Elephant in the Room

[GenXrider]

On my standard hybrid bike a few years ago, I had a shirt strapped to my rack come loose during a ride and fall down into the cassette while I was going down an incline at 15 mph. I applied the rim brakes moderately and flew over the handlebars and fractured my arm near the elbow. My knee got scraped up as well and some smaller scrapes/scratches on my hand. I was not wearing my helmet at the time, and my head never hit the ground, thank goodness. I always wear a helmet now. Due to the arm injury, I went to occupational therapy for a while, and I couldn't ride for the rest of the summer and was still feeling pain when riding a full summer later. It doesn't bother me much anymore, but I still can't fully straighten the arm.

A couple nights ago, riding at night on a rural road, a few raccoons were scurrying across the road in front of me. I didn't have my brightest headlights on, so I was right up on them before I could see them. I didn't see the contact, but I felt a thud as I passed. I'm definitely going to have my batteries well charged and bright lights on for any future night riding.

 

[Bruce Arnold]

I always wear a helmet, fingerless gloves, and closed toe shoes when riding. I carry a basic first aid kit. I use lights and a hi-viz vest to be more visible to drivers. I'm no longer an adrenaline junkie -- some might call me sedate -- and this reduces some of the risk also.

 

[Dallant]

I always wear a helmet, fingerless gloves, and closed toe shoes when riding. I carry a basic first aid kit. I use lights and a hi-viz vest to be more visible to drivers. I'm no longer an adrenaline junkie -- some might call me sedate -- and this reduces some of the risk also.

My ride this morning was very sedate. It was just one of those things where you go off the edge of the concrete, try to turn back on and suffer the consequences. So yeah, I’m thinking I’ve cracked a rib or three. Maybe even damaged a collarbone. Woulda been much worse if I haven’t been wearing a helmet!

 

[dak1010]

Wishing you a speedy recovery! I know what you are going through.

 

[dak1010]

Was doing a bit of research on biking body armor (rib protector please)

Off-Road Dirt Bike Armor | Motocross Chest Protectors & More - Cycle Gear

Browse Cycle Gear’s huge selection of dirt bike armor & pick up the gear you need to protect yourself against impacts, debris and other off-road hazards.

www.cyclegear.com

Full disclosure I have no affiliation to this site or business. Just posting this for research purposes.

 

[FlatSix911]

Dropping a bike is no fun. Younger me got a motorcycle, a ticket, and a broken leg to prove it all within a few months of each other.

Macadam isn't smooth at 20mph and we don't heal like we did at 20 years old ... but a 50 pound ebike at 20 mph beats a 300 pound motorcycle at 40mph. Attempting to link to chart ...
View attachment 60208

That is a sobering chart... do you happen to have a link to the interactive source page?

 

[Sierratim]

That is a sobering chart... do you happen to have a link to the interactive source page?

View attachment 60403

Always good to include attributions...

 

[Art Deco]

That is a sobering chart... do you happen to have a link to the interactive source page?

View attachment 60403

Maybe here :

Chart of the Day: Pedestrian Crash Survival Rates by Age and Speed of Car

Simply put, pedestrian safety is basic physics. The fundamental relationship here is really not that complicated, and there have been lots of charts showing the correlation between speed and fatali…

streets.mn

I probably just grabbed it form google images as an example of how age and impact speed work together, and wouldn't trust the data without a hard look.

 

[Browneye]

With less than 200 miles on my new eMTB I was barreling down a very wide trail, two pedestrians completely split the trail - I called out 'on your right', twice, very loud, and at the last moment the girl turned around and stepped back directly in my path. I basically had the choice of t-boning her or hitting a fire hydrant. With just enough room to pass, as I went by my bar-end clipped her back or arm and it threw me down flat, and hard. More pain than I can remember, ever, as bad as the dirtbikes.
It took ten minutes to catch my breath, the crowd wanted to call a medic, and it was the beginning of the pandemic and the last place I wanted to go was the E-R. The bike survived, so I rode home, another 5-6 miles. A couple of cracked or bruised ribs, back out of wack, hamburger knuckles and some skin gone from my forearm, but I was alive.

It was recommended to wear knee and arm guards, so thank goodness I was was protected, or it would have been a lot worse.

I now give pedestrians a WIDE margin, they're like darting deer. LOL

Arm and knee guards, a mips helmet, and now full-fingered gloves. I don't intend to go down again, at least not under my own accord.
Both of these are light, airy, comfortable, and outstanding protection. I don't armor up for road.

 

[FlatSix911]

With less than 200 miles on my new eMTB I was barreling down a very wide trail, two pedestrians completely split the trail - I called out 'on your right', twice, very loud, and at the last moment the girl turned around and stepped back directly in my path. I basically had the choice of t-boning her or hitting a fire hydrant. With just enough room to pass, as I went by my bar-end clipped her back or arm and it threw me down flat, and hard. More pain than I can remember, ever, as bad as the dirtbikes.
It took ten minutes to catch my breath, the crowd wanted to call a medic, and it was the beginning of the pandemic and the last place I wanted to go was the E-R. The bike survived, so I rode home, another 5-6 miles. A couple of cracked or bruised ribs, back out of wack, hamburger knuckles and some skin gone from my forearm, but I was alive.

It was recommended to wear knee and arm guards, so thank goodness I was was protected, or it would have been a lot worse.

I now give pedestrians a WIDE margin, they're like darting deer. LOL

Arm and knee guards, a mips helmet, and now full-fingered gloves. I don't intend to go down again, at least not under my own accord.
Both of these are light, airy, comfortable, and outstanding protection. I don't armor up for road.

Thanks for sharing your story. I have gone down a few times offroad and have yet to find really good fitting protection.

