gutterbrother

Hi,

I turned up for a group ride on Sunday. People admired my unmarked bike, unmarked shoes, the fact I had no gashes on legs/arms/face. I was told a few times to "just wait" in that I'll soon have a crash.

So my questions to you all are:

. How long was it before you had your first crash. How many crashes do you now have per year.
. How bad was it
. Anything you can pass onto a newbie so they don't get too hurt from their first crash.

mvnsnd

Don't worry (focus) about crashing. Yes, at some point it will happen. Hopefully it will be uneventful, not serious.

Keep your bike on a good straight line, keep your speed smooth and protect your front wheel. Learn to handle your bike well.

Watch others and learn. You'll quickly see who is smooth and who moves around a lot. Stick with the smoother riders.

My first crash came from someone moving over in front of me and took me down. Ended up with just some road rash, thankfully.

Seattle Forrest

I don't think anybody can tell you when you'll crash. Well, it will be before Thursday but that isn't very specific.

PepeM

One piece leathers are my recommendation. 'Dress for the crash.'

happyscientist

Some people ride for years and years and never crash. Some people can't make it a month without crashing. So "when" is completely unpredictable.

"How bad" is also completely unpredictable and mostly a matter of luck. I have seen someone break a wrist at a stop sign because he didn't unclip. I have also seen someone endo a bike going down hill and land in some shrubs with nothing more than a few scratches.

There are a couple things that you can do. One is learn to tuck in. If your hands are out, you can easily break a hand or arm, but your hips and shoulders can handle a lot of impact.

The other is to practice your bike handling skills so you are less likely to crash. A few years ago, I was talked into doing some racing. I hated it, but it was very valuable because my team mates made me work on my handling skills. We ran drills just for close-quarter riding, getting bumped, that sort of thing. I didn't need the skills in a race, but I do credit them for keeping me from crashing when sketchy situations came up on casual rides.

ColaJacket

It will happen with 2 weeks after you buy expensive bike shoes. Not only that, but you'll probably land on your top tube leading to serious damage that will make numbness from seat position sound like a good thing.

GH

digger

How encouraging!

On road:
When I was 9, the handlebar separated from the headset. Down I went.
When I was 36, I was eating an apple (whilst riding....don't do this) and I veered off into the gravel shoulder, front wheel dug in and down I went. Lost my apple. It was one of those Honey Crisp apples too, as big as your head it was.

Off road:
Many times. Worst was when my front wheel dropped through an air pocket in some ice (doing about 35 kph), bike stopped, I flew over the bars and landed on my fore head. Split second later, bike landed on my head, driving it back into the ground.

On road - minor bruises.

Off-road: Concussion. Split helmet. Rested for 3 days.

Don't eat (especially apples) while riding.
Watch out for air pockets in ice.
Wear helmet.

FLvector

With a name like gutterbrother, it might be coming sooner than you expect. If you don't race it seems like an odd thing to be telling someone. If many in this group are racers, then I understand the comment. Words of advice? Protect your front wheel and be very aware of what's going on around you during the ride.

LGHT

I have talked to a few buddies who have crashed and each time it was something in the road. 1 guy ran over an open drain and his wheel got stuck. Another guy hit a branch. When I ride I try and ride away from the curb as much as possible especially at night, but no so far over I'm in the lane. I've run over big pieces of debris more than once, but lucky for me I didn't go down as a result.

wphamilton

Other than simple falls, you might or might not have a serious crash. It depends on how you ride, who you ride with, conditions where you ride, and as with everything an element of chance. It is not inevitable, and also not entirely preventable. I would be wary of riding with people who think that crashes are part of cycling.

The number one thing, if you do crash, is not taking the impact straight on with your arm-bones. Or hands, elbows or knees. People say "don't stick your arms out" and that's what they mean (I think). If your arm is more or less straight out towards the ground you take the whole impact on those bones, and something will snap. But really you can and should stick the arm out: sideways (parallel) to the ground, to take up some of the shock.

indyfabz

If the people you ride with crash that much I suggest finding different people to ride with. You will be safer.

topflightpro

Yeah. I was thinking the same thing.

