Your Worst Crash

[cydewaze]

He stopped. He was an uninsured day worker at a near by construction site. I don't really remember anything from after the acutal accident until about 10 days later. I had uncontrollable bleeding and was at a very high risk for infection. So the first 10 days they kept me heavly HEAVLY sedated because I remained intibated and I was going in and out of surgery every day if not more.

PS: My hoispital bill thus far is 1.25 million !!! Yes, I has insurance.

I'll never complain about my road rash again.

Good luck man!

 

[mattt]

Was cruising down Columbus Ave in Manhattan when a box truck hit me on 82nd street. I was in the right most lane minding my own business, abiding the laws of traffic and generally in complete control of my bike and my situation, so I thought. There was a lull in traffic so I applied my brakes slightly so as to keep distance from the cars in front of me, but unfortunately the truck driver behind me did not. My rear wheel was struck and my bike and body were both taken to the ground instantly. No glorious launch into the air or anything like you might expect being hit by a truck from behind would result in. I got up as fast as humanly possible to make sure I wasn't going to be hit by more oncoming traffic, and there wasn't, and hobbled my way to take a seat on a snowy curb. It was a quiet afternoon so many people around that area heard the resulting noise from my bike being chewed up and spit out, and an ambulence and police were called right away and were there within 5 minutes or so. Three nice folks stayed with me until I was taken off in an ambulence, as well as the offending truck driver, who was apologizing and saying it was an accident. My bike was run over by the truck's right rear wheel, and I, thankfully, was not. If my right foot had not torn the heal of my Genius 5 Lorica's, or had my left cleat not been plied off of the sole of my shoe, by sheer force I would have suffered terrible injuries, or possibly accompany my bicycle under the rear wheel of the truck. None of that came to be, so the final result was bruises along my right shin, contusions and some tearing in my right knee, a sprained ankle, a bruised lower back, and a bruise near the top of the calf of my left leg which made it immobile, until physical therapy straightened it out. I've been going to physical therapy since early March and am almost out and ready to race again. I got a new bike a few weeks ago and am very happy to be back on the road. Turns out my physical therapist, who is now in his late 20's, used to do Tri's in his early 20's, so we're planning on doing some riding together to get back in shape. In the end, I feel refreshed to have a new lease on life, I got a hot new bike (TCR Comp 1), and made a few new friends at PT, and quite possibly a volunteer/internship/job opportunity with them, who knows. It's a unnecessary and unwanted hurdle in one's life, but one must stay positive during the period of recovery or it will be much worse than it shouldn't have already been. Though it's a terrible thing to happen to anybody, there are positive sides any situation that you must find for yourself.
Stay upright,
Mattt

 

[Yojimbo_]

September 1, 2004. The day that change my lifer forever! (too dramatic?)

I am still recovering. After 15 surgeries, I have 2 more scheduled at this point, maybe more?. Smashed my pevlis, right tibia, left forarm.I have completely lost the use of my lower right leg I was in the hospital for 73 days (30 of which were in ICU)...

I was coming downhill when a truck coming uphill thought I was too wide around a corner. As such he pulled into my lane thinking I would go wide around him. I did not and I had no where to go.

Here is a link to my site: http://www.home.earthlink.net/~brazierfund/index.html

I think only death beats me!

Holy **** Owen......I sure hope you are recovering nice now.

 

[TrevorN]

My worst one was while going down a hill I didn't notice that they had just repaved a 10 by 10 foot strip in the road at the bottum of the hill. While passing over the strip my front tire sunk down and i fliped over the handle bars... this resulted in burning of my hands stomach and legs because it was still VERY hot. as soon as i fell and slid a small ways i jumped up and ran to the creek and jumped in to cool down the hot tar and pavement(30 or 40 feet away). for about 3 or 4 days i had tar stuck on my hands and stomach. haha

 

[ahinalu]

I'd take it as a definite message to quit cycling!!!!


In fact, reading the rest of these stories, I'm wondering if it wouldn't be best just to go for nice scenic walks instead.

blasphemy!!

 

[ahinalu]

September 1, 2004. The day that change my lifer forever! (too dramatic?)

I am still recovering. After 15 surgeries, I have 2 more scheduled at this point, maybe more?. Smashed my pevlis, right tibia, left forarm.I have completely lost the use of my lower right leg I was in the hospital for 73 days (30 of which were in ICU)...

I was coming downhill when a truck coming uphill thought I was too wide around a corner. As such he pulled into my lane thinking I would go wide around him. I did not and I had no where to go.

Here is a link to my site: http://www.home.earthlink.net/~brazierfund/index.html

I think only death beats me!

