Eric F 

I started riding bikes as a kid (50-ish years ago). I’ve crashed more times than I can remember. A couple have been memorable, but most were easily forgotten. A few were going over 20mph. Most were slow speed tumbles. I’ve broken a collar bone. I’ve had stitches. I've broken teeth. I’ve scraped off fairly large patches of skin. I’ve had countless smaller scapes and bruises. The first was probably from jumping my childhood BMX bike off something. The most recent was last weekend.

With the friends I used to ride MTBs with in the ‘90s, we used to say, “It’s not a good ride unless somebody bleeds”. Very often, that somebody was me because I was willing to try riding technical stuff that others weren’t.

I’m still not afraid to ride my bike at the limits of my abilities.

delbiker1 

Sixty five years, with 45 of those being an active road warrior. While I have gone down a lot of times, considering all the time and miles, that number is fairly low. And, never a serious, medical help seeking, bike wrecking type crash. I did break a front tooth on a handlebar when I was a teen, but I was not actually riding at the time, just messing with a couple of friends while taking a break on a trail.

DomaneS5

Road Cycling since 2014: 1 major crash that resulted in a broken left clavicle.... and a bunch of funny minor mishaps by not clipping out of clipless pedals in time.

Marvelousmarkie

About 50 years of riding seriously.

A couple of minor crashes in my younger days during races, both in the rain. Mild road rash.

Post racing, I had 2 crashes when I lived in the St. Louis area. One was descending on a steep hill near Six Flags, taking a turn at 40+ mph. I rode over some glass while leaning, the rear tire blew and the back end slid out. The other was also descending - it was a bright day and I was wearing dark lenses. As I went through a tree lined shady stretch of road, my eyes hadn’t adjusted and I didn’t see a large bump in the pavement. Hit it hard and fast and down I went. Lots of road rash both times, no fractures.

What should have been a minor crash on gravel in 2020 ended up being a real pain because my left hand got crushed, with a nerve injury that’s still bothersome.

jadmt

define crash...if it includes an E/R visit there have been zero....if it includes actual bike damage again zero....if it includes "wow I was pretty freaking lucky I didn't end up in the E/R or break my bike" a fair number over the last 60 years.

staehpj1

How many years have you been cycling?
68 ish?
How many crashes?
Seriously? Can anyone really remember this?
Describe each crash.
I certainly don't remember them all and even the ones I recall could fill a large volume.
What lasting injuries did you get?
Hard to say. I have some issues most likely related to concussions, but the concussions were not all cycling related. I have some ortho issues, but again how much cycling injuries contributed I can't say. Best guess is not much. I blame genetics, job, and other sports for most of my joint issues. Overall cycling has probably had a positive effect in this area. I had knee ankle problems that cycling helped me get past after chronic problems and injuries in other sports. Same for back.

indyfabz

Is almost breaking your thumb like almost getting pregnant?

jadmt

well some would say almost getting pregnant is probably more enjoyable....of course I am saying that from a man's point of view....my wife might rather just break my thumb....

EddyR

Been bike riding for 75 years. Had four bad crashes all before I was 16. All four involved car drivers not seeing me. Nothing worth remembering since.
EddyR

rosefarts

I put a number on my bike for the first time when I was 16. I’m 45 now.

I don’t count wrecks. No sense in it.

I did get stitches in my chin once, probably should have another time. Both as a teenager. Just trying stuff. Trying stuff is good. That’s how you learn.

Got hit by a car twice. No injuries but I did need a new wheel once.

Ive locked wheels in a peloton a few times, a little rash on my butt. It was ok.

base2 

It's been a few days...Where's the OP?

PromptCritical 

Another crash?

veganbikes

Probably watching with some popcorn at what they have unfolded. They love the chaos of complete and utter ridiculousness to turn cycling into some dangerous event.

JeffAP60

Been cycling for 55 years, one crash; I was passing a parked car and the driver flew open his door without looking.

I hit my chin on the top of his door and my bike made a real mess of his inner leather door panel.

The worse part of this was that it was at a train station and was late for work with a brused chin.

LarrySellerz

What’s a crash? I’ve fallen off of my bike countless times and gotten beat up, but nothing too permanent. Probably healthier and better off for it.

sidepoint: this is part of why I think Ebikes and fast descents are way more dangerous than crashes than happen with “more traditional” cycling.

bboy314

Can’t wait to see what sort of fear mongering OP will attempt with all this data…

rsbob 

Too lazy to do it, but would be interesting, at least for me, to see the average number of crashes over an average number of years for the respondents. (Excluding MTBs because everyone knows they can’t stay upright to save their lives ). It would shed some perspective on the fall rates, From what I have read up until know, the rate is far less than once a year. Much less. (E.g. I have gone down 3 times in 40 years - MTB excluded, or it would be off the charts).

