Wino Ryder

Wrecked my damn bike going to work. Happened two weeks ago in the dark in the wee hours of the morning. Fortunately my bike escaped without harm (because it was on top of me), so there's no problem with it. I, on the other hand didnt fare so well. Front tire slipped out from under me and I smacked the pavement on my left side, jamming my arm into my ribs. I just layed there like road kill for a few minutes trying to wrap my brain around what the hell just happened.

It knocked the breath out of me and even knocked one of my bike shoes off. When I was finally able to untangle myself from my bike, I could hardly move and just knew I had broke some ribs cuz it hurt like hell. Somehow the chain had come off and I had to fiddle with getting it back on. That in itself liked to have done me in. Keep in mind I'm 57 y/o and dont bounce as good as I use to. My breathing came back to normal (thank god) and I was able to ride the few blocks back home with blood running down my arm onto the cotton wrap of the bars.

The result: Tore my arm up a little and bruised a couple of ribs. Also pulled the muscles in my ribs and damaged some tissue. The worst was I partially tore a muscle right under my left breast plate, making it hurt so much it was like I'd been shot. Knocked me out of work for three days. I thought, "Hell, this is the worst wreck I had since I was a kid."

I'm still on the mend, and my mobility is much better, but that wreck was bad, so you guys be careful out there.

shoota 

Was it wet or something? Glad you're ok for the most part.

67tony 

Trunk and rib injuries are a beeyotch. The pain continues for a longish time...sorry for the bad news! The good news is it sounds like you avoided smacking your head (I presume), so that is lucky.

Was it wet?
Was there sand/gravel on the pavement?

bhchdh 

Heal well and soon.

dddd

Take it easy, but I hope you're up and riding before too long.

I went down at a standstill 2 mos ago and haven't been able to ride a road bike since. Wrist is still messed up, with no certain diagnosis, even after the extraspensive MRI exam. Lots of swelling in the right hand, but I'm riding everyday, one-handed, on my Univega all-steel hybrid.
Last time I went down before that was when the sole of my Shimano spd cleated shoe broke, putting my right foot into the front wheel spokes.

I've been hearing of a good number of bike crashes lately, and a 61-yr-old ex-racer friend escaped serious injury last week after hitting an unseen pothole and crashing.

Wino Ryder

Interesting, Tony. I did go down about two years ago on my Tommasini whipping around a car. My head smacked the pavement but my Rudy Project helmet saved me. Tore my arm up (the same one) and banged my knees up and leg with road rash but it was just superficial. That wreck had the makings of being a bad one, but this one was much worse.

Oh Yeah, as to the cause. "PILOT ERROR" plain and simple. In other words I aint half as good as I think I am. I got PO'd because I forgot my cell phone and in anger I turned around too fast in the road. Tire slipped out from under me and down I went.

spacemanz

You never know when, but you most likely WILL fall at some point, riding bikes. Sometime back in the 90s, I ended a long ride at that one park (Myrtle Edwards I think), just north of where they do Hempfest every August. I had just bought a drink at a stand, and was going really slow, like less than 2 mph for sure, but some lady's fuzzy dog ran around a corner right at me, so like an idiot, I spiked the FRONT brake, and hit the ground quite gracefully, but also quite hard. I knew my elbow was messed up right away, but not from pain, from immobility & light swelling. The nice folks at the ER didn't think anything was broken, (I had walked my bike home, then got a bus to the ER, so I was a "walk-in") but decided to humor me with an x-ray or 6, who's counting. Seems I chipped a huge chunk of my elbow bone off, & they had to screw it back together. Like I said before, the immobility was a sure sign of a problem.

The Golden Boy 

Did you have to steer clear of the bush?

shoota 

Wow lol.

eschlwc

i haven't crashed in two years! ha ha!

was coming home from a july 4th party in the wee hours and hit the curb i was riding along just a few blocks from home. i almost made it! oh, the agony. ribs took a month to heal. couldn't laugh or sneeze for days. broke my eyeglasses, but being the hack mechanic i am, i bent them back in place and painted the scratched glasses frame with the same paint i use on my motos. look ma -- no scars!

Wino Ryder

Oh Tell me about it. I'm still tiding my bike to work only real easy. The other day someone who knows honked his horn and threw his hand out, waving at me. Like an idiot I took my left hand off the bar to wave back and instantly the damaged muscle under my chest had to compensate for the loss of support. Lit me on fire like I'd been shot. Hollered all the way home.

BentLink

Ouch! Good news is that rib injuries only hurt while you're still breathing. Get well soon.

RobbieTunes

I'm glad you're OK. Man, the injuries are piling up. Everyone be careful.

bikamper

What Robbie Tunes said.

Yesterday, wet wooden bridge, damp leaves, and touched the front brake. Woohoo. Had my right leg bent beneath me and did splits a cheerleader would be jealous of. Ended up with a sprained knee (again) but nothing else.

Fletch521

Is the bike OK?

rekmeyata

I don't care about you, how's the bike?!

John E

Front skids are the pits. I normally use the front brake either primarily or exclusively, but on wet pavement it is important to use both brakes evenly and gently. The last time I took a spill was a low speed skid in a car park, caused by my using the front brake alone. Under dry conditions, I have done this safely hundreds of times.

