Accidents: What happened to the bike?

Sirius631

Hi,

I know I've not been here for a while, but I need input from those of you that have had accidents when riding alone. I've only come off badly when I was either riding in a group or close enough to help that I got back on and rode a short distance.

As part of my other interests, I've been involved with a forum that has a short stories section, and I've ben writing stories for that. The story I'm writing now involves a young lad who is seriously injured when out riding on his own. What I need to know is this: If there is nobody with him, what happens to the bike? Do the police take it? How would the parents get it back? Input appreciated.

Thanks,
David.

Simmotino

A chap was knocked off his bike outside our house last year and injured quite badly (not life threatening badly, but carted off in an ambulance badly) and he was on his own.

Having been one of the first on the scene and last to leave I offered to take his bike in until his family could arrange for it to be collected (I ended up repairing and delivering it for him as it turned out) and the police were happy for that to happen provided I gave them the relevant details and proved I lived where I said I did.

I guess the other option would be that the police 'recover' the vehicle as with a car accident and the bike is taken to the station/compound if no one offers to take it.

estampida

a mate of mine got bumped off years back

bike came with him to hospital

and it vanished while he was in A & E getting fixed

was stuck somewhere "safe" (that what he was told) but they are busy places and off it went with a new owner.......

graeme_s-2

Two experiences of this:

1) A school friend and I were riding down a hill when he fell off on an unmarked speed bump and landed on his chin. There was a car following us down the hill. The driver offered to take us both to hospital. We were outside someone's house, and the house owner said we could put our bikes in their front garden which we did. The driver took us to hospital, and then very kindly went back, collected our bikes, and took them to his place of work (a cafe in town) where I went and collected them with my friend's Dad much later.

2) I accidentally drank a sachet of concentrated degreaser while riding a sportive (I thought it was a gel <facepalm>). After I vomited fairly violently a marshal on a motorbike panicked and phoned an ambulance. The paramedics were reluctant to take my bike in the ambulance, and I didn't want them to get into any trouble so agreed to leave it in a hedge. The motor bike riding marshal said he'd get someone from the feed stop we'd just passed to come and get my bike, and then it could be returned to the sportive finish by the van that would come to pack up the feed stop.

I collected my bike from the finish once I got out of A&E (I was fine, but I don't recommend degreaser as a performance enhancing product).

slowbike

Graeme_S wrote:

2) I accidentally drank a sachet of concentrated degreaser while riding a sportive

You DOPE(d) ...

have you had a ban yet?

You're not allowed to cycle ... at all ... apparently ...

graeme_s-2

Slowbike wrote:

Graeme_S wrote:

2) I accidentally drank a sachet of concentrated degreaser while riding a sportive

You DOPE(d) ...

have you had a ban yet?

You're not allowed to cycle ... at all ... apparently ...

It's not on the banned substance list, I never failed a test, and I have a medical exemption form that my GP filled out for me a couple of weeks after the sportive!

What never got old was the looks on the faces of the marshal, the fast response paramedic, the two paramedics in the ambulance, the triage nurse, a couple of other nurses, and a number of doctors when they asked me "but... why did you drink it?"

Sirius631

Graeme_S wrote:

I don't recommend degreaser as a performance enhancing product.

Sounds like a good aid to slimming or weight control.

mmuk

my son came off on gravel on a sharp corner on his own, and the first 2 cars drove on past (the first had to stop, then reverse a little to make room to drive on!)

The third driver stopped, collected son and bike, and drove them home - a good samaritan.

cheers

MM

BelgianBeerGeek

I came off a few years ago and the kind ambulance man went to a nearby hotel and asked them to keep my bike in their basement. Went back a few days later and collected it.

Swansea_Dave

Graeme_S wrote:

I accidentally drank a sachet of concentrated degreaser while riding a sportive (I thought it was a gel <facepalm>).

I can relate to this. A couple of years ago I finished a 10K race and was handed a plastic bottle as I walked through the finishing area. I took a large swig - then honked like a Canada Goose. It was shampoo! One of the race sponsors was Alberto Balsam.....

Sirius631

Thanks for the replies. I think reality isn't too far from what I was thinking.

Wirral_paul

Graeme_S wrote:

2) I accidentally drank a sachet of concentrated degreaser while riding a sportive (I thought it was a gel <facepalm>).

Easily done - they taste just the same!!

Lazarus

Graeme_S wrote:

2) I accidentally drank a sachet of concentrated degreaser while riding a sportive (I thought it was a gel <facepalm>).

Was that the infamous Dragon Ride incident ?

My own personal experiences are.

