Sayre Kulp 

OK boys and girls, here's what happened:

I was riding out from the house over to Briarcrest Square in Hershey to meet up with the Harrisburg Bike Club. I was about halfway there, had just crossed over 322, and the chain flipped over & out off the big wheel. I looked down, saw it dangling there, and in the blink of an eye, it snagged and sent me airborne. I went over the bars (which probably looked pretty freakin' cool) and landed on the left side of my back and squarely cracked the base of my skull on the pavement. Speed at the time of the crash was about 26mph. I skidded a little bit - twisted my left foot awkwardly as I didn't come unclipped right away and it went the opposite direction from where I went. I got up, pulled the bike out of traffic and collected myself on the shoulder of the road.

The part that was scary was that I was dialing, and dialing and couldn't get a hold of anybody. So I tried posting to Facebook in the off chance my wife was logged on or something. Eventually I wound up dialing 911 because you just don't mess around with head injuries. They sent an ambulance and police to respond. The nice folks checked me out and recommended a trip to the ER. I was eventually able to get a hold of Heather and she met me to collect the bike and escort me to my check up.

Well, as it turns out, the doc is pretty sure I'm gonna live. No broken bones, just a foot sprain, deep bruise on my left arm, and some an egg on the back of my head. He made me get a tetanus shot since I skidded along the road, and figures I'll be bloody well sore, but bloody well okay.

The bad news is that my bike is bloody well ****ed.

Thank you to everyone for your concern. I appreciate it. Thanks especially to those who tried to contact my wife. She was scared because apparently it was a phone issue. Her phone never rang, but then all of the sudden she had a dozen missed calls and messages from me. Go figure, right?

Anyway - I'm back home now and resting. Need me some Excedrin and a nap.

tergal

**** mate, you got so lucky that could have gone a lot worse


but next time call 911 first , it only takes a second to black out and not be able to call anyone .
Hope you get better soon, poor bike .

Anyone else notice Riding/cycling is the most insane sport ..... 26mph with nothing but a helmet and some lyric .

CraigB

Wow, Sayre. Sounds like you're lucky you weren't seriously injured. Sorry about the bike. Yikes.

TrojanHorse

Sorry! I hope you heal up fast and perfectly.

Say, what do you mean your chain "snagged"? And by big wheel you mean the large chain ring? I know you have a bike or two that's an alternate configuration so I'm not sure.

vesteroid

Yes sorry to hear that. Glad you are ok

magohn

So the dangling chain caught in the road?

Im happy your "OK" - I came off on Sunday (RR tracks) - Must be something about May

Sayre Kulp 

To clarify, yes, the chain came off the large chain ring and was dangling around the crank arms. I'm not entirely sure what happened after that. I saw it hanging there and was in the process of slowing down so I could stop and put it on, and the next thing I knew I was ass-over-tea-cups. The only thing I can think of that would make the bike suddenly flip like it did was if the chain actually went under my back wheel. That could have snagged it tight like a wire snare. From the looks of my utterly destroyed derailleur, I wouldn't be surprised.

tergal

You have to amend you Sig now mate

"Obstacles apart from the road don't like me very much. I make them look bad. The road on the other hand...."

LAE

What sometimes happens is that chain snagged and pulls the mech forward esp if u keep pedalling, the rear mech then overextends and ends up jamming the back wheel, check ur spokes and If the hanger is twisted inward.

seenoweevil

Good thing you landed on yer head, you coulda hurt something! Glad you're ok but sorry about the bike.

billyymc

Yikes - glad you're going to be all right. I've been having issues with dropping my chain off the outside of the big ring lately. I've been kind of ignoring it, since when it happens I just click the shifter back, pedal gently, and the chain hops back up on the ring. But you can bet your ass I'm going to fix that issue before my next ride now!!

paisan

Glad to hear that your ok.

IBOHUNT

Glad to hear you are OK.

CJ C

glad you are good considering. glad you were wearing a helmet too.

heal up soon

wfournier

+1 I think this is a great cautionary tale for all those who argue that a helmet isn't really going to protect you in an accident.

ill.clyde

Glad you're ok ...

Pics of the carnage?

Were you wearing a Road ID?

Sayre Kulp 

No pics - bike is already at the shop undergoing surgery. I'm hoping to get it back as soon as possible.

With regards to my signature line - if you think the road is gonna slow me down, you've got another thing coming.

To answer ill.clyde's question, yes, I was wearing my Road ID.

And while I'm hesitant to post this here because of the debate it always causes, I was NOT wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. I DID have it with me. And I know what you're all going to say next: "If you had it with you, why on God's green Earth weren't you wearing it?!" Well, the answer is really simple. My kid plays with my helmet sometimes between rides and when I put it on, I realized the straps needed to be adjusted. Rather than stop right away, I continued on, hoping to stop and adjust it when I was out of traffic. As dumb luck would have it, I just never had the chance. I was maybe 1/3 of a mile from the bike path where I would have done so. Go figure.

bbeasley

Sayre,

Glad you're on the mend! Sounds like a wake up call regarding helmets, it is for me anyway. BTW congrats on the 26 MPH.

vesteroid

When I was young there was a girl in my town who was riding on the back of a 3 wheeler. It was at an event and the three wheeler was going about walk speed. She slipped off (alcohol was involved) and fell 3 feet to the ground. She died of head trauma.

I have never forgotten that, and I hope I never do. Glad yours only ended up with skin loss and a busted bike.

kansastdi

A couple years ago a motorcyclist in east central Kansas was riding a Honda Goldwing without a helmet through a rest area. While riding very slowly, the bike fell over sideways and the rider was slammed to the ground. His head hit the asphalt and he lapsed into a coma. He received speedy medical help but later died from the head trauma.

On the opposite side: In the same area, a teenage girl was riding with no helmet on the back of her boyfriends new motorcycle traveling down the highway at a very fast pace (excess of 70 mph). The boyfriend decided to quickly lay forward on the tank and the wind caught the girl and swept her off the back of the bike on her ass. She was wearing jean shorts. She lived - no head injury but alot of road rash.

Life can throw curveballs.

tergal

Ha the road stopped you ... at least temporarily long as you get back on it doesn't matter.

in regards to the helmet , that is just **** bad luck that is all.

Laserman

What did we do for entertainment before the anecdote was invented?
I just love stories like "My second cousin's hairdresser's adopted brother-in-law ate a bean curd salad, farted in a mini submarine and died of asphyxiation".
[/sarcasm off]
Seriously I'm glad your injuries weren't any worse.

vesteroid

Easy test

Grab a baseball bat

Hit yourself in the head

Repeat test but wearing a helmet

No wait maybe we ought to reverse the order to complete the test.

goldfinch

How are the injuries doing Sayre? And will the bike survive?

Neil_B

Sayre if you keep doing these things sooner or later you are going to hurt yourself.