There should not be an expectation of crashing. Yes, crashes happen, but you shouldn't be planning on it. Nor should any group be giving you crap for not having crashed yet.

caloso

Start racing CX. You'll get your first crash over with in the first lap, and then you can stop worrying.

the_tool_man

Not counting childhood stupidity, I've been riding since 1983, and haven't experienced anything more serious than falling over. But the day after I bought my expensive carbon bike, I crashed my car on the way to the bike shop to buy a presta valve adapter. I was fine. But my car was totalled.

UnfilteredDregs

Hit by a car, concussion, shoulder injury, massive wrist sprain...all within the last 18 months!!!!

hueyhoolihan

i've been commuting, touring and recreational riding for quite a while (decades) and only had a couple of inconsequential falls at sub-5mph speeds, until recently...

now, within the last 20 months i've had three good solo crashes at about 20mph (my average speed is greater now than in the past). each involved a serious injury.

conclusion? i could benefit from slowing down a little.

KevinF

I've had a few slow-speed tip-overs that were more embarrassing than painful. I've had one "bad" crash where I broke my shoulder. I've had two or three "how did I keep it upright" situations.

As airline pilots say (and I'm sure various other professions): 99% nothing much happens, and 1% sheer terror (hopefully the percentage of the former is a whole lot higher actually...). I've noticed the same while riding; riding along, everything seems to be going smoothly and then all hell breaks loose for no foreseeable reason.

I've heard motorcyclists say that there are two kinds of riders: those who are already down and those who are about to join them. You can improve your odds (i.e., be vigilant, ride near predictable cyclists, etc.), but nobody has a perfect record. Whether you'll be hurt or only have a bruised ego is another set of odds.

My other sport is downhill skiing, a sport where crashing is routine. Granted the landings are little softer than landing on asphalt, but you can definitely still get hurt. One of the best ways to stay upright is to be confident through a situation. Confident mind sets (i.e., "I can make this turn", not "I think I can make this turn") can work wonders. Crashes happen more frequently when doubt enters the equation.

SpankZEbadger

Just had my first crash, I'm a newb but my advice would be to really watch the wheels on front of you (this is obvious) so you can react in time if one crosses your path.
I had a guy lose his line through a corner and it was like slow motion from when I saw his rear wheel touch my front to me washing out and sliding 20 feet across the pavement.

Lazyass

In 28 years I've never laid down a road bike. And we had the same thread a week or two ago.

Lazyass

double post

bigdo13

there's no guarantee that you ever will crash... I mean.. those that say that you just automatically will are probably just a lil' jaded that they have already many times... lol...

I would say, when it does happen, don't panic and never EVER, put your arm out to break your fall, just go down.... When you put your arm out to break the fall you break your collarbone like, waaay easier...

Other than that, ride fearlessly and watch out for those garbage trucks and 16 wheelers!

bungis

Pretty embarrassing crash last ride. Strong gust of wind at a very bad time that pushed me off the MUP and onto the grass going too fast to control the bumps/wind and ate it.

Just a few grass burns and scrapes. Bike fared well, only had the handlebars rotated a bit (surprisingly easy to ride with) and rode home at tempo pace covered in dirt stains.

Lazyass

I went down on my MTB at about 30mph downhill in 1997. When I hit the ground after flying through the air my shoulder was the first thing to touch the ground. I heard a loud tree branch snap (my clavicle), it shattered into three pieces, poked through the skin with blood spraying and I felt instant pain before I even stopped sliding. Maybe I should have had my arm out haha

noglider 

I've taught many kids and adults to ride. Some are afraid of falling, so I teach them how to do a stage fall. You learn this when you learn to act. Stand up straight (without a bike). Turn your ankle, then fall on it, then your knee, your hip, your elbow, and finally, fall on your shoulder. Do this in slow motion on a soft surface, such as grass. This will alleviate some fear, and it serves as a rehearsal. I didn't know the latter benefit, but I slipped and fell on ice. As I went down, in my mind, I planned my fall. When I was on the ground, I realized I had done it just as planned. And as a result, it barely hurt.

You can't always necessarily have it go that well, but you might as well do what you can do. So rehearse a couple of falls.

MikeyBoyAz

All my bones have broken on 2 wheels ...Except the revision surgery where they had to re-break my clavicle to re-align it... I wasn't awake for it anyway so...