"...in fact most accidents can be tuck a roll or just roll.
1. Unseen mutt runs into front wheel from behind parked truck 3'-4' off roadway. WTF just happened?!?! No time to react. No warning. Maybe you guys ride around ready to perform aerial acrobatic maneuvers on a Tuesday afternoon in the Spring time, but I do not.
From the article:
"1.1.Realize you are crashing and think about the following things to do."
The average crash I've been in took from ZERO seconds to the realization that it was happening to a couple seconds...maybe three seconds. Maybe. Human reaction time AT THE BEST is somewhere on the order of .7 to .8 second. In the approximately one second time left to impact I found it difficult to trigger my cheetah-like reflexes and Chinese Touring Acrobat mad skillz to manage a one-and-one-half forward gainer with a half-twist and land, ever so gracefully and catlike, on my feet. Like the LUCKY pro did in the video I posted in the high speed crash from this year's Tour De France hilarity.
Then, examine the evidence of which riders ended up with broken backs (hint: his nick is that of an ancient warrior), who was forced to retire, what the damage to bodies was and watch the slo-mo. Any flipping was rarely, if at all, followed by tucking, let alone rolling.
If you examine that video carefully you will note that 99% of those same, well practiced at crashing pro's did NOT flip or tuck or anything. They were the same human rag dolls most of us mere mortals are during bicycle crashes, car crashes or when we slip in the tub.
"2.Don't let go of the handlebars until you've already hit the ground."
Yeah...about that. Having the bars ripped from your hands, like I had happen in several crashes kinda, sorta negates that scenario. The Boy Wonder I train with also found out that a tuck and roll is impossible after was even started into an endo by dropping his front wheel into an exposed water main shut-off hole (cover missing!) and the bars were ripped from his grip. Sideways and face first into da road of life. Ouchie, indeed. His ear was ripped up. No time to react. He never knew what hit him. Sure, in mid flight he knew he was missile with no inertial guidance system, but there was nothing that could have been done mid-flight to get on target with an air mattress.
Personally, I'll protect the base of my skull with my hands prior to impact. Instinctively or reflexively. 'If' I have the time and control. Which I very rarely have.
"3.Tuck your head down, pull your elbows and knees in."
Damn straight! Fully agree. 'If' reaction time is sufficient and rotational inertia permit it. Otherwise...see: Human Rag Doll note above.
"4.Relax for the impact."
Uh...sure...whatever. I usually find myself in a very relaxed state for life events such as: falls from high places, exposure to Ebola victims, bars fights, impending blunt force trauma, ambulance rides, pending explosions and sex with supermodels.
Now...maybe some ninja-trained pyschobabble spewing moron on Quaaludes can relax for the next 1.468 seconds of his life...you know...the life one generally sees flashing before their eyes as their mother welcomes them into the white light???...well...God bless him and his superior mind control.
Most of us will be...erm...NOT in a relaxed state and other than perhaps 'practicing' by repeatedly slamming my bike and body onto a grass field over and over and over I'm NOT going to ever be "relaxed" for a brutal impact from 20+ MPH to zero in two seconds or less.
Not given another 62 years on this planet is that ever going to happen. Nope.
Yes, I read the entire article.
"The following points are very unnatural and will be close to impossible to do if you don't realize that you need to do them."
Well...no ****. And given that one realizes he needs to do something the odds of being capable of doing it given the physics of an unpracticed, split second event and I will state...just from my experience mind you...that it is almost impossible to perform the above the tuck and roll under most crash situations. I have been in more crashes than I care to remember and the number of times I could perform a willful, planned (whether involuntarily or a deliberate and controlled version) tuck and roll are exactly zero (as best remembered). Gravity (it kills!), inertia, speed-mass vectoring and the resulting battering won the day, sadly.
