My exploding rear tyre hurt my face..

WiganLardster
WiganLardster Posts: 28
edited April 2013 in Road beginners
I had my first 'off' today, at the bottom of my street. I had an explosive puncture as I was turning left, and the next thing I knew I was flying through the air, arms out in true Superman style, as I glanced down at the looming black tarmac and thought 'oh shit, this is going to hurt'. And sure enough it did - I landed on my face/head and have a swollen right cheek, grazed fingers, knees and elbow. I was only doing 10 mph at the time, which is a stroke of luck as it's at the bottom of a hill and I'm normally doing about double that.

Anyway, the point of my post is not to solicit sympathy (although the offer of a stiff drink to numb the pain will be welcomed :D ) but just to add my tuppence to the great 'helmet or no helmet' debate. Up until today I was undecided as to whether a lid makes a difference in certain types of crashes - some days I wear one, some days I don't. Today I was wearing one, and I would say it definitely saved me from a nasty cut (and possibly more) to the forehead judging by the scrapes to the front right of it. I'm not saying that it'll protect my melon from a head-on collision with an articulated death machine, just that, on certain occasions, that silly looking lump of polystyrene earns its keep. :)

Comments

  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    I have banged my head pretty hard (not cycling) and I really would not want to bang it any harder so always wear a helmet.
    Not quite sure why you would not but each to their own.

    Glad you are OK....................Hows the bike?
  • The cynic in me always wondered if a bit of foam could really make much of a difference in a crash, and then of course there are sites like http://bicyclesafe.com/helmets.html which tend to re-inforce the cynicism.

    The bike got it worse than I did - the left brake lever is bent forward, and my rear wheel is bent out of true :shock: . I'm skint at the moment, so I may have to see if I can fix the wheel myself - at the moment it's only worthy of the bin, so if I have a go at re-tensioning the spokes to bring it back it'll be educational, if nothing else.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    I read the first bit and could not be bothered with the rest.

    I dont really agree that wearing a helmet makes you take more risks, not like wearing a seatbelt in a car might.
    The two things are separate, its not one or the other its both.

    The helmet is just there if I bang my head. I am thinking of preventing other injuries when I cycle, and its that that makes me aware.
    Full body armour might give you a false sense of security, but not really a helmet so much.

    And why are cars always mentioned? You can come off and hit your head at Center Parcs.
  • dnwhite88
    dnwhite88 Posts: 285
    Chuck the helmet-they're only good for one! ;)
    "It never gets easier, you just go faster"