What is crashing like?

Gabbo

Apart from it being painful, what exactly is it like? The before (when you've realised you're about to crash), during, and after (the outcome - were you hurt, broken, pain, numbness, adrenalin, what?)

Grill

It's different for everyone. If ever you've had a crap yourself moment with pain then that's what you'll feel.

ShutUpLegs

Your whole life flashes before you. For most this happens twice as their life is so boring. Then they blog about it.

Duncanandthemachine

Fast, fast, fast, fast, slow, fast, fast, ground.

slowmart

It depends on how fast or serious it goes pear shaped.

I've gone over the bars (mtb) glimpsed the rock garden I was heading for and thought of reconstructed facial surgery.

In most part off's fall into two categories.

1. Your down but your first thoughts are of what damage there is to your bike.
2. It hurts so much the bike isn't a consideration.

Graham K

Youve got 2 types,
The 1st is the one where your not expecting it and wallop, before you know it your stopped somewhere you wasnt aiming for and your head is wondering what went on before whatever pain may set in,
The 2nd is when you know its gonna happen, pray to your mum tell her you love her, relax and let the crash take its toll, be it you go skywards, roll or slide you just want it to stop, but not too quick because that really does hurt, but things flash before you, and you try and stop the inevitable from happening which could result in worse consequences dependant on how far into the crash you are.

AlexMac1973

Duncanandthemachine wrote:

Fast, fast, fast, fast, slow, fast, fast, ground.

I'd have put it as:

sky, tarmac, sky, tarmac, sky, tarmac, sky, tarmac, sky, tarmac, sky, tarmac, hedge.

There is definately something about the first thing you do is check your bike, then you realise ouch that didn't hurt before! :roll:

I'm still recovering from my previous one at the tail end of last year, still can't decend above 40kph without clinging onto the brakes. Something about the psycological effect of crashing that stays with you for a while, goes eventually. You've just got to keep pushing yourself back to how you used to be until you don't even think about it.

A KIRK

I always found that as its happening everything goes into slow motion, almost as if you could pause it and start again.

It tends to be the silly little prangs that really shouldn't hurt, that hurt the most.

So far I've only experienced accidents on the Mtb, last one being almost a year ago breaking my collar bone. Hey it's all great fun though and you just have to put it down to experience.

If riding with friends be prepared for the fits of laughter first before they actually check your ok.

Bozman

There's that special moment when you know you're on your way down but you haven't made contact yet, it's a - "this is going to hurt" moment and the older you get the more it hurts.
Adrenalin works wonders, I cycled home with a fractured wrist and elbow and I'm sure people have cycled on a lot worse. I've done the gravel rash ride of shame, riding home with a baboons arse showing through torn Lycra.

random man

Slowmart and Graham K have summed it up perfectly really. My slow type off was MTB, going downhill, hit a hole and over the top, landing hard on my right shoulder causing a separated shoulder (cat 3).
The fast one was coming downhill on the road round a right hand bend, bike heading off into the verge, me sliding along the tarmac on my right side, result ripped bib tights, road rash and a groin strain.

Still, as long as it doesn't stop you cycling it's all a learning curve

Monty Dog

The majority of road crashes are pretty benign IME - usually a slide on the tarmac resulting in skin rash and a few bruises. I have one every 4-5 years and never sffered any broken bones or serious injuries in 30 years of riding and racing. The biggest pain is replacing wrecked clothing - last big slide cost over £300 in Assos kit.

chrisvanderkaap

For me it's a brief realization of all the things I might have done wrong to end up in this situation. But often it's force majeur. Some time ago I crashed into a car turning sideways without indicator lights (Johnny Hoogerland style). Got up fast, but bystanders told my I must have hit his side view mirror. When I asked how they knew, the pointed to my imprinted face.

daxplusplus

Monty Dog wrote:

The biggest pain is replacing wrecked clothing - last big slide cost over £300 in Assos kit.

+1

Anonymous

My chain dropped from the big ring to BB in a 30pmh (wowzers he's fast you're thinking) sprint in the drops. I flipped over the handlebars and bounced around on the road. Hobbled off in quite a lot of pain to the sound of being hooted at by traffic (compassionate). Then got up, straightened my handlebars and on I went.

Tyler Hamilton in his books said:

"Imagine jumping out of a moving car at 40mph while totally naked into a pile of twisted metal."

I can imagine it feels like that crashing in a race at speed.

philwint

I think my oddest one was during a 24 hour MTB race. I had a high speed off during a night lap. I never really worked out what caused the crash but the bike seemed to twist under me and I left it behind. Flying through the air in the pitch black, not knowing what i was going to hit, or when I was going to hit it.... odd lol.

I walked away with a bit of bruising, but my front wheel was nearly bent in half.

In fact all the big crashes have been on the MTB so far and have resulted in nothing worse than broken ribs luckily. On the road all I have had is some (5 in two hours!!) slides on black ice last December. There was so much ice in fact I wasn't even grazed - just some nasty bruises on my hips and a little bit of whiplash. With them all it was pretty much over before i knew what was happening.

