And another one gone - Updated

rolf_f

and another one gone, another one bites the dust.......

Very trivial compared to Optimistic Bikers accident but I'm another victim of the November crash fest.

I was riding round a stationary vehicle that was pulling into a side turning. It bounced off the ridiculously steep kerb (strangely, the side turning is not on Google Earth and I can find no reference to it in the planning lists despite it including a bridge over a beck - I'd be surprised that the planners would allow a 45 degree kerb onto a side turning like that) and back 3 feet right into the space I was cycling. I glanced off the back of the vehicle hitting the ground first with my hip, then with my shoulder and then with my lovely newish Kask Mojito.

So I ended up shocked but otherwise not obviously badly damaged. Somewhat surprisingly, considering me and bike must have skated along the ground for a good 15 feet, the sum total damage to bike (at least as far as I can see) and clothing (lid excepted) is a small tear to the bar tape. Left hood was pushed inward, the bars themselves rotated forward a fair way but that seems to be it. The hoods don't show any obvious marks after cleaning and neither does the bike (501 steel) - though I might get Woodrups to look it over. No marks on my tights, jacket, overshoes or gloves.

I was able to ride home OK though I later got a neck and headache so called NHS direct who arranged a visit from an ambulance - they checked me over in the ambulance saving me a tedious afternoon/evening in casualty so that was really good. Then loads of reporting to police hassle including a drive over to Harrogate police station on Sunday. I did ride out for 67 miles on Sunday so actually got two decent rides in in great weather but, aside from the riding bits, the weekend was a bit of a washout!

Still, I can only feel grateful that the car (a large 4wd) hadn't bounced back another foot or I'd have hit the side of it head on.

Now need to source a new white medium Mojito. Shame the £90 deals seem to have gone........

vermin

Depressing... Glad you're well.

I could add my weekend tumble to the list, but this is getting out of hand.

d.mart

This time of year must be a massive black spot...this time last year I was knocked off by a London cab pulling out to go round a tour bus that had pulled in. I was riding at about 10mph down the middle of Cannon St just outside the train station (having been knocked off about 3 months earlier riding to the left of the road) and he pulled out with no indication and no change in speed. Almost managed to stop but his right rear door hit my left shoulder and turned the bike about 45 degrees across my line of movement. I did a couple of comedy skips then went down flipping over and landing on my backpack. By the time I'd picked myself up with the aid of a kind ped the Juan Kerr taxi had deposited passenger and done the off...cheers. 6 weeks later the bike got pinched from outside Wood St cop shop. Back's been bad ever since despite regular physio and rehab and now I've got to go in for a lumbar fascia injection and epidural....I mean wtf is that about!!

Be

Careful

Out

There

People

meanredspider

Holey Moley. Bummer about the lid but glad you are generally ok. I still can't quite picture in my mind what happened though I will be paying particular attention to the very few vehicles I see and assume they're out to get me.

cookdn

meanredspider wrote:

Holey Moley. Bummer about the lid but glad you are generally ok. I still can't quite picture in my mind what happened though I will be paying particular attention to the very few vehicles I see and assume they're out to get me.

Like MRS I can't visualise the circumstance, but your lid has certainly taken a bash. Glad you're back on your bike.

Widgey

Not good mate! Get well soon, hopefully a speedy recovery..

Cycling clothes are funny things, mine didn't sustain any damage either!

Way too many accidents this season..

Green Brompton

Oh No! November 2012 is not looking good for us. I've been cycling in the city since 2007, so it just tells you how often you go down... are we cursed?

Oh, I have the exact same helmet - spooky!

Glad all's OK, so far.

Koncordski

Can everyone just stop getting shot! :shock:

hegyestomi

I hope you get better soon: It's getting a bit scary hearing so many people been knocked off.
It's just not worth taking any risks while riding, take care all of you/us!

rolf_f

It was an odd one which is why I was caught out. 4WD ahead of me (me having recently stopped to let it past). Road is single lane but not too narrow. 4WD swings right and then left into side turning on left - stopping in the road rather than going into the side turning. He is now sat with his front wheels probably pretty much on a 45 degree 3 inch high curb almost at 90 degrees to the road. I think then he must have let the clutch up, not been ready with the revs to push up the kerb so he just bounced off it backwards. In other words, he was meant to be going forwards but instead went backwards. Into my path.#

I just hadn't worked that possibility out in my head or I'd have gone wider or stopped.

Anyway, thanks for the kind words all!

veronese68

Not good Rolf. Glad you're relatively ok (and you GB) I think we all need to remember to expect the unexpected.
Be careful out there folks.

pastryboy

Sticking to the canal path for a bit I think.

daviesee

Rolf F wrote:

It was an odd one which is why I was caught out. 4WD ahead of me .... He is now sat with his front wheels probably pretty much on a 45 degree 3 inch high curb almost at 90 degrees to the road.....he was meant to be going forwards but instead went backwards. Into my path.#

I just hadn't worked that possibility out in my head or I'd have gone wider or stopped.

Anyway, thanks for the kind words all!

Bloody Chelsea tractors. How incompetent a driver do you have to be to not be able to negotiate a 3" kerb at 45 degrees with a 4x4? I could manage that on a skateboard

Glad the consequences were minimal.

rjsterry

Glad you and the bike (lid excepted) are OK. I've seen 'rollback' catch a few people out on steep hills, especially with lorries, but wouldn't have expected a relatively small kerb to push a 4WD back out into the road like that.

rolf_f

daviesee wrote:

Bloody Chelsea tractors. How incompetent a driver do you have to be to not be able to negotiate a 3" kerb at 45 degrees with a 4x4? I could manage that on a skateboard

Glad the consequences were minimal.

Actually, to be fair I think where he lived a 4wd was the right machine. It was more a farmers 4wd than a Chelsea one.

I think what happened was that the mechanic had stopped with his wheels virtually on the kerb and probably forgotten it was there being probably out of sight - so when he moved, if he wasn't expecting the kerb it's no great surprise that he didn't get up it.

What does irritate me is that up here (Yorks), generally, there aren't so many cyclists as you have to take it fairly seriously to get good enough to cope with the hills. But that lane, on Saturday was crawling with cyclists. If there's any time the driver should have been thinking "there are bikes about - watch out" that was it. And he didn't!

Maybe I need to get some stickers made for my bikes - a little 4wd for Saturday, a little pedestrian figure for last year and about four clipless pedals for the year before. All to commemorate things that have caused me to come off! Strictly, I'd need one for a ford as well but I'm not sure how you could illustrate that

veronese68

Rolf F wrote:

I'd need one for a ford as well but I'm not sure how you could illustrate that

A blue oval? Although you probably mean a shallow river crossing.

rolf_f

Update:

Had an X-ray on my hip the other week as I wasn't too happy about how it felt. Typically excellent service (helped by me targetting casualty on a Thursday morning when it was predictably quiet) - verdict on X ray was nothing to be seen but I got a chit from the very attractive young (female ) doctor to take to my GP to help get some physio.

Before I had the chance I had a letter from my GP practice saying that the X rays had been reviewed and they thought I might have a hairline fracture (though where they didn't say!).

So off to the local treatment centre tomorrow to get a CT scan done.....

In the meantime, I did get a new lid. Similar to the old one but with less mud and cracks!
I hope I get to wear it for longer......