Your Worst Crash



A friend of a friend had just finished putting together his new ride, and decided to take it out around the block for a spin around midnight. Just a short ride, no helmet. A taxi turned left in front of him as he was speeding down a hill, and he flew over it and hit head first. He was in an induced coma for 2 weeks, during which they cut the top of his skull completely off to relieve pressure on the brain. It was put back on in another 1.5 weeks. Now two years later, he is a totally different person, according to my friend who knows him.
 
Well this might not be the worst accident around but it shook me up alot and ive been wanting to tell this story so here goes.

Last year I was late on my way to work so going down a steep hill I pushing for all the speed I could get and I had reached 35+ mph when I thought more speed! so I peddled faster and then I hit something it took me a second or two to realize both my tyres were flat.

I want didnt believe it, I tried using the brakes and this just made the bike wobble alarmingly and every stone I hit had the same effect. So I realised well theres a corner at the bottom and I'm going to crash this thing so I'd better find a soft spot. But I must have hit some dirt because as soon as I touched the grass the bike went from under me and I crashed into a wall. Maybe not such a great spot.

Well I wasnt injured that badly I had a slight concussion, my elbow needed stiches and my leg had some nasty brusing. It seems the bike took most of it I mangled the handle bars and buckled the wheels. On further inspection the tubes had snake bite punctures, the rear tyre had blown out and the wheels had some nice dents in them. I think the tyres didnt have enough pressure in them and then when I hit a pot hole both tyres went. I replaced the broken parts and the bike rides just like it used to but I still have the old handle bars hanging in my shed not sure whether I should keep them or not.

I was wearing a helmet but I still think I got lucky, it hurt alot but I didnt brake anything. I think the worst injury I got was more psychological as decents are now very scary and I hate tight corners.

Well thats my story,
Ben Jones
 
Since I have just began, I haven't experienced the first crash yet but fear the day it does happen. I do have a story though about a friend's accident he had a while back.

He was riding down a hill on a mountain bike and nailed a rather large rock that was straggling outside a driveway. As it was downhill, he was going pretty quick when he hit the rock and went over the handelbars. The front wheel hit the pavement and the handelbars jetted upwards as he went over, nailing him underneath the ribs. The handlebars stcuk underneath his rib for a while until it was removed. It never actually punctured him but he still has a stretch underneath the ribs from where the handlebar did its damage.
 
Here's an interesting question: After a crash, do you all check the condition of yourself or your bike first? In my first major crash, the first thing I did was check if my bike was okay :p.
 
PartisanRanger said:
Here's an interesting question: After a crash, do you all check the condition of yourself or your bike first? In my first major crash, the first thing I did was check if my bike was okay :p.
Nah I used to think about the bike first but the last two times I crashed I had hit my head on something so the bike didnt seem that important that said those where cheap bikes. The first real crash I had I just forgot about the bike and tried to walk home across a busy road with concusion and the second time I panicked because I couldnt feel my legs and hailed a passing lorry from the side of the road. I think maybe I've hit my head to many times.
 
juf2m said:
If just one of those things happened to me 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. :rolleyes: ;)
I have been thinking the same thing. Three kids and a wife, I'm the sole breadwinner. Almost seems irresponsible to ride and race.
 
PartisanRanger said:
Here's an interesting question: After a crash, do you all check the condition of yourself or your bike first? In my first major crash, the first thing I did was check if my bike was okay :p.
If it is a rough crash then I check on myself and forget about the bike.. If it is a minor crash and I clearly am not hurt, I check on myself and THEN on the bike.
 
This was a few years ago, on a mountain bike when I was in highschool. I was at a football game with my brother and his friend (both older). After the game, we were riding back home when they started racing. Me, being the youngest one wanted to show them up so I peddled as fast as I could, going down hill and cut through a park at the bottom, going full speed. I didn't see that there was a chain and posts (to keep cars from driving through the park) and I ran right into the chain, going over the handlebars and landing on my already cracked tailbone. I have a huge bruse on my backside for a few weeks and it hurt to sit.

A couple years afterwards, I got clothes lined by the same kind of chain while on a quad going 50 mph (Shattered my nose, cracked my scull, burst a blood vessel in my eye...)
 
Just want to share my recent bike crash, happened 1 week before easter. I had broken wrist, concussion and made in induced comma, also put in breathing machine, I don't remember anything until now what had happened, I only know from what the witnesses have been telling me. So it's a good thing, because I don't feel any trauma.

You'd better see the video, It's really a painful way just to get on news:p
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckeZ-wHZc4c

 
mysrh said:
Just want to share my recent bike crash, happened 1 week before easter. I had broken wrist, concussion and made in induced comma, also put in breathing machine, I don't remember anything until now what had happened, I only know from what the witnesses have been telling me. So it's a good thing, because I don't feel any trauma.