This, despite an afternoon session of grass field 'practice' with a cohort of equally stupid team mates as alluded to above. I never play soccer, but I did play a lot of football and did countless gym classes with practiced falls. Running falls. Falls and tumbles on mats. Tackle rolls. All of that stuff. NONE of that ever applied in any way, shape or form to my bike crashes so I call ******** on that point of the article.
Crashing, by definition, is a very, very fast and unplanned event. Again, by definition, it is an event in which the participant is NOT in control of pretty much anything. The feet are often unable to be unclipped to guide trajectory or without control input from the rider become unclipped or entangled with the bike and inhibit controlled response. Hands are often torn from the bars in the first split second of an impending crash.
"I know you think I'm goofy,"
Not at all. But in the many years I've ridden (and crashed) I've often heard the 'tuck and roll' advice, but rarely known it to be applicable and actually deployed. IMO it's very much a 'when the stars align' event.
"ok, you may be right,"
I think, when it comes to the average...if there is such a thing...bike crash event, I am. Maybe in a very few events such as close proximity racing that riders practically 'know' there will be crashes and somewhat 'on guard' for them there is a slight...a very slight!...chance that someone will flip through the air still holding a death grip on the bars as they simultaneously react to gyroscopic forces and unclip equally without disturbing their straight forward vector and land without breaking shoulder bones and incurring back injuries that will dog them for the rest of their lives and, of course, not tearing huge chunks out of their glutes.
"If you fall enough, you will get good at falling in a protective manner."
Bull.
****ing.
****.
When it goes down in the blink on an eye you don't even have time to clench your ass like Swami was behind you and you heard a zipper.
That sentence should be corrected to read: "If you fall enough, you will get good at fishing your insurance card out of your wallet with the broken fingers of your left hand."
In the meantime...for those seekers out there:
1. Go find a grass field and practice falling off a perfectly good bike. Repeatedly.
2. YouTube said antics.
3. Post your X-Rays from your next real bike crash.
BTW, Froze...from the doggy crash above. 27 X-Rays. No broken bones. I got lucky. Nothing more. The stars aligned for me on that one.
1. Unseen mutt runs into front wheel from behind parked truck 3'-4' off roadway. WTF just happened?!?! No time to react. No warning. Maybe you guys ride around ready to perform aerial acrobatic maneuvers on a Tuesday afternoon in the Spring time, but I do not.
From the article:
"1.1.Realize you are crashing and think about the following things to do."
The average crash I've been in took from ZERO seconds to the realization that it was happening to a couple seconds...maybe three seconds. Maybe. Human reaction time AT THE BEST is somewhere on the order of .7 to .8 second. In the approximately one second time left to impact I found it difficult to trigger my cheetah-like reflexes and Chinese Touring Acrobat mad skillz to manage a one-and-one-half forward gainer with a half-twist and land, ever so gracefully and catlike, on my feet. Like the LUCKY pro did in the video I posted in the high speed crash from this year's Tour De France hilarity.
Then, examine the evidence of which riders ended up with broken backs (hint: his nick is that of an ancient warrior), who was forced to retire, what the damage to bodies was and watch the slo-mo. Any flipping was rarely, if at all, followed by tucking, let alone rolling.
If you examine that video carefully you will note that 99% of those same, well practiced at crashing pro's did NOT flip or tuck or anything. They were the same human rag dolls most of us mere mortals are during bicycle crashes, car crashes or when we slip in the tub.
"2.Don't let go of the handlebars until you've already hit the ground."
Yeah...about that. Having the bars ripped from your hands, like I had happen in several crashes kinda, sorta negates that scenario. The Boy Wonder I train with also found out that a tuck and roll is impossible after was even started into an endo by dropping his front wheel into an exposed water main shut-off hole (cover missing!) and the bars were ripped from his grip. Sideways and face first into da road of life. Ouchie, indeed. His ear was ripped up. No time to react. He never knew what hit him. Sure, in mid flight he knew he was missile with no inertial guidance system, but there was nothing that could have been done mid-flight to get on target with an air mattress.