First time I got knocked off ambulance driver was not to pleased that i refused to leave until a local club member arrived to take the bike home (it was knackered but i didn't know that at the time ).

Second time i got knocked off it was 500yds from work, I asked a passerby who was helping me to phone where i work and ask one of the guys to walk down and collect my bike, A mate duly popped down quickly followed by one of the nosiest twunts in work who came down in his car , a couple of days later when i went back to work the nosey twunt approached me and ask me to pay to have his back seat cleaned because oil from my chainring had smudged his seat !

nickellis

Swansea_Dave wrote:

I can relate to this. A couple of years ago I finished a 10K race and was handed a plastic bottle as I walked through the finishing area. I took a large swig - then honked like a Canada Goose. It was shampoo! One of the race sponsors was Alberto Balsam.....

that's a classic, I'm wetting myself?

EDIT: Thought I'd better add something constructive to this thread.

A chap came off his bike back in spring on our Sunday run, collarbone was game over. Fortunately the first person on the scene (apart from 8 or so bikers) was a trained First Responder, complete with defibrillator. He helped put until the ambulance arrived, then offered to take the bike and store it in his barn until someone could pick it up. TOP BLOKE.

ad_snow

My housemate came off in the first week of August, on his own about after just picking up his new bike (having a test ride and some idiot knocked him off and went through his forks breaking his collarbone..) and Leicestershire Police took the bike in and impounded it - he had to collect it between 9 & 3 on a weekday so my missus had to take him in the car on her day off. Glad they took it in and looked after the bike, but weren't very helpful in getting it back

StillGoing

If the police attend they are responsible for protecting any property if the owner can't do it such as if being taken to hospital. That could be waiting for a friend or relative to come and collect it or securing it in the Propert other Than Found. It isn't their job to deliver it back to you.

clickrumble

Came off on my own early one Sunday morning, hit a bump in the road which caused my hands to come flying off the handlebars and I hit the road hard. Lying in the road I found I couldn't get up due to excruciating pain in left shoulder. Luckily the next two cars stopped and one lady in particular was very helpful, called the ambulance and waited till they had scooped me up. She took my bike home in her car and delivered it back to my house a couple of days later. Turned out I had shattered the ball joint in my right shoulder. My shoulder has been repaired and is almost as good as new.

slowbike

Clickrumble wrote:

Came off on my own early one Sunday morning, hit a bump in the road which caused my hands to come flying off the handlebars and I hit the road hard. She took my bike home in her car and delivered it back to my house a couple of days later. Turned out I had shattered the ball joint in my right shoulder. My shoulder has been repaired and is almost as good as new.

Yes. But how's the bike?!

CiB

Last RTA I had, the police agreed to look after my bike whilst I was taken the other way in an ambulance, and I collected it from the station a day or later. Have to say that they weren't overly enthusiastic at being asked to become cycle storage operatives, but the alternative was to leave a decent bike with a bent front wheel on a busy roundabout. Chances of it being there anything more than 10 minutes later were zero as far as I was concerned.

y33stu

I was thinking about this the other morning. Was driving along my usual ride to work route and spotted an ambulance and a police car at a roundabout with flashing lights. Noticed a bike lying on the roundabout. Cyclist was in the ambulance. On the way back home 10 minutes later there was no sign of the ambulance or police, but the bike was still on the mini roundabout. Went back 5 minutes later and bike was gone. Think i'd need to be VERY injured for me to go anywhere without the bike.

disgruntledgoat

This has happened to me twice.

1) Hit a pothole whilst adjusting a computer sensor that was "ticking" against the wheel magnet and face planted. The ambulance wouldn't take my bike but a pretty lady doctor who stopped to help took it home with her for me to collect later.

2) After heroically bridging up to the front group solo on a road race, the guy on the back stopped pedalling over the brow of a hill just as I made the catch, I went straight into him and then down, breaking my collarbone... Clubmate scooped up the bike and dropped it off the next day.

StorckSpeed

Had a nasty accident a few years ago, ran into the side of a van as it came out of a junction and splitting my shoulder blade in two (collar-bone was ok). The police were the first on the scene. I was taken away by Ambulance and the police officer popped the bike in the back of his car and took it to the Police-station for safe keeping. My mate picked it up the next day and by the time I saw it, it had new forks fitted (£5 second-hand from Alpine-Bikes, apparently they had loads in stock as everyone was getting suspension forks fitted).

graeme_s-2

Wirral_Paul wrote:

Graeme_S wrote:

2) I accidentally drank a sachet of concentrated degreaser while riding a sportive (I thought it was a gel <facepalm>).

