wthensler 

It happened in a state park here in PA. On a very cold, wind swept day as I was finishing up my ride. An older gentleman (I'd say early-mid 60's) passed me on the loop, going quite fast. The final stretch of the loop is a steep downhill (about a half mile or more). I'd been down the stretch earlier, and there were two sections of black ice. As I had been completely stopped, it dawned on me to try and catch up to warn him......but he was too far ahead and moving too fast.

Sure enough, as I came towards the bottom, there he was - sprawled out on the tarmac. He had hit one of the icy sections, and taken quite a nasty tumble. I didn't see him fall, but it looked quite bad. He was probably going 20+. At first, I thought he was dead. He lay there - unconcious, but breathing. Several hikers came by, and after a minute or two he came to on his own. I asked him not to move (we had quickly called 911), but he slowly rolled onto his back, then very slowly sat up. He was banged up pretty good, bleeding a little (the cold suppressed the blood), but no broken bones. Although he complained of a headache and was woozy, he appeared to have escaped with perhaps only a mild concussion. His helmet was badly dented, scratched and cracked! If ever there was an individual lucky enough to be wearing a helmet, it was him!

An ambulance quickly arrived, and he was helped inside (he had the presence of mind to call his wife - I wonder how that call went!). I helped with his bike, which was a little mangled up at the top.

It was very upsetting to witness and a terrible way to end an otherwise wonderful bike ride, but it looks like everything will turn out okay for him.

So, the lesson of the day ......... wear your helmets at all times!!!!

CB HI

Because the helmet prevented a concussion in this case, right?

Looigi

Certainly can't say for sure, but it likely reduced the severity.

Clarabelle

I've had 3 significant wrecks on a bike where my head hit the pavement. No brain affects from the two with the helmet; the one without = concussion. Ask me if I wear a helmet? You bet.

Angio Graham

From my understanding, helmets dont do a very good job at preventing concussions but they do a great job at preventing skulls factures.

wthensler 

If you saw the helmet, it clearly absorbed a lot of the impact. Wish I snapped a photo, but I wasn't thinking of that at the time

009jim

No - the main lesson is don't ride too fast for conditions. The helmet is there as a last resort only. You should think about the conditions you might encounter and adjust speed accordingly. Not ride as fast as possible and think your pathetic helmet is going to save you in any case.

wthensler 

Yes, I agree. Unfortunately, in this case, even zero would have been too fast. But the poor guy was clearly going WAY too fast.

B. Carfree

This.

Even though I live where ice is rare, when there is a chance of it being in the hills, I ride the flats. If it is in the flatlands, I get on my rollers. I'm just too old to slide along on the ice with any success, so for me the only safe speed on ice is 0 mph.

Jamesw2

An older gentleman (I'd say early-mid 60's) . . . . HA! . . . .

krobinson103

I'll take a concusion over a fractured skull anyday. No helmet=no ride for me and my kids.

wthensler 

I meant older than me (I'm 'only' in my mid 50's). I didn't say 'elderly'.....

Essex

Good thing you and other folks were there. On a speed note - was he a roadie, or was he just a fella on a hybrid going for speed on the downhill? A 20 mph skidout/crash is horrific. On a positive note the skidding probably lessened any road rash?

Worknomore

Did somebody mention helmets? Lets throw in a vc comment too and get her going right!

Stealthammer

Maybe, maybe not, but please lets not turn this thread into another "Pro-Helmet/Anti-Helmet" discussion. We have plenty of those already.

What I will say though, is that a helmet and gloves definitely can serve as protection against road rash, so any additional protection that they may offer is just a bonus, and since "His helmet was badly dented, scratched and cracked!", I would guess that the rider benefited to some degree by having been wearing one.



+1, and to that I will just add ".....or too fast for your own ability to control your bike".

Black ice is a forseeable condition in many areas of the country at this time of the year, and it is unfortunate that the fallen rider didn't take that possibility into account. I also think that the riders was lucky to have you and the hikers there to call 911 and assist him appropriately.

wthensler 

He had on bluejeans and boots, so my guess is not a roadie, just riding a nice steel endurance bike. The park is well traveled, so it was his good fortune that there was cell phone service.

CB HI

Too late, you missed the fact that the OP already turned it into a helmet thread in post 1.

Essex

Cheers.

From a behaviorial / lucidity perspective - odd. You would think he had enough requisite life experiences (60), or environmental cues to come to some conclusion that perhaps speeding down a hill was a bad idea? Just contextually odd, but I see people here in NY ride their bikes in traffic thumbing a cell phone too.

bluegoatwoods

Naah...the op merely threw in what he thought was a good little piece of advice at the end of a post.

I'll agree that it was unnecessary, but it wasn't evil.

You're the one who tried to turn it into a helmet thread.

Why don't you try having a bit of patience for folks who don't always type exactly the right words? We can't all be that perfect, O Great Wise One.

gcottay

A friend takes humorous issue with the term black ice, wondering why the descriptor gets attached when the ice becomes evil. That notwithstanding, black ice is no joke. My most serious solo crash featured that nasty stuff.

Early spring rides can be wonderful but watch those surfaces!

turbo1889

Studded snow tires.

May not have prevented the wreck but certainly would have reduced the odds. As necessary in winter months as a helmet in my mind.

Chris516

A bike helmet won't prevent a closed head injury. But it sure will prevent something more serious. Unless the cyclist is riding in such a manner, that the inertia of a crash will exceed the capabilities of the bike helmet. It also will depend the ratings of the 'Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute', for said bike helmet. Because, Each helmet under the same conditions, will react differently in a crash where contact is made with the head.

CB HI

= helmet thread.

Where did I say anything about evil?

Oh, I forgot, you do not like anyone noting that bicycle helmets do not live up to the hype.

CB HI

You make it sound like you do not believe concussions and brain swelling are any big deal.

CbadRider

Yes indeed, and we have a lovely thread just for the purpose of discussing helmet use, so this thread will be closed.