My wife thinks I should stop MTB'ing and take up road biking. Your story makes my two broken colar bones and one leg bone trivial. Good luck, and get better.

Aloha

 

[Catabolic Jones]

Best wishes Owen Meany!

As for me, 10 years old, on my supercharged BMX beast, headed downhill, pitch black, no streetlamps, no hands, doing Steve Martin's "King Tut" to impress my buddy behind me, didn't see the parked car, wham, break tibia and fibula, exposed bone through skin. Not happy.

It's always sobering to read this stuff. Makes me want to be extra careful. Good luck to everyone, and heads up!

 

[wineandkeyz]

Geez, compared to some of these, mine is pretty tame.

In a 75-mile charity ride last summer, I was in a pack of riders -- some experienced, some not. The guy in front of me was trying to get everyone formed up into a double paceline, but only about half of us knew what he meant. The guy in front of him was all over the map speedwise -- he'd be up over 20 mph, then would fall off to 17 or so. Then we hit some rough pavement and the idiot slams on the brakes. The rider in front of me ran into his pedal and fell (the guy who'd slammed on the brakes didn't go down).

I had folks on either side of me, although I doubt I could have gotten around him if I'd had the room. I remember thinking, "This isn't going to be good..." as I ran into him and did a classic endo. I landed on my shoulder and rolled, and was extremely lucky not to break anything -- except for the gel packs in my back pockets.

No sooner had I hit the pavement than a cute young thing fell onto me. Usually, I'd enjoy rolling around, bare legs all tangled, with a cute young thing, but not this time. We got ourselves untangled, collected our wits, then got our bikes untangled. Her bike and mine were rideable, so we collected our water bottles, etc., which had scattered from hell to breakfast and got ready to continue.

The first guy who went down wasn't as lucky. His front wheel was all out of true, so he had to SAG to the next stop, where a bike mechanic trued his wheel for him.

I came out of it with some road rash, a ripped jersey, and bruises. My bike was in pretty good shape, except my seat was ripped up pretty badly.

The worst part was that the idiot that caused the whole thing rode on as if nothing had happened.

 

[rolfdevinci]

Two crashes.....

1 - Commuting one winter I braked on wet pavement that turned out to be black ice. Down I went, bouncing my head of the curb(thank God for helmets) and barely missed sliding into rush hour traffic.

Helmet was crushed and my pride was damaged.

2 - Group ride on a wet Saturday morning and a set of train tracks got another victim. Me!
I usually take them at speed but slowed down this particular morning to be safe and the front wheel just slid out like it was on ice. Over the bar, shoulder rolling, with bike landing on me.

Finished the ride but developed back pain(more than usual) along with some road rash. A couple trips to the chiropractor made things better.

 

[Polpaico]

Well it's no big deal compared to some posts above... It happened about 3 years ago, I was going with a friend to a liquor store nearby my house, to get some beer... , it was night and there was no moonlight to help me see the road, no artificial light on the street (its a rural zone), and I had no front light installed on my bike.
So we were riding thirstily and happily, I was ahead and my friend behind me, when I struck with my front wheel a piece of cement rubble that some retarded workingman forgot to remove, the wheel instantly turned to the right, the handlebar hit my upper leg , and I fell down without knowing what was happening. I hit the street with my right elbow and wrist, triyng to protect my face but smashed my upper lip to the ground (no helmet). My friend helped me to ride home (with no beer) and the doctor gave me 3 stitches on the lip, and my elbow and wrist were sore for 2 weeks.
I cursed the little rock for about a month, and then someone removed it from the roadside.

 

[king4wd]

I come in on the tame end of things here. a list of top three:

Third) on the Santa ana river trail near Angelus Oaks, a few years back, I caught a rut and sailed headfirst into what we now call the "Tom King Memorial Boulder" I must have passed out for a minute as I don't remember my buddy asking me if I was alright. He says I was just twitching for a minute.

second) On a very spirited ride in Sycamore canyon with about eight friends, I took a bump the wrong way at about 30mph (48kph) and landed almost upside down. I've got scars on both knees, my right hip and right shoulder from that one.
First) On a road ride with a group from a local shop coming down out of Lake Perris, the rear tire went flat. When I tried to slow down for the 90 degree right hander at the bottom of the hill, the bike fishtailed pretty hard I didn't think much of it, as that bike tended to slide the rear wheel under hard braking. While trying to make the turn, the rim cut through the sidewall and the bike immediately slid out from under me. That one hurt! No major injury to me, but I needed a new rear wheel and new tires.