Gingi

Glad you're ok. I went down last Sunday (went into a downhill-then-corner WAY too hot) and landed all 240lbs onto a pile of large-ish rocks. More specifically, my left kidney landed on one of the rocks. No damage except for some internal bruising. Then I got car bumped last night, but no damage then, either. Stay safe and hope you're back in the saddle soon.

Kommisar89

Ouch! I went down on a patch of ice about 4 months ago and landed on my ribs. Smacked the back of my head too and cracked my helmet clean through but my noggin was ok. Thanks Bell My ribs on the other hand took six weeks to stop cracking and popping every time I breathed. They're still sore when I lay on my right side.

pcb 

My best/weirdest wipeout was more than 30yrs ago, riding down Main Street in Ft. Lee, NJ, heading towards River Road. Lots of Japanese restaurants along Main St back then, and just when I was passing a couple and thinking: "Mmmmm, sushi...," both wheels slid out from underneath me. I hit the pavement and slid a little, then got up mostly unhurt. The arm and leg that slid were coated with a blackish ooze, and it smelled pretty rank---fish juice. Some truck must have just delivered some fresh fish, leaving behind a slick of fish/entrail secretions. I felt OK to ride, but couldn't stomach the thought of riding with all that yuck on me.

Maybe 10yrs later I was riding on River Road, off season, maybe around 4:30am, jet-lagged from a Japan flight. Can't sleep, might as well ride. Came down a medium hill, dug in to maintain speed for the uphill, then saw a fox tear across the road in front of me. Watched him run off, thinking: "Cool, a fox..." then looked up to see my half of the road had a chain across it. They chain off half the road outside the boat basins off-season, which I knew. I had seen and passed the chain maybe a half-hour before on the other side of the road. Fuzzy jet-lagged brains forget a lot when they see a fox. Slammed on the brakes, slowed a little, hit the chain, flipped off the bike, landed on my back at least 5'-8' from where the bike landed. This was BCP (Before Cell Phones), and I remember thinking that I could lay there for hours before anybody would find me, so I darn well better be mobile. Bike was somehow mostly undamaged (torn bar tape, scraped brake lever, scuffed seat, only minor stuff), I managed to ride home with a couple of cracked/bruised ribs and other aches. And I had to drive to Maryland later that day...

Meeting pavement unexpectedly never ends good. I'd say ribs are the worst. Can't breathe, can't cough, can't laugh, can't sneeze, have to move your entire torso like the Frankenstein monster. Rrrrrrggghhhhh!

eschlwc

"... a slick of fish/entrail secretions."

you'd have to stop and order the tako salad, eel and sea urchin afterwards. stare head-on (tail on?) and laugh in the face (or tentacle) of your adversary.

"Meeting pavement unexpectedly never ends good."

good point. i once met stephen malkmus backstage, and right after we exchanged small talk, i walked into a black wall thinking it was an exit.

anixi

Wow! Hope you heal up quick. I had the stupidest crash of my life just yesterday:
My chain came off the big chain ring, toward my pedal. I hollered to my riding buddy "Chain off!". Big mistake. He stopped and I was looking down trying to figure out how to get the chain back on. I smashed into his back with my chin, then fell over onto my left side.
Final tally: messed up left elbow, bruised up left hip, right thigh smashed into my bars (the most painful of the three BTW)
I'm ready to ride tomorrow though, the front wheel didn't hit anything! It's all about the safety of the bike anyway, right?

Jseis 

I dropped my Centurion (or it dropped me) about two months ago and my right ribs still hurt in the morning. Totally sympathize...new scars on leg, arm, & shoulder. And broken helmet on the wall.

Popeyecahn

Railroad tracks took me out once, broad daylight and minding my own business. They intersected the road at an odd angle (75 degress maybe), slowed to 15 before going over them and before I knew it I was bouncing across the remaining tracks almost quite literally on my head. Damage to one hand and my pride. All I could think was they were slick with dust.

old's'cool

To all those on the injured list above, a speedy & full recovery to you! I had my worst bike crash as an adult two weeks ago. Apropos wet pavement, it had rained earlier during my 15 mile ride home, and apparently also at my destination, which was the Residence Inn where I was staying in Warrenville IL. However, by time I got there, the sun was out, I was dry, and the road was dry (I thought).
They had recently reapplied sealer on the hotel parking lot, and as I was decelerating and turning from the road into the parking lot, as I'd done dozens of times previously, as soon as my front wheel touched the sealed surface, traction was non-existent, and down I went on my right side, just like that (bike is fine, BTW). Main impact was on my right hip; I also had minor to moderate scrapes on my forearm and shoulder. Well, I didn't hear a cracking sound as I impacted the ground, which is a good sign; and after taking a few seconds to regather my wits, I found I was able to get up and walk the bike the rest of the way to the entrance door and carry it upstairs to my room. I got xrays at the immediate care clinic the next day, and they confirmed nothing was broken, just a deep bruise. Here in Switzerland now, I saw the doc again last Friday as a precaution, and he assured me it will continue to heal just fine on its own; no medical intervention required. Due to travel, I've been been bikeless since the accident anyway, but I can walk just fine, with a manageable amount of pain. I'm looking forward to my bike arriving here, & getting back in the saddle.
BTW, the bruise on my hip, thigh & hamstring area looks quite a fright . The swelling directly over my hip joint is about the size of my hand and stands about 1/2" proud in the centre. Doc says I should recover fully though.