You'd better see the video, It's really a painful way just to get on news:p
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckeZ-wHZc4c
My old high school cross country coach was involved in a horrific accident at the end of a bike race during the 'dead sprint'. Two cyclists crashed in front of him and he had no where to go, ended up going head or bars and right on his neck. The crash fractured his C3 and C4 vertabrae and he is paralyzed from the shoulders down. This happened in early June so he has been in hardcore rehab for the past couple of months. Some good news though, it was discovered that the crash did not destroy any part in his spine so there is still a glimmer of hope he may be able to take care of himself in the future; they also were sending electric shocks through his biceps and one of them started pulsating with each shock. This guy is a great coach, a middle school teacher and incredible teammate.

If you want to see a blog of his recovery phase, than visit the site below
http://www.morristrucking.com/race/race.html
 
just experienced my first crash today since I've only been riding for a couple of weeks, so I guess it's my worst.
I was going about 35-40 mph down a hill, approached a curve and a car came around the corner. I was riding towards the middle of the road and had to swerve over so I wasn't too close to the car and take a chance of hitting it. I lost control trying to get over (going that fast it's kinda hard to make any sudden movements) and skidding off the road onto gravel and crashed into some bushes. My bike seat got snapped off in process and the sharp edge that resulted from it snapping off cut up my leg pretty bad.
I was lucky with what happened. I thought it was going to much worse than that.

I couldn't even find my bike seat (it was useless even if I did find it) and had to ride 15 miles back home standing up.
 
The worst crah was over 20 years ago, i had a serious head injury and it took me almost 2 years to recover. I was flying about 10 meters (riding on a descent) and landed on my head. My speed was too high on the descent.. or the curve was to sharp... Ofcourse i didn't wear a helmet, i started to wear helmets about 3 years ago after another crash which wasn't really bad but it reminded me....
 
fell of last night got caught in the tram tracks in melbourne


went ass over tits and broken my ffront and rear lights

and my legs kill

craig
 
After years and years of cycling I've actually never had any real brushes with death or even bad physical pain. A buddy of mine that I used to MTB with encountered it often though. We used to ride HARD on some local trails. We'd ridden one particular trail so many times that we knew the perfect line through every corner of the entire mile-long length. The first half mile had an elevation drop of about 350-400 feet, which we both loved. There were often hikers on the trail, but this particular day left the parking lot near-empty. Fortunately, even if there were people on the trail it was open enough that you could see reasonably far ahead of you so that you wouldn't surprise anybody. Anyways, we saw the empty parking lot and started bombing down the trail, my buddy Kevin riding in front. He took one not-too-sharp turn but didn't quite pull up enough on his front tire to make it over a partially-submerged water-diversion log. His front tire glanced off of it at an angle while he was doing probably 25-30 mph, which sent him crashing to the ground and his bike doing multiple flip after flip after flip in the air between bouncing off the ground and doing more flips. He did probably 4-6 summersaults into the bushes himself, ending up probably 30+ feet away and got up holding his shoulder and groaning/moaning really loudly. I was concerned he'd broken his shoulder or collarbone, which he didn't, but only then did we turn around and see the kindergarden/1st grade teacher with her class out on a nature walk with every one of the kids standing there with their jaws on the trail and eyes the size of dinner plates staring at us! We had some good laughs about it later, but that was one long and agonizing ride home for Kevin . . .
 
I was out on a club ride. We went up a big hill and turned down a sidestreet to begin the descent. Everyone took off like rockets, but I was hanging back being a timid descender. As I started to feather the brakes, I lost control. Evidently the front brakes grabbed and the rear brakes did not. Why? I still don't know. Perhaps the rear tire went flat, or maybe there was some other issue. All I know is that the back of the bike started to wag back and forth as I struggled to keep control. Just then, I saw a tree.

The next thing I remember is that I was carried out of the woods on a stretcher. I was just discharged from the hospital after 6 wks in rehab. I have some good movement in the right leg and the left is starting to respond. No one can say whether I will walk again, but I have a lot of faith and hope.

Wear a helmet. I was. If what happened to my back happened to my head, I don't know what would have happened.
 
Told my group of guides off for overlapping wheels, then proceeded to overlap wheels and tip over at 1 mph, breaking my brand new carbon bars.
 
My worst crash hasn't been any that bad. I don't remember most of it though. I hit my head on the ground (wearing a helmet) and had a minor concussion, I knew it was because I was sick to my stomach when I got up. It sucked. I had to quit the club race we were doing and I finished 24th of 25. The crash took out one other rider, and I was positioned ahead of him on the ground, so that's how we finished.:D