Honorable mention: on my first full century attempt, I lost it hitting a dip, while looking back to check on my buddy. I was lying in a pool of sweat with the wind knocked out of me. A local cycling club came along in their paceline and shouted "look a wreck!" They stopped, ran to my bike, gingerly picked it up and set it against the fence asking each other if the bike was OK. Not once did they ask If I was OK or even so much as acknowledge me. I guess for them it was about the bike

 

[telecaster]

My crash happened about 6 years ago, before I really got into cycling and bike maintenence. I was riding a cheap bike and never checked the chain or adjusted anything. I was cranking down a busy street in Seattle when my chain broke. I didn't know that's what happened at the time....I just remember my feet flying off the pedals (flat pedals) and bouncing off the road creating some kind of crazy frog dance. Anyway, I hit a light pole and got knocked out cold. I remember wriggling on my back to try to wake up, and when I did, there were a few people looking down at me and the paramedics were already there, putting me on a stretcher. I ended up with a broken wrist and pins put into it. I guess it could have been a lot worse. Helmets rule! I'll never ride without one....and I now own a nice bike that I am skilled at working on.

 

[Allan Bradberry]

I was 18 and loved to race anything. One evening I was cruzing McEwen TN. I saw some of my friends from school and this Baker boy challenged me to race from the Cemetary to the Drug store. I was moving about 50 MPH when he decided to roll his bicycle in front of mine. I swerved but still hit his bike. It folded my front rim around the forks. I skipped off the pavement and hit a power pole. The pavement busted and the pole broke. The onlookers said that I was like a weeblo in that I popped up immediately and started walking up the street. This pretty girl caught me and sat me at the end of her sidewalk. This is where my memory begins again. I was looking at the ground and at the other side of the street at the same time. She came back and sat behind me to hold me up. She then put a wash cloth in my left hand and helped me to raise my left eye back up to my head.
A half hour later my Dad finally got there. He took me home and Mom said to rush me to the hospitol. I was looking at myself in the mirror and most of the skin on my left cheek was gone. I had also melted my shirt to my shoulder. The surgery took 2 1/2 hours. They would not give me any pain killers because of my concussion. I had to hold the rail and grit my teeth. I could feel every thread on every stitch. I made the boy who did this to me stay and watch my surgery. I then spent 8 days in the hospitol. It was not so bad because I found that I could do wheelies on one wheel in the wheelchair they gave me. The nurses did not take to this to well. I got visits from the girls softball team. I had to go back to a plastic surgion a year later and have part of my ear grafted to the left of my left eye. The meat was missing and the eye would not shut until they did this. people still ask me where did I get my black eye. At times it looks that way. Since this I promote helmets to everyone that I see riding. Big Al

 

[triguy98]

1) Gatorback at Alafai (MTB) I had really only been MTBing with my new-to-me bike for a couple months at a typical Florida trail (flat and rooty) when a friend invited me t go with him t this cool park. HE tld me it was tough, but having been to Moab, I questioned his judgment. How wrong of me. Going down one drop, I lost control of the bike, slammed into a tree and slid down the hill (exposed limestone) on my shoulder and face. Still have scars on my shoulder.

2) Razorback, Ocala. Not quite as spetacular, but longer term effects. Bombed an innocent looking hill. Had enough speed and stupidity to not see the bump in the trail. Airborne. Right into a tree. Tree hit my leg three inches aboue the knee. I couldnt stnad up for a couple minutes. Took a while to get going again, five minutes down the trail i nearly passed out from the pain. Finished the day and went to the doctor. Bruised bone and thigh. Took two months to be able to run again without severe pain.

 

[Yojimbo_]

Moving this up.

 

[ahinalu]

Ok not as bad as some, but...

My worst crash was downhilling on a skateboard doing 50mph when I went down broke two ribs and had the worse road rash ever (no helmet, shoes, gloves [used my flipflops as gloves], shirt...just a pair of OP corduroy shorts and long 1970's hippie hair.

Worst bike crash was...
Last August I was riding every day in preperation for a trip to Whistler. I was stepping up a lot of my jumps and went of one that shouldn't be too big unless you hit it too fast and put too much chawoomp off the launch. I had done this jump twice before and nosed it pretty bad (thank you monster T) and I was landing to the left of the tranny.

I remembered the last thing as I was hitting the jump and tried to compinsate (too late) and I went off sideways. Since the jump has a kick to it I also started to pitch. Since I was going WAY too fast, I missed the tranny by about 8' and landed on my left shoulder and head from 8-9' on hard pack red dirt flat.

My Carbon sixsixone got cracked but not my skull! My colar bone was compressed and displaced 1 1/2".

This is like group where we feel better by taking "ownership" of our worst moments.

Whew...I feel like I don't have three steel plates in my body...