Kapusta

I’m gonna need a definition of “crash” here, because it could be a handful over the past 50 years or a handful in the past year.

PromptCritical 

Well, +1 for me on Friday. Our tour guide let me ride his CF Canyon, and I promptly forgot how to get out of cleats. He was very impressed by my tuck and roll on the sidewalk!

Fantastic bike, BYW.

MilhouseJ

Maybe he decided to stick to Zwift?

scared_cyclist

Can we please remain civil? All I am trying to do is shed light on unknown dangers that many cyclists have to learn the hard way. Case in point:



If someone new to cycling read these threads, they can fully understand what they are getting themselves into. How many instances of e-(insert your vehicle of choice) put me in dangerous situations like this
on multi-use trails. I used to think these trails were the safest things available because of the lack of cars. Now I won't touch them with a 10 foot pole.

I wish I could have read threads like this before I took up cycling. I wish many of you were more honest about the real dangers of cycling.

A bad accident can make you dependent on others and hurt your ability to provide for others and yourself. You have no control over who runs into you. Yet nobody mentions these things.

We don't need to mention cars, because we all know the dangers.

What we need is more honesty and transparency about the real dangers of cycling.

MilhouseJ

Cycling seriously for right around 7 years, 5 mishaps that stand out in my mind.
2 were from a failure to remember that there were cleats involved (one was me tipping over, the other was my ex tipping over in front of me and me getting caught up in her tumble), 2 were more serious but not quite SERIOUS to the point where I couldn't ride, and 1 had me in the ER.
The ER trip involved me misjudging my forward speed while negotiating a curb, my bike coming to a halt, my person continuing in roughly the same direction, then stopping my fall with my face. I had my helmet on, but the cycling glasses I was wearing broke and ended up going into my cheek and *JUST* missing my right eye. The broken lens segment hit my orbital and deflected down instead of in. I got right up after impact, couldn't see out of my right eye, so did a tentative sweep of my face to see if anything was hanging out of its usual location. I must've swept the lens chunk out of its temporary resting place because my vision was restored and the blood really started flowing then. I ended up with 22 stitches, a bone chip in the bridge of my nose, and a wicked 3-day headache. No concussion, no broken teeth, no vision problems. The Lord just left me with a neat scar and a story.
I got back on the bike a week later before my stitches were even out.
I have pics if the OP can handle them, but I get the feeling he's sensitive and couldn't take it.

ofajen

I was just thinking that in over 55 years of cycling, I’ve never really had a “crash” where I hit something. Pretty much only laying the bike down because I lost the front wheel on a turn on a loose surface, with the usual skinned knees and elbows.

I had a bit harder slip up a few years ago at lower speed and banged my hip enough to irritate the trochanter muscle for a few weeks and seriously scrape the ankle on that side.

I quit riding roads thirty years ago when our trails system developed, so there is less stuff for me to hit, I suppose.

Otto

rsbob 

The OP is looking for confirmation of his bias, since he is seeking it out.

After his post immediately above, I sincerely believe he needs to find a different activity. Like walking in a park.

My wife and I have a friend who is very fear-centric and goes out of her way to confirm that her irrational fears are valid. No number of facts or rational arguments can talk her down. Fear is an emotion, which rational discussion can not move. The only way for her to improve is to seek professional help. The OP appears to be in this trap and wants validation. This sounds harsh, but OP get help or find a different sport. If this sport was as dangerous as you believe, none of us would be doing it <-last gasp attempt at reason.

MilhouseJ

No, what you're doing is promoting a sense of fear and trepidation around a hobby/way of life for the rest of us. You're focusing your posts on the negatives of cycling and highlighting the potentials of what might happen. Any new cyclist might read your fear porn and decide that they don't want to take the risks that seem so prevalent in the world you've so conveniently outlined for them. If you were truly safety-conscious and looking to help newbies, you wouldn't call yourself "Scared Cyclist." We all know what potential dangers await us whenever we leave our homes on our bikes. New cyclists need to focus on getting the basics down and enjoying the ride, not maintaining a distracted mindset in search of the next thing that might kill or maim them.