worst crash!

[graf zeppelin]

Originally posted by ALAN OBRIEN
what was your worst crash? damage to yourself, your bike or caused others to crash? some of you may have seen this thread in the cycling equipment forum, but i thought id try it on this one as well to get a bigger response.

I was riding through a slightly busy area of town towards a red light. Was green, so of course figured safe to go through. Car about 15 feet ahead of me, which I had been watching for a while suddenly decided late that she had to make a right, cutting across the lane I was in (two-lane street going one way). Had no signal from her or warning so slammed the brakes. Had really no where to go due to the curb, but I almost got out of it. Ran into the sewer depression at the corner though, which sent me out of the bike and lying on the road at the corner, just as she took it, and with no room to spare. Left foot got run over. Rode home on it (so gingerly -- it really hurt) to get to my car to go to the ER, since she didnt stop (she thought she ran over the curb I imagine). Doctor said I was lucky. Foot could have been shattered. My foot ended up sideways though, and the tire went right directly over the sole of the shoe, which held. I felt the tire impression wrap around my foot. Weirdest thing. Ended up with a fractured ankle and 6 weeks or so on crutches. Scrapes and bruises. Kept the x-ray.

Did the superman thing on corners on two different occasions -- both caused by high speed and sand unseen by yours truly. One simply caused general humor and embarrassment. The second resulted in a chin plant, 14 stitches and a slight scar on the bottom of the chin. I look for sand carefully now.

Another was with my old college roommate. We were sprinting down a flat towards a sharp turn and a really steep hill. He was the sprinter, me the climber, so he was in the lead. We used to like to finish our rides with a sprint. I usually got him on the hill finish, but I think he might have had this one. Thing is, his wheel came out of his rear drop mid-hill. Was a horizontal drop. I was right on him too. He went down in a pile of miscellaneous bike parts and limbs. I ended up with my front wheel stopped directly on his chest when he had come to a halt on his back. We still laugh about that.

I feel really lucky compared to some other stories told here though. Mine were a little while ago now, in college, on my older Trek AL bike. I second the hope that we're past that stuff but alas, its part of the sport.

 

[Stevedvg]

Originally posted by less'go
Here's a link where you can see a short clip of a guy doing stunts with his bike on a park bench. He kind of loses his balance. Not for the weak at heart...

http://www.kaitaia.com/funny/movies.shtml

Hi Sara -

I felt real pain just watching that...I'm definately scratching the park-bench stunt off my to-do list

Steve

 

[Goosebeak]

Well, I just did what I said I was going to do - have a worse crash!!!

I lost the rear end in a puddle of water and came down really hard on my left side, on tar. Intertrochanteric fracture of the left hip.

I now have 6 weeks in bed/at home/on crutches to reflect on the foolishness of predicting future crashes...

Ah well, now I'm one of that group of cyclists who have crashed, and not the bunch that is waiting to crash!!!

 

[kardon2]

trying to get air off the edge of a driveway where the sidewalk meets the road, i missed it and turned into the curb, fell down, slid like 8 feet . externaly i was fine but i messed up my ankle cvause it was off the curb and the rest of me was on the curb. ankle still hurts and its like a month later... never went to the docs. after that i still rode for 3 more hours on trials.

 

[cydewaze]

Let's see...

Back when I was in my early 30's, I was riding a fast 25 mile ride with a group of others. We were in a pace-line, and this one guy was really sloppy about drafting. So, I decided that rather than risk wrecking, I'd take the next left and do one of the optional hills.

I like this hill because there's a twisty road full of S-turns to come down on the other side. Unfortunately, as I ran through the second half of the first "S" (at close to 40mph) I discovered that some car had had some sort of mechanical failure there recently, and the road was covered with an oil/antifreeze mix.

Needless to say, the bike slid out from under me in an instant, and I became a body surfer. That is, until I slammed into the burm on the shoulder of the road. The bike, thankfully was fine (I still had to ride it home) but my left arm was a huge, oozing mess, and my left hip had a huge cherry on it. The rest of me was filthy because the dirt on the side of the road was all oily from cars, busses, and the train on the other side of the burm.

Not much blood though. Seems I was going so fast, the pavement just liquified the skin into a yellow ooze. Took a few hours to clean myself up once I got home.

 

[TrekDedicated]

Originally posted by less'go
Here's a link where you can see a short clip of a guy doing stunts with his bike on a park bench. He kind of loses his balance. Not for the weak at heart...

http://www.kaitaia.com/funny/movies.shtml

OHHHHHHHHHHHHH SHITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT.

I justhad to bite my tongue from yelling in the office...

 

[N_laplaca]

My first bicycle was a low end mountain bike with no suspension. The trail I used to ride most often was very rocky. A difficult climb followed by a fairly steep descent which lead to a a dirt logging road you could really fly on. Used to rattle the hell out of my arms and hands on the rocky part.

Well after a few months of that I decided to get a front shock installed. My first ride with the new shock I was in heaven on the rocky descent, going much faster than before.

My handlebar had a slight bend in it from all the hammering over the rocks but I didn't think much of it. Well when I got to one of the faster sections of the logging road(about 35mph) I veered away from my usual line and went over a series of bumps. I'm thinking, "no problem I got a shock now, I'm invincible". well the handlebar snapped(guess it was weaker than I thought),and I went down immediately. I remember tumbling once still on the bike then I let it go and it went flying. Knocked the wind out of myself.

Luckily I didn't hit my head as I was not wearing a helmet. Didn't have cycling shorts just a regular pair of shorts which were shredded along the right side. The only thing holding them intact was the waistband. I was real close to riding home in my underwear.

I had about 2 miles more of logging road followed by 5 miles of road to get back home.