 

[bigdraft]

I've had a couple of bad crashes. The first one was on the SDBC ride in N. County San Diego. We were coming down the coast hwy thru Encinitas, when we had to deviate from our normal route due to an on-going triathalon. At the bottom of a short little hill we were forced to detour left. While the pack was turning left, some dufas either didn't understand what was happening or just got out of control, and T-boned me in the middle of the curve. I wasn't going very fast, but it was OTB (over the bars) and onto my back. I broke four ribs and pumctured a lung. Ouch...I never had broken any bones before that, and for those who have broken ribs before you know how much fun it can be.

The other crash was a bit more spectacular. It was on the Rose Bowl ride here in Pasadena. We were on the downleg leg, doing about 35 mph or so. I off to the right, in the wind, taking a drink when I see the pack compress going over a rise due to traffic coming the other way. When the pack compressed some guy who was in over his head, didn't stay calm and adjust with the rest of the guys, but started to get a bit wobbly. I see this and think..ohhhh no. I reach down to put my bottle back in it's cage. When I look up I see the same wobbly guy right in front of me and I knew right then and there I was going down. The guy biffed right in front of me and I had zero time to react. I hit him and I went flying. Talking to some of my teammates later who saw it from behind, said it was one of the more spectacular ones they had seen. I'm 6'4" and I did a full layout front flip. When I hit I didn't roll, slide, scrape, bounce or nothing. I pancaked like a sac of dead weight. I separated my left shoulder (again) and put a huge hemotoma on my left booty cheeck. I'm still out of alignment from that rig. But again I was able to get back on my bike pretty quickly after that..about a week or so.

 

[swskier]

crashed on sunday, hit my face against a 3 foot tall wooden post at 25mph. Was alone so I called 911 and walked to the nearest intersection. I broke two bones in my face and a rib but im on painkillers so its all good plus my bike is okay with only damage to my $100 saddle.

 

[Spin_Dr_Tio]

I am more of a road rider but I do the occassional trail riding...and fittingly, I am on the forums today because my most recent wreck has left me bed-bound (not hospital bound like some respondants - bless each one of you).

I was leading the group of guys I ride with on at a new park in southern North Carolina. In the middle of the trail stood (for a lack of a better word) your typical tree that has fallen... typical in that it resounds the pervasive debate "to jump or not to jump?" in a poor Elizabethian accent. Well, I sped up under the guise that I could make this. Now, I am modest and aware of my abilities and I was certain that this would certainly test my limits as a rider but that I could ultimately make it (or at least sustain a humble crash). Well, I was a bit naive to say the least (that and plain dumb). Upon getting up on the tree I too late realized that this was a monster (it must have grown while i was riding towards it )... At the speed I was going (and I will not conjecture some absurd speed for the sake of this story) I could not slow down in time. So, I tried the intended jump.

The bottom of the front tire hit the top of the tree and flipped me completely over in the air. I landed facefirst into the dirt. Now, the minor facial and shoulder scabs are no problem... a badge even... but the immobile back, neck, and shoulder has me a bit worried. Now, as a pauper doctoral student, I am uncertain what is worse - the crash or the fact that I do not have the cash or insurance to see a doctor!!!

I cannot wait to get on my bike again.

Cheers!!!

 

[wjbieb]

I have had two since I started racing in 1987. The first was when I was still a Cat III. I was doing a crit and there were 5 of us in the break. Two guys were trying their hardest to bridge up, and as they took the corner, they cut too sharp and one of the guys hit a manhole cover off to my right. In my peripheral vision I saw him coming right at me. I put my right shoulder down to try and put it into his left armpit but was too late as I was going right for the curb. There were too many people standing on the sidewalk, and as I bunny hopped up over the curb I remember grabbing the top tube of my bike and hitting a driveway type of entry to a building...and sliding for a couple meters before hitting the foundation and potato chipping my wheel. One of the spokes that sprung went into my left calf and as I lay there trying to get up, people were holding my shoulder saying "wait til the meds get here!" Anyway, about an hour in the first aid tent! Also, was dating this gal at the time, and it was her first race. I don't think she ever went to another one!

The other wreck was some buddies and I on the college team, rode our mountain bikes to a party.....cause chicks dig shaved legs! Anyway, it started to rain, and we decided to race back to campus. I decided to pop up into a parking lot and take a corner by a drive through window at the local hang. At the corner where the cars parked for the drive through, the oil had dripped from time to time and it was slick. I hit the patch of oil doing about 15-20ish..I don't remember! But anyway I went slightly sideways and momentum carried me right into a phone booth. I was laying there laughing in my embarassment and my buddies came back and helped me unfold my diamond back and body outta the booth. Ahhhh....the college life!!!!! OUT.