Potholes and helmets

Ricey83

Me and my bro were out doing a 50 miler yesterday after 35 miles I were feeling really strong and I was riding a good pace, crested a hill doing about 25 mph and then BOOM I hit a pothole which completely threw my hands off the hoods and sent me head first in to the tarmac and sliding through gravel, after I came to a stop I had the horrible feeling of a snapped collarbone which turns out to be a double break! Really good ride turns in to my worst in a split second and I can't stress enough how vital it was that I was wearing a helmet because judging by the size of the crack in my helmet and the bruises on the side of my head it could of been a lot, lot worse! But to answer the question on everyone's lips.....the bike is fine just needs the bar tap replacing and my shifter straightening.

Be careful out there people on Britain's poorly maintained roads.

danlikesbikes

feel for you mate, its never a nice thing to be injured.

But at least you'll be back on the bike soon, even if only on the turbo. Nice to see that you bikes not come out too badly then too.

Calpol

Very sorry to hear about your accident. I hope you make a speedy recovery. There was a story in the media this week about a bloke who died after hitting a pothole whilst out riding in a group.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2283266/Anger-death-crash-cyclist-killed-pothole.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490
He also had a helmet on but wasn't as fortunate as you. There is however no doubt in my mind that anyone not wearing a helmet out riding today on our roads is completely mad.

Ricey83

I agree Calpol. Seeing the way I went down my brother said I'd of been really lucky to come away without serious head injuries. A guy in my bro's club is a personal injury lawyer so I've already got the ball rolling on that as the road is in a real bad state.

Buckie2k5

sounds a nasty one. Out today had some scarey shaking hands off the bars moments. Roads are an absolute disgrace. Hopefully you heal quick and get some nice compo money to play with during your rest.

Mikey23

Total concentration needed at all times on these flipping roads. Did 50 with a mate at the weekend and there was about half a dozen occasions when the same could have happened to me... Pleased you are ok and did you remember to turn your garmin off?

danlikesbikes

Mikey23 wrote:

did you remember to turn your garmin off?

Worried he is gonna cheat on Strava if he left it on and took it in the back of an Ambulance

Ricey83

Mikey23 wrote:

Total concentration needed at all times on these flipping roads. Did 50 with a mate at the weekend and there was about half a dozen occasions when the same could have happened to me... Pleased you are ok and did you remember to turn your garmin off?

Due to the length of time I was laying in the road feeling sorry for myself the Garmin's handy 'auto power down' kicked in

gubber12345

sorry to hear about your crash Ricey hope you make a full and quick recovery.

seeing as i live out in the sticks its not only the potholes about here that need to be watched,as i can only get out at night in the dark its a nightmare watching for stones and mud that the farmers have brought outta the fields on the tractors tyres as there are flat out ploughing etc making the most out of this dry spell we're having at the minute.

i just keep to a sensible pace just to be on the safe side(not that i'm going that fast anyway)

TakeTurns

All the best mate. You should technically be able to make a claim against the local council. I know of someone who sued the council due to their injuries after hitting a pot hole.

I was going around a corner the other day. There was a massive pothole which had a diameter of at least 60cm. Noticed it a little too late, so I served into a car and pushed myself off it. Wrist was really painful that day, but at least I didn't come off.

Ricey83

@Take Turns I mentioned in my above post that it's already passed on to a personal injury lawyer that is in my brothers cycle club.

The thing that has annoyed me most is the fact that I'm gonna be off the bike for god knows how long and I was making good improvements on performance.

Has anyone else had a broken collarbone and can give me a clue on how long it'll keep me off the bike?

TakeTurns

Broke a collar bone last year in March.

Doctor said at least 12 weeks. Should get plenty of rest and not to put strain on the body. Also depends on how bad the fracture is. I made impact at 30mph, so mine was pretty bad. Initially it was poking out, but they fused it back together. By week 20, it was fully healed.