I have a good MIPS helmet and leather gloves... but need to find comfortable, lightweight armor for the knees and elbows.

 

[Dallant]

Woke up this morning in far more pain, especially in the ribs. Going in today for X-rays and pain control. Very glad for my helmet as I most certainly would’ve had a concussion without it!

 

[Handlebars]

When my sons raced cross country MTB in school falls were normal for every race. They were coached to "stay in the cockpit"; clipped in, hands on the grips, knees and elbows tucked in. The bike took most of the damage. The riders would get back up and race on. It worked so well that I adopted this approach. This has worked well for me for many years now and in a number of crashes.

Never heard of this before. Thanks for the info, Sir!

 

[Handlebars]

Most people ride on road or gravel bike paths. That being the case riding on a bike with wider tires feel a lot safer as apposed to the super thin road tires I road for years on my old analog bike. My current ebike is a Giant Toughroad (a Gravel bike) . The wide tires still roll well on the tarmac but allows a little more terrain option when you need to get off the road. More than once they have saved my bacon from an idiot driver or from myself when I space out for a minute while riding.

I notice that compared to skinny tires my 2.1" tires are better able to deal with moving left or right over streetcar tracks parallel to direction of travel. Not getting enough angle can be a killer with skinny tires.

 

[christob]

@dak1010 - 51 here, only two falls in 2.5 years, fortunately. 1 was while in motion. I was doing a broad, slow speed U-turn in a car-less empty street. It had rained in the early morning hours before my morning ride. My back wheel went across a slick manhole cover (my path had the front wheel just skirt the perimeter of the manhole as I recall) as I was just finishing the arc of the whole U-turn; the whole bike slid out from under me and down, so instantly, I don’t even think I had time to register I was in mid-fall! Didn’t hit my head / helmet as my left side (shoulder, upper arm, thigh) took the hit. The real injury after the typical scrapes and bruises was from the weight of the bike (53 lbs empty), focused at the cast aluminum battery housing, slamming into my pavement-pinned leg a bit below my knee. That grand prize bruise ended up running clear down to my ankle, wrapped halfway around the circumference of my leg and had a swollen center area for -8 weeks the size of a mango split in half, before gradually fading. Today, 2 years later, that injury area still remains generally slightly “mounded” along the front face of my leg (when viewed sidelong) and has a small slightly darker discolored patch about 1.5 inches in diameter still at the point of impact, and a barely perceptible shallow indentation at that point. (I had it x-rayed about 3 weeks in, in case of fracture or chip; no bone damage it turned out.)
The other fall was rather embarrassingly, from a standing position at a stop, straddling the bike frame, as I just started to walk the bike back onto the pavement; I’d clipped one foot in to start to crank and I misjudged the thickness / rise of the pavement, as well as approaching it at the wrong angle, and down I went, essentially from a standstill. (This was on the 28 pound analog.) Just some bad road rash on the (same leg as before) kneecap and just below the kneecap.
While I wear a helmet and palm padded gloves while riding I’ve not adopted any other body armor so far.

 

[Buckdubay]

Woke up this morning in far more pain, especially in the ribs. Going in today for X-rays and pain control. Very glad for my helmet as I most certainly would’ve had a concussion without it!

Good luck, hope for a speedy recovery. The second day is always worse.

 

[opimax]

my most damaging fall happened the same way, getting back on a trail after going around tourists in DC. I came back on the trail at an angle that was too small , front tire came on but the rear tire scrubbed on the edge instead of popping back on, lost my balance and fell and I broke my leg out of commission for 6 weeks off my bike for 3 or 4 months.

Hope for a a quick healing and quick to get back on the bike!

 

[Dallant]

X-rays show nothing broken.

 

[opimax]

Excellent only pain and not a Dr holds up the next ride!

 

[dak1010]

@dak1010 - 51 here, only two falls in 2.5 years, fortunately. 1 was while in motion. I was doing a broad, slow speed U-turn in a car-less empty street. It had rained in the early morning hours before my morning ride. My back wheel went across a slick manhole cover (my path had the front wheel just skirt the perimeter of the manhole as I recall) as I was just finishing the arc of the whole U-turn; the whole bike slid out from under me and down, so instantly, I don’t even think I had time to register I was in mid-fall! Didn’t hit my head / helmet as my left side (shoulder, upper arm, thigh) took the hit. The real injury after the typical scrapes and bruises was from the weight of the bike (53 lbs empty), focused at the cast aluminum battery housing, slamming into my pavement-pinned leg a bit below my knee. That grand prize bruise ended up running clear down to my ankle, wrapped halfway around the circumference of my leg and had a swollen center area for -8 weeks the size of a mango split in half, before gradually fading. Today, 2 years later, that injury area still remains generally slightly “mounded” along the front face of my leg (when viewed sidelong) and has a small slightly darker discolored patch about 1.5 inches in diameter still at the point of impact, and a barely perceptible shallow indentation at that point. (I had it x-rayed about 3 weeks in, in case of fracture or chip; no bone damage it turned out.)
The other fall was rather embarrassingly, from a standing position at a stop, straddling the bike frame, as I just started to walk the bike back onto the pavement; I’d clipped one foot in to start to crank and I misjudged the thickness / rise of the pavement, as well as approaching it at the wrong angle, and down I went, essentially from a standstill. (This was on the 28 pound analog.) Just some bad road rash on the (same leg as before) kneecap and just below the kneecap.
While I wear a helmet and palm padded gloves while riding I’ve not adopted any other body armor so far.

Reading this -I smiled in spite of myself (mango) . I definitely feel embarrassed after a fall.

 

[Buckdubay]

X-rays show nothing broken.

Great to hear. Few days rest and you will be back at it.