bumped by cars at intersections, or minor self-inflicted crashes, but no memorable injuries.

My main lingering issue is permanent C1-C2 damage from a car wreck 20 years ago. A full size SUV ran a light at highway speed and t-boned my compact car. Broke my back and neck. The neck will always bother me. I needed a cane to walk any distance until 2014. Resumed riding in 2015 on a comfort hybrid. Slowly worked my way back to a drop bar road bike by 2017. Still takes daily stretching and home PT to stay flexible and strong enough but it beats the alternative.

Just went through serious lower back pain. found out last week after couple years of riding that my reach was too short. ;)

I would say that wreck was a blessing and God send for sure. Otherwise, you know the rest more than likely.

On a group ride racing down a stretch of road, the guy in front of me backed off his pedals and looked over his left shoulder at the same time, in that short instant he slowed and I wasn’t able to react and he dropped back enough that when he looked left and moved over he clipped my front wheel. Ate pavement at 26 mph, bruised hip, butchered hands/fingers/knee and 6 stitches in my elbow after they confirmed it wasn’t broken.

While I have been hit by a car, the result wasn't that serious, and the guy bought me a new wheel.
When I was 8, I was headed for baseball practice but my bike had a flat tire. So I borrowed my little sisters 20" bike, put my head down to get up to speed and ran into the back of a parked car. Lost one of my front teeth.

concussions, a broken clavicle, broken ribs, seriously bruised ribs, 40 mph road rash, 3 er visits (with one of those via ambulance after being clocked by a car from behind).

also some knee tendonitis a decade ago when i doubled my cycling efforts/mileage. took about 3 weeks off before gently easing back in and it hasn’t returned.

Broke one clavicle, dislocated the other, about 20 years apart.

Was riding a mup when I went off to go around a barrier, tried to get back up on mup when the concrete edge grabbed my front wheel and though me off. Got a pretty good concussion when my head was slammed into the concrete. I needed help to find my way back to my car.

Last year I strained my Achilles's and didn't bike for no months while it healed and I did rehab.

I stretch before I ride now

2013-two crashes

first crash broke my left scapula and a partial collapse of nasal cavity about my left eye from hitting a rock, had to have surgery and a ti bridge plate to reinforce passage

second flipped my bike into a rocky ditch, 3 broken ribs with a partial Pneumothorax and severely sprained ankle (looked like a baseball under my skin), spent the night in the hospital

2015-hit by a truck

broke my right collar bone and had a 5” slice vertically down my left calf which exposed the muscle (very gross)

2017-hit by a car

Flipped and landed on my tailbone and partial de-gloving of the outer portion of my left calf, skin was pulled back up and had to have a drain installed for 6 weeks

2019-off leash dog

someone walking their dog off leash and it saw me and crashed into my front wheel, I went down hard on my left side and broke 3 ribs and had a “Z” fracture of my collar bone

Oh and I only started riding in 2011, never broke a bone or had stitches prior

1975-----crashed my chopped banana-seat bike----concussion.
1987---lady ran me over (she was reaching into back seat playing with her kid). Only banged/scratched up. Called in sick for two days.
1991----a dog chased me down and got muzzle stuck between fork and front wheel....complex fractures left tibia and fibula. My shoes were strapped into peddles. Surgeon told me I would have arthrites in about 20 yrs due to broken joint (he was right).
1995...... went around blind curve at about 30mph and into 100-ft tree that had fallen across path due to wind....broke two ribs.
2020.....nasty fall (going slow though) because I was being stupid. Sore for a week and had bad headache for a day. Pulled something in right shoulder....reinjured ribs I broke in 1995.

this thread is worthless without photos.

I don’t know how to capture my damaged ego or the pain involved in getting my ass handed to me.

In the past 12 years I've broken 12 ribs, my left fibula, right clavicle and scapula, punctured/collapsed a lung, fractured C1 + C2 and the base of my skull. I also had 3 surgeries to repair a torn large intestine.

Other than that, nothing major.

That would be a negative.

If you’re that desperate to get a handicap, take up golf.

One time, I went on a 2 hour solo MTB ride. When I got home 6 hours later, my wife slapped the taste out of my mouth for not calling her because I was going to be so late. Does that count?

I took a spill while making a 90 degree right turn. Paved road, at a lighted intersection and must have hit some gravel I didn't see, entered turn too fast, and / or tapped my front brake too much. Fell flat on my right side. Got up after a second, rode home. Tore up my jersey's right arm, some scratches on my helmet's right side, and went to emergency and x-rays showed a hairline shoulder fracture. Quite a bit of pain over the next few weeks, tried not to take any pain pills but I had to take some. Started physical therapy after and stopped quickly as I found I could do it on my own. Months later and no after effects - so everything healed nicely.

The usual abrasions and three concussions. Nothing in the past two years. I try to learn from my mistakes. The last concussion cost me a few IQ points.

I feel fortunate after reading this thread. After two crashes riding solo, my injuries include a hammer finger and scarring from road rash. No concussions yet but I did destroy my favorite jersey.