Easily done - they taste just the same!!

My first thought was "what flavour IS that!?". It's not even the worst tasting gel I've had

graeme_s-2

Lazarus wrote:

Graeme_S wrote:

2) I accidentally drank a sachet of concentrated degreaser while riding a sportive (I thought it was a gel <facepalm>).

Was that the infamous Dragon Ride incident ?

I've heard about that, but it wasn't no. They gave them out in the goody bag at the start of the Tour of Britain Pro Ride in Stoke a couple of years ago. I was running a bit late at the start, so just grabbed anything out of the bag that looked like food and stuffed it in my jersey pockets. Once I'd done that I was doomed, as 70 miles later I didn't even look at it, why would I, I "knew" it was a gel.

thegreatdivide

When I got taken out by an old biddy last spring a mate’s dad came to the scene and picked the bike up - top chap!

While I was lying on the ground from said accident with a completely mangled arm, the first car on the scene was a GP on her way home from work. She bundled me (gently) into her car and drove me to the hospital. She put up with a lot of swearing mixed with announcements that I was going to throw up – top lady!

When my rear derailleur snapped off and flew into my spokes and I was catapulted onto the road not one car stopped – bunch of cnuts!

disgruntledgoat

thegreatdivide wrote:

When I got taken out by an old biddy last spring a mate’s dad came to the scene and picked the bike up - top chap!

While I was lying on the ground from said accident with a completely mangled arm, the first car on the scene was a GP on her way home from work. She bundled me (gently) into her car and drove me to the hospital. She put up with a lot of swearing mixed with announcements that I was going to throw up – top lady!

When my rear derailleur snapped off and flew into my spokes and I was catapulted onto the road not one car stopped – bunch of cnuts!

I got hit by a car turning right across me a couple of months back. I lay in the road with various cuts, scrapes and bruises and a broken rib for a couple of minutes. All anyone did was beep their horn for me to get out of the way. I had to cycle 2 miles to the nearest station and then get a train and a taxi home.

Dmak

thegreatdivide wrote:

When I got taken out by an old biddy last spring a mate’s dad came to the scene and picked the bike up - top chap!

While I was lying on the ground from said accident with a completely mangled arm, the first car on the scene was a GP on her way home from work. She bundled me (gently) into her car and drove me to the hospital. She put up with a lot of swearing mixed with announcements that I was going to throw up – top lady!

When my rear derailleur snapped off and flew into my spokes and I was catapulted onto the road not one car stopped – bunch of cnuts!

Out or curiosity, was this a SRAM mech?

Bobbinogs

I lost large chunks of my front teeth in a face plant the other week whilst doing a climb on Dartmoor (bloody monsoon conditions and the road, which was in the process of being resurfaced, was like a muddy river). A kind lady stopped and offered me a lift to A&E (which was gratefully accepted as I was miles from where I was staying and I was in no state to ride). She then flagged down a passing motorist and asked her to look after my bike until I could collect a day or so later. Blinking fantastic is all I can say. I would have liked to send the kind samaritan a small token as thanks but don't have her address .

thegreatdivide

Dmak wrote:

thegreatdivide wrote:

When I got taken out by an old biddy last spring a mate’s dad came to the scene and picked the bike up - top chap!

While I was lying on the ground from said accident with a completely mangled arm, the first car on the scene was a GP on her way home from work. She bundled me (gently) into her car and drove me to the hospital. She put up with a lot of swearing mixed with announcements that I was going to throw up – top lady!

When my rear derailleur snapped off and flew into my spokes and I was catapulted onto the road not one car stopped – bunch of cnuts!

Out or curiosity, was this a SRAM mech?

Campagnolo Xenon. Worst groupset they've ever made.

veronese68

Barman from my local fell off outside my house at about 2am, drunk as a lord. My wife heard the crash, he was still on his bike, just horizontal and incoherent when I got to him. A passing cabbie stopped to help a bloke in his undies pick up a drunk bloke off the floor, top man. Then looked after him whilst I went inside to put some clothes on. The cabbie then drove him home, with me tagging along to help, he then dropped me back home and wouldn't accept a penny. Black cabs get a lot of bad press, but this guy was a star.
I put the bike in my back garden and was given a free pint by a very sheepish barman with no memory of the events when I returned it to the pub. He woke up 4 times during the 1 mile cab journey to ask where he was.

hjghg5

I got hit by a car, wasn't badly injured enough to be carted off in an ambulance but one of the people who stopped gave me and my bike a lift home (and then stopped by later in the day to check I was ok).

Someone crashed outside a friend's house and they looked after the bike til he could pick it up.