FatTed

Monty Assos offer a free repair service
http://www.assos.com/en/72/warranty---r ... olicy.aspx
I used them after a crash, sent them off heard nothing from Assos, shorts arrived home perfect after 3 weeks.

Mike39496

FatTed wrote:

Monty Assos offer a free repair service
http://www.assos.com/en/72/warranty---r ... olicy.aspx
I used them after a crash, sent them off heard nothing from Assos, shorts arrived home perfect after 3 weeks.

Everyone needs new cycling stuff though

MichaelW

When a car hit me by pulling out of a side road, it was
"He is going to hit me".
"I cant believe it, he is going to hit me"
Then your brain speeds up or the world slows down. Where will he hit me, where will I fall. Is there anything pointy.
Then it was tarmac,sky,tarmac,sky...

I remembered not to reach out with my hands, to hunch into a ball and bounce and roll. My leather-palmed mitts lost 1mm of thickness.

goonz

I echo the comments above. I always check my bike first. Admittedly not had harsh crashes like some of u but on my MTB on the road I did have a tendency to lean too much to the side when turning a corner. My pedal caught a man hole and flipped me right over landing on my back luckily protected by my rucksack and my bike not fully disengaged from the pedals landing on top of me. Hilarious I'm sure at the time.

solosuperia

Had a few.....
But the funniest involved being out on the South Downs with my mtb, one early morning prior to anybody else being around.
Going down this hill, lost it and bounced around a bit nothing major.
First reaction to make sure nobody had seen my stupidity by looking around, not a soul so could indulge myself by acknowledging that it had hurt and hugging myself.....You know the scenario, if anybody else had been around would have jumped back on the bike with a false smile No that never hurt!!!!!

Suddenly felt eyes on me,
a flock of sheep had come to see what had happened.
That really pissed me off..... You woolly b*****ds can f**k off don't be so effing nosy etc etc.

As I rode off felt ever so guilty, that had only come over to see what had happened.

Buckie2k5

Monty Dog wrote:

last big slide cost over £300 in Assos kit.

which is the reason you dont spend 300 quid on cycling kit. Its like wearing a designer suit to paint your house.

keef66

My only proper crash was on a hired mtb on Mt Teide in Tenerife during a company conference. You know what it's like, wanting to beat your colleagues :oops: . Couple of times I nearly overcooked it on corners, but somehow got away with it, which only made me go faster. When I did inevitably crash it was on a gentle downhill straight. Wasn't looking far enough ahead and picking my route, instead I found my front wheel going down a rut full of increasingly large boulders. The last one was large enough to twist the wheel completely sideways at which point all forwards movement of the bike stopped. Not me though; I went over the bars, headbutted a rock,then took the bike with me so it had a well cushioned fall.

Surrounded by my colleagues my first reaction was obviously embarrassment. Quickly followed by some manly kicking the bike off me and leaping to my feet and insisting I was OK. Then our guide pointing out I had blood pouring from my elbow at which point I thought I'd feel better sitting down.

Considering the very abrasive nature of volcanic rock, I had a lucky escape. No apparent damage to the hired bike or helmet, no holes in my kit. Back at the hotel the first aider patched me up well enough to avoid any doctors or hospital trips, and I've got some interesting scars to show the ladies.

gezebo

Gabbo wrote:

Apart from it being painful, what exactly is it like? The before (when you've realised you're about to crash), during, and after (the outcome - were you hurt, broken, pain, numbness, adrenalin, what?)

Try it, you might like it!!!

gavbarron

Time didn't slow for me, it was simply spot car on wrong side of road, swerve (but not fast enough), bounce myself off and over car, moment of blackness, wake up on tarmac covered in blood, drag myself (quite literally) across road to bike, stop Garmin.

As most people have mentioned though, it's completely different for everyone, there are too many variables such as your speed, the speed of others if involved, surfaces, clothing, etc. With the smallest of changes the same crash could be bumps and bruises or broken bones.

Personally I tend not to think about it, if you do then you'll be forever backing off in bends and feel uneasy in a big bunch during a race

Mikey23

Stop garmin... Just love your priorities!

diy

generally those that hurt less than you expected and those that hurt more. very rarely do you call it about right.

seanoconn

Crashing is a piece of cake, as long as you remember to tuck and roll........... away from oncoming traffic.

Ricey83

My 1st proper crash was yesterday and resulted in a double break in my collarbone, a sore head and bit of ligament hanging out my elbow but the bike survived thank god!! Although the nurse did have to cut my Team SKY jersey off me which wasn't a nice feeling...

Mikey23

Yup, they are getting a bit proactive with people wearing sky kit who aren't riding for the team ...

pride4ever

For me crashing is OK cos im a fcuking ninja.

muzzan

Had a crash today ...well more of a fall really ... wheels slid from under me as I took a corner a bit too fast. Twice Ive done this now & both times heard the woosh of the tires sliding which gives you a split second to brace for impact. Even though my face bounced on the tarmac I definitely thought of the bike 1st... bikes ok (I think) but only when I got to work did I realise my galaxy s3 took a knock, camera is smashed :-( Shoulder & hand are bruised & sore but nothing too bad. Unfortunatly I think I will have to pull out of my 1st club run on sat.