Personally, I'll protect the base of my skull with my hands prior to impact. Instinctively or reflexively. 'If' I have the time and control. Which I very rarely have.
"3.Tuck your head down, pull your elbows and knees in."
Damn straight! Fully agree. 'If' reaction time is sufficient and rotational inertia permit it. Otherwise...see: Human Rag Doll note above.
"4.Relax for the impact."
Uh...sure...whatever. I usually find myself in a very relaxed state for life events such as: falls from high places, exposure to Ebola victims, bars fights, impending blunt force trauma, ambulance rides, pending explosions and sex with supermodels.
Now...maybe some ninja-trained pyschobabble spewing moron on Quaaludes can relax for the next 1.468 seconds of his life...you know...the life one generally sees flashing before their eyes as their mother welcomes them into the white light???...well...God bless him and his superior mind control.
Most of us will be...erm...NOT in a relaxed state and other than perhaps 'practicing' by repeatedly slamming my bike and body onto a grass field over and over and over I'm NOT going to ever be "relaxed" for a brutal impact from 20+ MPH to zero in two seconds or less.
Not given another 62 years on this planet is that ever going to happen. Nope.
Yes, I read the entire article.
"The following points are very unnatural and will be close to impossible to do if you don't realize that you need to do them."
Well...no ****. And given that one realizes he needs to do something the odds of being capable of doing it given the physics of an unpracticed, split second event and I will state...just from my experience mind you...that it is almost impossible to perform the above the tuck and roll under most crash situations. I have been in more crashes than I care to remember and the number of times I could perform a willful, planned (whether involuntarily or a deliberate and controlled version) tuck and roll are exactly zero (as best remembered). Gravity (it kills!), inertia, speed-mass vectoring and the resulting battering won the day, sadly.
This, despite an afternoon session of grass field 'practice' with a cohort of equally stupid team mates as alluded to above. I never play soccer, but I did play a lot of football and did countless gym classes with practiced falls. Running falls. Falls and tumbles on mats. Tackle rolls. All of that stuff. NONE of that ever applied in any way, shape or form to my bike crashes so I call ******** on that point of the article.
Crashing, by definition, is a very, very fast and unplanned event. Again, by definition, it is an event in which the participant is NOT in control of pretty much anything. The feet are often unable to be unclipped to guide trajectory or without control input from the rider become unclipped or entangled with the bike and inhibit controlled response. Hands are often torn from the bars in the first split second of an impending crash.
"I know you think I'm goofy,"
Not at all. But in the many years I've ridden (and crashed) I've often heard the 'tuck and roll' advice, but rarely known it to be applicable and actually deployed. IMO it's very much a 'when the stars align' event.
"ok, you may be right,"
I think, when it comes to the average...if there is such a thing...bike crash event, I am. Maybe in a very few events such as close proximity racing that riders practically 'know' there will be crashes and somewhat 'on guard' for them there is a slight...a very slight!...chance that someone will flip through the air still holding a death grip on the bars as they simultaneously react to gyroscopic forces and unclip equally without disturbing their straight forward vector and land without breaking shoulder bones and incurring back injuries that will dog them for the rest of their lives and, of course, not tearing huge chunks out of their glutes.
"If you fall enough, you will get good at falling in a protective manner."
Bull.
****ing.
****.
When it goes down in the blink on an eye you don't even have time to clench your ass like Swami was behind you and you heard a zipper.
That sentence should be corrected to read: "If you fall enough, you will get good at fishing your insurance card out of your wallet with the broken fingers of your left hand."
In the meantime...for those seekers out there:
1. Go find a grass field and practice falling off a perfectly good bike. Repeatedly.
2. YouTube said antics.
3. Post your X-Rays from your next real bike crash.
BTW, Froze...from the doggy crash above. 27 X-Rays. No broken bones. I got lucky. Nothing more. The stars aligned for me on that one.
