Crash report

[Dewey]

So I fell off my bike and broke my leg riding home yesterday after work, there is a section of wooden bridge on the Mt Vernon trail beside the Potomac river, it had been raining on Saturday and with wet leaves it creates a biofilm of algae that makes the surface treacherous. I was behind some bikeshare riders and only going about 10mph when they suddenly stopped, I braked, and the bike skidded from under me. Was told to keep off the bike for 6 weeks...had to pull my rear wheel back into alignment but the motor and battery seemed OK so I rode home which on reflection wasn’t a good idea. I’m told the National Park Service are going to carry out a safety audit.

 

[Bruce Arnold]

Aww Dewey, sorry to hear it! I hope your recovery is speedy.

 

[christob]

Oh no!! So sorry to hear this... I ride that “boardwalk” sometimes—don’t like it in general for the bumpiness, but wet, it’s even worse for the stress. @BlondAngel took a spill on a wet patch this year and was out of commission for some time
Get well soon (but don’t rush it and make it worse!)

 

[Dewey]

Thanks guys!

 

[rich c]

Really sorry! Killing the best time of year for riding is tough. I've started to loose traction of wood bridges before, but never lost my balance. They are dangerous! Heal quickly. We are still shaken at our home, wife was rear ended in her Honda Fit while sitting at a red light this morning. She's okay for now, hopefully not stiff tomorrow. Uninsured driver, going to cost us at least $500 deductible for her just sitting at a stop light minding her own business. Life sure has it's challenges!

 

[Trail Cruiser]

How bad was it? Maybe you can still ride at high assist level and low to none effort on your part (if you have the throttle).

 

[DaveMatthews]

Wow!!! You rode home on a busted leg... amazing.
Sorry to hear about the wipe out, and I sincerely hope your recuperation time is short!

 

[AlanDB]

My wife took a bad spill last week. She was startled and accidentally went off the edge of the trail when being overtaken by someone and lost control trying to turn back on to the paved surface ... landed face down on the cement trail. Luckily she didn't have any broken bones but had a nose bleed, scraped up her face and knees pretty bad and ruined her glasses. Many riders stopped to offer assistance, although not the one who went around her (wasn't his fault tho). Her bike got some pretty bad scrapes, chain came off and the basket was bent, but nothing that prevented it from being safely ridden again.

I was pretty proud of her. She got herself back up and declined all the offers of help for transport back to where we were parked. She decided she wanted to ride the 9 miles back. Her thinking was that if she let this scare her from getting back on the bike, she might not ride again. So we put the chain back on, straightened out the basket the best we could and were on our way. One nice younger couple stayed with us the whole way to make sure we didn't have any further trouble ... very nice of them!. She is still healing up, but we went for another 20 mile ride yesterday ... not bad for a 74 year old!

 

[rannyv]

Sorry to hear about your misfortune, @Dewey. It's amazing you rode home with a broken leg. There sure are a lot of clueless cyclists. I see them parked in such a way they block the bike path, repairing the bike in the middle of the path, etc. And then there's the ones reading the phone while riding. Or wearing headphones so they don't hear you while swerving from one side to the other.

 

[Dewey]

How bad was it? Maybe you can still ride at high assist level and low to none effort on your part (if you have the throttle).

I do have the throttle but it’s a low power 36v BBS01 so not able to haul me up hills. I’ll find out next week if I need surgery.

 

[Dewey]

Really sorry! Killing the best time of year for riding is tough. I've started to loose traction of wood bridges before, but never lost my balance. They are dangerous! Heal quickly. We are still shaken at our home, wife was rear ended in her Honda Fit while sitting at a red light this morning. She's okay for now, hopefully not stiff tomorrow. Uninsured driver, going to cost us at least $500 deductible for her just sitting at a stop light minding her own business. Life sure has it's challenges!

Sorry to read about your wife, I’ve been rear ended a couple of times luckily no whiplash but it does shake you up.

 

[Nova Haibike]

Wow, sorry for your misfortune.

I was on the Mt. Vernon trail today. Right around Dangerfield Island, the trail was 8" underwater for 10-20 yards. I rode through it very slowly, trying not to get water in the motor. My feet got soaked.

