walkingman57
Member
Whelp. First crash on the HT was a doozy!
I've got a little over 150 miles on my HT, commuting into downtown Seattle on a daily basis and I love my bike! I had switched out the stock 29x2.25" Maxxis knobbies for 700c x 2.00 Schwalbe Marathon's. I love how smooth and quiet they are as well as pavement grippy. Having ridden on 28mm road tires for 40+ years, the 2-inch tires felt cushy, comfortable, and capable of absorbing all sorts of pavement sins and defects. I probably got over confident. Riding out of downtown on my way home in the middle of rush hour traffic last week, I glanced over my left shoulder to prepare to merge around a right turning car ahead of me. Just as I looked left, my front tire hit a really bad pavement seam where one side of the seam was about an inch and a half lower than the other. Unfortunately, it was the bad way for me and the nearly invisible edge kicked my front wheel and fork hard to the right and I was slammed to the pavement to the left. I saw stars! When I tried to get up, my vision was all blurry and I had no balance. I just knew that I needed to get out of the way of traffic traffic that was driving around me. My first thought was remembering how quickly the concrete came up at my face and I thought, "I need to get a full face helmet!". There was absolutely zero time for reaction. Zero. If you're one of those people who think that you'll just turn your head and shoulders sideways as you see yourself falling, forget about it. Seriously, it happens that fast. Fortunately, I had been wearing elbow pads which I'm pretty sure saved me from having a shattered elbow. I knew that I was pretty busted up, though, because I had no strength in my left arm when I tried to get my bike off to the sidewalk. Nobody stopped to help me either, which really shocked me. Anyway, to make the long story a little shorter, I ended up with a broken collarbone and 4 broken ribs. The rib breaks were high and on the back side, so it was clear that I was dumped squarely onto my left side and the point of my shoulder.
The takeaway is to be vigilant for road conditions, especially when your attention is constantly divided when riding in traffic. I've always thought that urban traffic riding is a bit like being in a group knife fight. I was lucky that I was only traveling at about 15mph, and not the usual 29-35+mph that the bike is capable of. I'm really going to think hard about a hardier helmet and jacket before jumping back into the fight. I'm interested in hearing what others think or have experience with either DOT helmets or downhill rated MTB helmets. I've heard people say that full face helmets "brand" you as a road maverick, but after getting out of the hospital with 2-3 months of healing and rehab ahead of me, who cares what others think?! I think of myself as a road laws abiding rider in every sense of the phrase. I don't blow lights or stop signs, I don't ride bike only lanes, and I don't "flaunt" my bike's speed around other analog bikes. I just want to be realistic about the risks that I'm faced with since I've chosen to up the ante with road velocity. Would love to hear your thoughts on this!
If you have accident stories to share, feel free to reply here so that we all can benefit from thinking about how to be safe out there while we enjoy the sport that we love. Take good care, everybody! Cheers, ~Steve
I've got a little over 150 miles on my HT, commuting into downtown Seattle on a daily basis and I love my bike! I had switched out the stock 29x2.25" Maxxis knobbies for 700c x 2.00 Schwalbe Marathon's. I love how smooth and quiet they are as well as pavement grippy. Having ridden on 28mm road tires for 40+ years, the 2-inch tires felt cushy, comfortable, and capable of absorbing all sorts of pavement sins and defects. I probably got over confident. Riding out of downtown on my way home in the middle of rush hour traffic last week, I glanced over my left shoulder to prepare to merge around a right turning car ahead of me. Just as I looked left, my front tire hit a really bad pavement seam where one side of the seam was about an inch and a half lower than the other. Unfortunately, it was the bad way for me and the nearly invisible edge kicked my front wheel and fork hard to the right and I was slammed to the pavement to the left. I saw stars! When I tried to get up, my vision was all blurry and I had no balance. I just knew that I needed to get out of the way of traffic traffic that was driving around me. My first thought was remembering how quickly the concrete came up at my face and I thought, "I need to get a full face helmet!". There was absolutely zero time for reaction. Zero. If you're one of those people who think that you'll just turn your head and shoulders sideways as you see yourself falling, forget about it. Seriously, it happens that fast. Fortunately, I had been wearing elbow pads which I'm pretty sure saved me from having a shattered elbow. I knew that I was pretty busted up, though, because I had no strength in my left arm when I tried to get my bike off to the sidewalk. Nobody stopped to help me either, which really shocked me. Anyway, to make the long story a little shorter, I ended up with a broken collarbone and 4 broken ribs. The rib breaks were high and on the back side, so it was clear that I was dumped squarely onto my left side and the point of my shoulder.
The takeaway is to be vigilant for road conditions, especially when your attention is constantly divided when riding in traffic. I've always thought that urban traffic riding is a bit like being in a group knife fight. I was lucky that I was only traveling at about 15mph, and not the usual 29-35+mph that the bike is capable of. I'm really going to think hard about a hardier helmet and jacket before jumping back into the fight. I'm interested in hearing what others think or have experience with either DOT helmets or downhill rated MTB helmets. I've heard people say that full face helmets "brand" you as a road maverick, but after getting out of the hospital with 2-3 months of healing and rehab ahead of me, who cares what others think?! I think of myself as a road laws abiding rider in every sense of the phrase. I don't blow lights or stop signs, I don't ride bike only lanes, and I don't "flaunt" my bike's speed around other analog bikes. I just want to be realistic about the risks that I'm faced with since I've chosen to up the ante with road velocity. Would love to hear your thoughts on this!
If you have accident stories to share, feel free to reply here so that we all can benefit from thinking about how to be safe out there while we enjoy the sport that we love. Take good care, everybody! Cheers, ~Steve