Week 4: I was on the turbo. Upper body still painful, but managed to ride upright.
Week 8: was out on the road. Didn't tell doctor. But I was getting depressed on the turbo. Even the smallest bumps in the road were excruciating.
Week 13: I went to the gym to regain strength in upper body, nothing too strenuous
Week 16: feeling much better
Week 20: good as gold.

jordan_217

Two weeks a go on a club run, I was 3rd back and hit a deep pothole at speed. Apart from being pi55ed off at lack of shouts from the front, I realised I'd hurt myself. My saddle had cracked where the rails are fixed at the nose of the saddle and my bits took the brunt of it. Could'nt sit down for two days, the blood on my chamios was an unwelcome sight :oops:

Hope you're feeling better soon and glad the bikes ok

canny_lad

Good to hear you're ok. One of my mates flat refuses to wear a helmet and it does make you wonder as our local roads are utter shoot (as are just about everyone's). Hope you succeed in claiming against the council, they don't give a fook about maintaining the roads.

jthef

Hope you get well soon.
But we all need to report these pot holes so if someone else comes off at a later date it is more cut and dry about claiming for damage etc.
I use http://www.fillthathole.org.uk/
I record with video camera and if there is something I want to view later I cover the lens for a few seconds. I then have some software which helps me find it later. Making it easier to report potholes near misses or maybe my mate falling off, but not hopefully me.

elderone

Scary story and get well soon.Our roads are terrible and how many others must suffer before things improve..disgusting state of affairs.

nickyboy zz

I was coming down a local 10% hill at about 35mph and saw a car looking like it was about to pull out of a side road. Took my eyes off the road and hit a pothole. Hands slipped off the hoods and I veered over into the oncoming lane. Just managed to hold it upright but I probably did 100m in the middle of the oncoming lane. Really lucky no traffic (its a busy road)

On a slightly related topic I hit another really deep pothole that was full of water so didn't see it. result was a fooked front wheel. What is the likelyhood of getting this reimbursed? It was in Stockport so Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council and I've reported the pothole to them

Ricey83

@Nicky boy zz that was the scary bit the way it threw my hands off the hoods. I almost got my hands back on them but I hit another hole which jarred my wheel to the left and just ploughed me in to the Tarmac. But you're lucky with no oncoming traffic because that could of been real bad news!

@Canny Lad without the helmet mate I would def still be in hospital and who knows what the outcome would of been because my head took the initial impact and then my shoulder which gave me a double break in the collarbone so god knows what damage my skull would of took without it. Your mate needs to wise up...

@Take Turns looks like I may need to get myself a turbo to keep my legs active as I'm supposed to be cycling from Tower Bridge, London to Leic in June for charity just hoping I can get back on the bike with enough time to get some decent training in.

VeloBod

Glad you seems ok; but a word of warning - I was knocked off from behind by white van man who didnt stop - I thought I was fine just cuts & bruises. I hit my head too, I didn't loose consciousness or anything. There was a big crack / dent in my helmet as is yours.

Go to A&E and insist on a CT scan.

It was 6 weeks after my accident that I had a dead feeling in my arm (opposite side to the side of the head that was hit) & I had a massive seizure, fitted for 10 mins, went blue, stopped breathing & generally wasn't very well.
I was rushed in for a CT scan and found I had a tiny bleed in my brain for 6 weeks that had finally bled enough to build up the pressure.
I had a craniotomy that night for the sub dural heamatoma and am lucky to still be here.

I totally agree with you - always wear a helmet - if I hadn't been wearing one that day I may not have got up off the tarmac.

il_principe

Ricey83 wrote:

@Take Turns I mentioned in my above post that it's already passed on to a personal injury lawyer that is in my brothers cycle club.

The thing that has annoyed me most is the fact that I'm gonna be off the bike for god knows how long and I was making good improvements on performance.

Has anyone else had a broken collarbone and can give me a clue on how long it'll keep me off the bike?

