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Old 06-09-22, 08:16 AM
  #13  
AlgarveCycling
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Slow crashes - i.e I can feel I am going to fall, I can make sure I fall ok. Fast ones happen way too quickly to have any time to think about what to do and you really are at the mercy of the event.

My earliest potentially dangerous crash I was able to plan. I was riding my BMX bike down a steep hill after school towards my home, in torrential rain, and the brakes failed. At the bottom of the hill was a very busy intersection, lots of traffic. I was picking up speed and to my right was a lush grass verge. I stood on one pedal and hopped off the bike and rolled onto the grass. I was 15 or 16yrs old. No problems, no harm done but definitely the right option since the alternative was a brick wall or a car at greater speed.

My most recent crash as a now 50+yr old was in December, a 55km/h+ sprint on rough tarmac and my chain came off. The crash that followed happened very quickly and my first cognitive thoughts occurred after I was already on the ground. No time to react.

It's all very well pretending we can learn how to crash nicely but that only works for slow ones, anything that happens at real speed is over before any reaction is imagined. I've raced BMX, MTB and Road, had my share of crashes, none serious thankfully, only once had a broken wrist and most recent had internal bruising but nothing a few weeks rest didn't resolve.


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