To me. The bikes are fine. In fact, it took Scott longer to put the bike on the back of the truck than it took for the bike mechanic to shift the horn/brake assembly back into position on the side portion of the handlebar. Apparently, the actual metal part of the handlebar was completely unscathed. I had no idea that the horns could bend so much! Now I just need to take a Sharpie to the edge of the brake handle and Circe will be back at 100%.
Friday night I rode my hybrid over to B's house and then rode the trails around her house with her. It would have been a faster trip to her house, but she's getting used to riding again and is on a hybrid so I took the slower bike with new combo platform/SPDs. These SPDs are pretty tight as I discovered when I lost momentum going up a hill, lost my balance, and couldn't unclip before falling sideways into a ditch full of thorn bushes.
Good times.
B. pulled my bike off me and then hauled me out of the thorns. She also kindly pulled a couple of thorns out of my upper arm. I washed off the blood and we resumed our ride. I felt fine when we got back to her place and decided to ride back home. The traffic was kind of heavy for a Friday night, but I've gotten pretty comfortable around cars. I amused myself by hitting and maintaining the 25mph speed limit on a residential street which meant that the car behind me couldn't (well, not legally anyway) pass.
I hopped on the W&OD in Old Town Herndon for the trail leg of my trip and ran into a bit of trouble when the trail was CLOGGED with teens who were ignoring the concert happening on the green behind City Hall. I slowed way down but when a girl darted out in front of me, I went down hard on my right side.
The kids around me were horrified and helped me up, gathered my belongings which had fallen from my basket, continually asked if I was okay, and apologized again and again. I thanked them for their help and told them that I was very nearly a professional faller and I was okay. One of the boys said, "In that case..." and began to clap. I bowed, we all laughed, and I hopped back on for the final leg.
When I got home, Scott was horrified to see the bloody scratches on my left arm and leg, fresh bruise on my right arm, and streaks of blood from knee to ankle on my right leg. He's looking to develop a line of cycling clothing made of bubble wrap for me. I think I may simply need to go back to wearing leggings over my cycling shorts. I never got banged up like this when I was fully clothed.
Due the cuts and bruises and stiffness and soreness, I stayed home from the group ride today. I was disappointed to make that call this morning, but as of tonight I've realized that was the best choice. Scott and I will take our own trip out to Purcellville and back tomorrow. Oh, and he's going to loosen the clips on my pedals a tiny bit so I can yank my feet out more easily and not escalate injuries.
Showing posts with label crash. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crash. Show all posts
Saturday, May 05, 2012
Friday, May 04, 2012
Damage
During last weekend's ride, I overheard a cyclist tell his friend that when learning to ride clipless, you will fall three times. I had my third, and worst, fall last night.
I was exiting a shopping center (what my friends and I call the "Bavarian Monstrosity" at the corner of Centreville Road and Sunrise Valley in Herndon) and the driveway was a fairly steep hill. The driver in front of me gunned his car to make a right turn but then hit his brakes. I hit my brakes and unclipped on the right towards the curb. Unfortunately, Circe decided to go left. She never goes left. All my falls have been to the right. But left we went and I couldn't unclip fast enough and went down in front of a car. I hopped up as fast as I could, yanking my foot out of the left shoe and bounded with bike to the grassy spot next to the driveway. I lost a little skin on my left knee because I was wearing bike shorts instead of my usual capris, but I wasn't bleeding much. It took some work to wrench the shoe off the pedal, but eventually I got everything in order and walked the bike up the hill so I could clear my head of the shock and adrenaline.
Eventually I felt comfortable enough to get back into traffic and, because darkness was quickly falling, headed for home. I was a couple of miles from home when I realized that my left brake handle felt weird and I had to put my hand in an odd position to use it. It was only then that I noticed the left horn was no longer 90 degrees from the handlebar; it was more like 75 degrees from the handlebar. That didn't seem good. But it was working well enough and I got home just as full darkness came on.
Today I'm a little sore on my left side -- dull surprise -- and have discovered that I scraped up my elbow as well. The road rash on my knee isn't too bad, but I've got some pretty spectacular bruises. This isn't putting me off riding with a girlfriend tonight; though I will be on my hybrid. Scott works half days on Fridays and will take my bike over to the shop and get them to fix my handlebar. He said he could bend it back into place, but I want the professionals to handle this first repair.
I was exiting a shopping center (what my friends and I call the "Bavarian Monstrosity" at the corner of Centreville Road and Sunrise Valley in Herndon) and the driveway was a fairly steep hill. The driver in front of me gunned his car to make a right turn but then hit his brakes. I hit my brakes and unclipped on the right towards the curb. Unfortunately, Circe decided to go left. She never goes left. All my falls have been to the right. But left we went and I couldn't unclip fast enough and went down in front of a car. I hopped up as fast as I could, yanking my foot out of the left shoe and bounded with bike to the grassy spot next to the driveway. I lost a little skin on my left knee because I was wearing bike shorts instead of my usual capris, but I wasn't bleeding much. It took some work to wrench the shoe off the pedal, but eventually I got everything in order and walked the bike up the hill so I could clear my head of the shock and adrenaline.