 

[dblhelix]

So I fell off my bike and broke my leg riding home yesterday after work, there is a section of wooden bridge on the Mt Vernon trail beside the Potomac river, it had been raining on Saturday and with wet leaves it creates a biofilm of algae that makes the surface treacherous. I was behind some bikeshare riders and only going about 10mph when they suddenly stopped, I braked, and the bike skidded from under me. Was told to keep off the bike for 6 weeks...had to pull my rear wheel back into alignment but the motor and battery seemed OK so I rode home which on reflection wasn’t a good idea. I’m told the National Park Service are going to carry out a safety audit.
View attachment 25585

Sorry to hear about your spill and broken leg. Saw this happen in June on the Western Maryland Rail Trail while we were having those weeks of rain after the Potomac flooded early June. The bridges are marked with yellow signs featuring that squiggly symbol that goes with “slippery when wet.” An older fellow slipped and broke his hip. He was also adamantly refusing emergency care despite not being able to get up, in the rain, no less. He relented after a while when he realized he had no options. It was very sad.

Greetings from College Park!

 

[dblhelix]

My feet got soaked.

By the time it stops raining around here, it will be freezing overnight, and we’ll need battery hoodies!

.... stayed with us the whole way to make sure we didn't have any further trouble ... very nice of them!. She is still healing up, but we went for another 20 mile ride yesterday ... not bad for a 74 year old!

If something like this were to happen to me, I’d want it to be in Iowa, where people are so nice. Hope all is well.

 

[CodyDog]

Sorry to hear about your fall Dewey. I hope you have a swift recovery.

 

[harryS]

Sorry Dewey. Take your time and heal up!

Yeah, wet leaves will be here in another few weeks. End of a summer that was too short.

 

[ebikemom]

So, so sorry! I hope you heal fast!!!

 

[6zfshdb]

Wow! What a stroke of bad luck! I hope you're feeling better and on the mend. There is still some good biking weather in November here in the mid Atlantic region so hang in there!

 

[6zfshdb]

My wife took a bad spill last week. She was startled and accidentally went off the edge of the trail when being overtaken by someone and lost control trying to turn back on to the paved surface ... landed face down on the cement trail. Luckily she didn't have any broken bones but had a nose bleed, scraped up her face and knees pretty bad and ruined her glasses. Many riders stopped to offer assistance, although not the one who went around her (wasn't his fault tho). Her bike got some pretty bad scrapes, chain came off and the basket was bent, but nothing that prevented it from being safely ridden again.

I was pretty proud of her. She got herself back up and declined all the offers of help for transport back to where we were parked. She decided she wanted to ride the 9 miles back. Her thinking was that if she let this scare her from getting back on the bike, she might not ride again. So we put the chain back on, straightened out the basket the best we could and were on our way. One nice younger couple stayed with us the whole way to make sure we didn't have any further trouble ... very nice of them!. She is still healing up, but we went for another 20 mile ride yesterday ... not bad for a 74 year old!

I'm sorry to hear about your wife's mishap Alan. I'm glad she wasn't seriously hurt! Good for her she got right back on the bike!

I hate to admit it but I had a similar incident on my first ride with the new ebike. I was riding along the C&O Canal trail and got too close to the edge trying to avoid a puddle. I stopped and went to put my foot down but the bike was on the edge of a slope. I went over with the bike and landed on my face in the grass. The only damage was to my pride since I rolled down the slope and landed with both feet in the canal! Would have been a whole lot worse if I'd landed on a hard surface.

The bike is a step through. All I had to do to avoid the spill was slip forward off the seat and put both feet on the ground. I guess I'm still used to riding a high bar bike since I tried to dismount the old way.

Anyway, I'm glad all is well.

 

[Dewey]

Update: Yesterday my Ortho said I could stop using crutches and prescribed PT. I had hoped my Balance cyclist injury insurance would cover some of the cost but I learned they have a clause requiring PT to begin within 60 days of the date of the accident that was...last Friday. Given the uncomplicated nature of my injury I did not require surgery for internal fixation which would have pushed a PT start date back further. It seems Balance cyclist injury insurance is only useful for relatively minor injuries, my experience has been you can't rely on it to help with a broken leg.