I was off for nearly 3 months, but I did have to have surgery twice; the plate they put in got infected. That slowed things down a lot. If you don't need surgery and are youngish then it should heal up quickly. Just don't do too much too soon.

gaz047

Hi sorry to hear about your accident mate, glad it wasn't any worse.
I broke my collar bone at the end of August (3 weeks before ironman wales! Great timing !). Bloke pulled out of petrol station after not looking properly and the only route for me was over the bars and bonnet.
Cause it broke so close to the shoulder I had to have a hook plate fitted for 3 months, got 2 infections and then second op to remove metal work.
Turbo was bearable for short periods whilst the metal work was in. Tried to run and it was agony.
Now swimming a mile front crawl, albeit slow (swimming has been great rehab), running and turbo is fine ( not been on roads yet)

Try and rest as much as you can and make sure you do any exercises given by physio (they are boring bit stick with it!)
Also try and get a load of decent films. I was going mad not being able to do anything, till a mate lent me The Wire. If you haven't seen it, it's one of the best things I've ever watched.

Gone on a bit there, keep your chin up, you'll be fine
Gaz

ricey155

I see your keeping busy with your one hand and arm :shock:

full body armour required on the roads around Coventry and Warks, and as you already said it might be time for racing leathers on a pushbike :evil:

Ricey83

The boredom hasn't set in yet as the Tramadol has turned me in to a mong but sorts the pain right out lol

Give it a few weeks then I can hopefully get on your turbo Russ to keep the legs moving.

daviegb

First of all Ricey, get well soon & glad the bike wasn't hurt too!!!

I came off while descending Col de Roselend in July - we were due to complete the ride, then go & watch Wiggo in the Tour on La Tousuirre. I hit a pothole as I went from sun to shade & lost the bike into a cliff face. Broke my collarbone & due to complications with blood pressure then had to spend the night on Annecy hospital.

The collarbone couldn't heal itself, so had surgery on 2nd January to insert a plate & screws. The screws managed to work their way loose, so the healing has been rather slower than expected. Have managed to spend the last 3 weeks using the turbo & planning my first gentle ride of the year tomorrow.

If your break is a simple one & the healing goes well, you could be back outside in about 6 to 7 weeks. However, make sure the Dr is happy, as any further damage could delay your recovery by months.

Good luck with the recovery & enjoy the turbo - invest in a Sufferfest download or two!!

Ricey83

How do the french seem to be able keep their roads pothole free? If we had a full tour of England there would be riders lying all over the place.

Just watching Paris-Nice and there has been a few crashes so I'm starting like a bit of a Pro lol

the playing mantis

perhaps if people who have accidents and are so keen to pursue and blame someone else for them rather than just moving on and dealing with as one of those things as, are one of reasons councils have no money to fix potholes!

then again if they were that afraid of the costs of litagation you would think they would fix them all asap.

peat

I knew i shouldn't have clicked on that DM link, but i couldn't help myself.

**happy place**happy place**babbling brook**babbling brook**keep calm**It's ok**

Sorry to hear about your fall OP. I find that towards the end of a ride when i get tired i tend to not spot them as easily... No direct hits....yet.

Bobbinogs

Really sorry to hear about you misfortune Ricey. Personally, I think that incidents like that make one realise that the bike doesn't mean didly squat in the scheme of things (no point having a lovely bike if you cannot ride it).

You may find this thread useful: viewtopic.php?f=40020&t=12805868&

I had an off about 18 months ago so I tried to capture some of the things I went through. All ok now. As others have said, decent physio is an absolute must BUT at the right time. Bone injuries can take 6 months to heal and up to 1 year to strengthen properly so just accept it and stick to the recovery plan your physio.doc work out. God I remember those sleepless nights, probably took me 2 months before I could sleep through the night (prop yourself up with lots of cushions and get used to the position).

Best of luck mate.

thescouselander

So far on this thread we've had two serious head injuries including a brain bleed and even a death. To say it was worth wearing a helment is the wrong lesson IMO. To me these instances just confirm my suspicion cycle helmets dont work (although I often wear one myself).

Jwleggett

argh - things like this always happen at the best of times...

Heal up!

Ricey83

Feeling a lot better a month after the break and I'll be jumping on the turbo once I fix the bike next week!