Eventually I felt comfortable enough to get back into traffic and, because darkness was quickly falling, headed for home. I was a couple of miles from home when I realized that my left brake handle felt weird and I had to put my hand in an odd position to use it. It was only then that I noticed the left horn was no longer 90 degrees from the handlebar; it was more like 75 degrees from the handlebar. That didn't seem good. But it was working well enough and I got home just as full darkness came on.
Today I'm a little sore on my left side -- dull surprise -- and have discovered that I scraped up my elbow as well. The road rash on my knee isn't too bad, but I've got some pretty spectacular bruises. This isn't putting me off riding with a girlfriend tonight; though I will be on my hybrid. Scott works half days on Fridays and will take my bike over to the shop and get them to fix my handlebar. He said he could bend it back into place, but I want the professionals to handle this first repair.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Great ride, until...
Had a super stressful afternoon at work which culminated in a harrowing drive through the picket line at the back of the campus. I figured making the right turn onto Waxpool would be easier than the left onto the parkway but I didn't count on picketers jumping into the road ahead of my truck trying to get hit. Jackholes.
To burn off the extra adrenaline and stress, I hopped on my bike and toodled up and down residential streets aiming for the most mileage in the smallest area. I wound up on streets I've never explored and saw lots of pretty little homes and neat lawns. Lots of joggers and gardeners were out and about, taking advantage of the gorgeous evening weather. Everything was going great until I was nearly home.
I was in the neighborhood across the boulevard and coasting (much too) fast down the street. As I approached an intersection and prepared to turn right, a car pulled out from in front of another car against the curb ahead of me on the right. I startled and hit the brakes too hard. The bike mostly stopped but I didn't. I flipped over the handlebars and watched the road fly towards me and thought, "Oh wow. This is going to hurt." I skidded across the pavement on my knee, thigh, and elbows and then rolled onto my side to catch my breath. The car driver jumped out of his car and raced over to see if I was okay. I gasped that the wind was knocked out of me, but I thought I was otherwise okay. He apologized and I did my best to assure him that he hadn't done anything wrong and I startled and over-reacted. I checked my arms and legs to make sure nothing was broken or sprained and got up to pick up Rose. The driver retrieved my cell phone (which was protected by the handle-bar mount case) from the other side of the street. Phone was fine, case was fine. Bike was mostly okay but the rear brake and right shifter aren't happy. The frame and tires seemed okay. The front reflector broke off, but my front LED was fine. I was able to climb back on and carefully ride the two blocks home.
My elbows, left knee, and right thigh are scraped up pretty badly and there's a huge bruise and knot the size of a golf ball above my right knee. My shoulders and chest hurt from the impact, but aside from all that, I'm good. Rose is in the back of the truck and will be going to Spokes, Etc this evening for repairs.
To burn off the extra adrenaline and stress, I hopped on my bike and toodled up and down residential streets aiming for the most mileage in the smallest area. I wound up on streets I've never explored and saw lots of pretty little homes and neat lawns. Lots of joggers and gardeners were out and about, taking advantage of the gorgeous evening weather. Everything was going great until I was nearly home.
I was in the neighborhood across the boulevard and coasting (much too) fast down the street. As I approached an intersection and prepared to turn right, a car pulled out from in front of another car against the curb ahead of me on the right. I startled and hit the brakes too hard. The bike mostly stopped but I didn't. I flipped over the handlebars and watched the road fly towards me and thought, "Oh wow. This is going to hurt." I skidded across the pavement on my knee, thigh, and elbows and then rolled onto my side to catch my breath. The car driver jumped out of his car and raced over to see if I was okay. I gasped that the wind was knocked out of me, but I thought I was otherwise okay. He apologized and I did my best to assure him that he hadn't done anything wrong and I startled and over-reacted. I checked my arms and legs to make sure nothing was broken or sprained and got up to pick up Rose. The driver retrieved my cell phone (which was protected by the handle-bar mount case) from the other side of the street. Phone was fine, case was fine. Bike was mostly okay but the rear brake and right shifter aren't happy. The frame and tires seemed okay. The front reflector broke off, but my front LED was fine. I was able to climb back on and carefully ride the two blocks home.
My elbows, left knee, and right thigh are scraped up pretty badly and there's a huge bruise and knot the size of a golf ball above my right knee. My shoulders and chest hurt from the impact, but aside from all that, I'm good. Rose is in the back of the truck and will be going to Spokes, Etc this evening for repairs.
Friday, June 03, 2011
Not exactly as planned
Got home from work last night and talked Scott into cycling with me over to Eastern Mountain Sports where I could pick up a carabiner for attaching my lunch bag to my new trunk bag. We suited up, headed out and enjoyed the gorgeous weather on the trail. I coasted down the steep hill from the Rte 28 overpass and prepared to turn left to exit the trail on the Pacific Blvd on ramp when I heard two female cyclists yell "on your left!" I waited for them to pass, looked over my shoulder, turned 90 degrees and =WHAM!= was on my back on the ground from being T-boned by a male cyclist who came out of nowhere behind me.
Scott and another male cyclist ran over to me and I tried to get the world to stop swimming and spiraling around me. I also tried sitting up but was too dizzy. Plus they fussed at me to lie down and stay still. The guy who hit me walked over to see if I was okay. I could answer questions and Scott said my pupils weren't dilated but mostly I just lay on the ground and whimpered and cried from adrenaline and shock. The female cyclists came back and called 911. I didn't want an ambulance; I wanted to get back on my bike and continue my planned errands. But Scott fussed at me any time I tried to move so I stayed on the ground, looking at the tall grass waving on either side of my face and feeling the breeze on my bare foot (the collision had literally knocked me out of one of my shoes and sock) as we waited for the EMTs to arrive.
The EMTs asked me what I assume are the usual questions: what's your name, where are you, what day is it, who is the president and I was able to answer correctly. After removing my helmet, they put me in a neck brace and strapped me to a back board. Ugh. Not pleasant. I was lifted to a gurney and rolled up to the ambulance. A lot of firsts for that day. The EMTs marveled at the remains of my helmet and thanked me over and over for wearing it. They said that I would have left the scene via medivac instead of ambulance had I not been wearing it.
In the emergency room I was given morphine for pain -- my head was killing me and my backside wasn't feeling much better -- and was eventually wheeled back for x-rays. According to the doctor, I had no neck, back, or spinal injuries but I was slightly concussed. He removed the brace and back board and helped me sit up. The world immediately swam and I felt like I was falling off the bed. I also thought I was going to be violently sick. The doctor and nurse took turns slightly elevating the bed until I could sit up without feeling like I was falling. Eventually, I was able to leave the bed and was grateful for the wheelchair ride to my car. At two and a half hours this was my second shortest ER stay.
I drank lots of water when we got home because the morphine left me with dry mouth. I was very tired from the adventure and Scott followed me to bed a little before 10pm. I slept fairly well, although the world swam every time I changed position in bed.
Today, my neck and collar bones are a little sore, probably from the neck brace, and my backside is tender. I'm dizzy if I move too quickly. But I'm not in pain, per se, and Scott is doing an excellent job of taking care of me. I need a new front rim for my bike and a new helmet. Scott wants to get us both properly fitted for helmets. I keep telling him that my helmet was obviously properly fitted since I'm not in traction of worse. :)
Scott and another male cyclist ran over to me and I tried to get the world to stop swimming and spiraling around me. I also tried sitting up but was too dizzy. Plus they fussed at me to lie down and stay still. The guy who hit me walked over to see if I was okay. I could answer questions and Scott said my pupils weren't dilated but mostly I just lay on the ground and whimpered and cried from adrenaline and shock. The female cyclists came back and called 911. I didn't want an ambulance; I wanted to get back on my bike and continue my planned errands. But Scott fussed at me any time I tried to move so I stayed on the ground, looking at the tall grass waving on either side of my face and feeling the breeze on my bare foot (the collision had literally knocked me out of one of my shoes and sock) as we waited for the EMTs to arrive.
The EMTs asked me what I assume are the usual questions: what's your name, where are you, what day is it, who is the president and I was able to answer correctly. After removing my helmet, they put me in a neck brace and strapped me to a back board. Ugh. Not pleasant. I was lifted to a gurney and rolled up to the ambulance. A lot of firsts for that day. The EMTs marveled at the remains of my helmet and thanked me over and over for wearing it. They said that I would have left the scene via medivac instead of ambulance had I not been wearing it.
In the emergency room I was given morphine for pain -- my head was killing me and my backside wasn't feeling much better -- and was eventually wheeled back for x-rays. According to the doctor, I had no neck, back, or spinal injuries but I was slightly concussed. He removed the brace and back board and helped me sit up. The world immediately swam and I felt like I was falling off the bed. I also thought I was going to be violently sick. The doctor and nurse took turns slightly elevating the bed until I could sit up without feeling like I was falling. Eventually, I was able to leave the bed and was grateful for the wheelchair ride to my car. At two and a half hours this was my second shortest ER stay.
I drank lots of water when we got home because the morphine left me with dry mouth. I was very tired from the adventure and Scott followed me to bed a little before 10pm. I slept fairly well, although the world swam every time I changed position in bed.
Today, my neck and collar bones are a little sore, probably from the neck brace, and my backside is tender. I'm dizzy if I move too quickly. But I'm not in pain, per se, and Scott is doing an excellent job of taking care of me. I need a new front rim for my bike and a new helmet. Scott wants to get us both properly fitted for helmets. I keep telling him that my helmet was obviously properly fitted since I'm not in traction of worse. :)
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