I Had My First 2 Crashes This Morning

Hunter84

I don't know if anyone will remember me. I've not posted in a bit but always lurk around here as there's loads of good advice here. I started road cycling about 4 months ago. I had a lot of problems with my bike, Halfords said I was too heavy to cycle and my rear wheel kept buckling. I took it to a LBS and he re-tensioned the rear wheel and I've had no problems since. I'm getting faster and enjoying the cycles even in the censored winter weather. Lost a decent bit of weight, basically all going good until today...

Set off about 6:45 am. Road looked wet but not icy. Got to near the end of my street and signalled right and was about to turn. There was a car on the other side waiting for me to turn so she could get past. Right in front of her as I started turning I just felt the bike slide away from me to the left, I was essentially left in mid air, My body sort of turned and I crashed to the ground on the right side of my back which knocked all the air out of me. As I landed I kept sliding and just lay there a second. I tried to get up and fell straight back down again. The woman got out the car and ran over to see if I was ok. I said I was but my side and back was killing me and my left knee was throbbing. Stood at side of the road to get myself together and then got back on the bike and took it slowly.

About 5 mins later I get to a cycle path. I take the left over the tram tracks and as I turn right to get on the path I feel my bike sliding away again. I was going a lot slower this time. Somehow my bike slid to the side and I ended up landing on top of the bike, my stomach and chest cracked in to the handle bars. I rolled off my bike and got up. Noticed my front light is cracked and the holder has been smashed. Damn it.

Got to work and got changed then the pain started setting in. My thighs are sore for some reason, if I turn my head to fast to the side I get a pain down the left hand side of my neck. The right side of my back and ribs are a bit sore, my left knee is a bit cut up and my right forearm is scraped. I feel like I've had a kick in.

No accidents at all for 4 months and then 2 happen with in 5 minutes of each other. Weird thing is when they happened I was concerned more for my bike than myself, I didn't really check myself till I was at work but I immediately checked my bike for scrapes and make sure it was ok. Bike seems fine and I'm ok just a little banged up.

dnwhite88

Sounds like a tough morning! You're bound to be sore after a couple of offs but if you're still in pain after a few days it might be worth a trip to the doc. When it is wet it's a good idea to run your tyres at lower pressure than you would in the drip for better grip. Hope you're better soon and stay upright!

mlgt

It might be worth going to the docs if you are unsure about your injuries. At these times of the year oil, black ice or just poor surfaces can cause issues for all cyclists.

Take care and as poster above mentioned lower the pressure by a touch or looking at some better grip tyres might also be an idea to explore.

We all fall off the bike. I certainly have on a wet manhole cover whist trying to dodge a van who decided he wanted to go left. Don't let it knock your confidence. Cycling is meant to be fun. Stay safe!

bigmat

I crashed on Saturday then again on Monday - landed on same side both times so it really hurt the second time. Soft tissue injuries can take a surprisingly long time to heal, ibuprofen will be your friend!

Hunter84

Thanks for the replies. I never knew to let the tyre pressure down a bit when it's wet. I just pumped them up on Sunday aswell, so that probably didn't help. I'm not discouraged at all, I knew I would fall eventually. My hip has started to get sore on the right side now. I don't think I've damaged my ribs because it doesn't hurt to breathe in or out. Will take some Ibuprofen tonight if pain gets worse. Good news though, my front light isn't completely broken. It's slightly cracked but still working. It sits in the holder but because holder is partially broken, I found an elastic band and that is holding it in place. I'll get another one though but this will be ok until I get one.

Anonymous

Good to hear you aren't demoralised. These things happen and always nice when someone comes and picks you off the ground. I use Accuweather before I head out to get an idea of the temperatures to see if there may be any ice around, but sometimes oil can't be avoided. I've had 2 offs this year due to bad luck and black ice and bent my mech hanger both times. Dammit!

andy_wrx

I admire your positive spirit when you say 'I had my first two crashes this morning', implying that there will be many more

Bobbinogs

It is not just about deflating a bit in wet conditions but having the right pressure in the first place and decent tyres to go with it. There are plenty of threads on here about both subjects but if you are a little, errm, big still then running 25mm tyres at something a lot less than 120PSI can make a big difference to comfort and grip.

Also, have a think about how you are cornering. A lot of beginners see the pictures of pros leaning into corners at speed, right on the tyre limits and think that is what they are supposed to do...but get the technique all wrong. The big thing about cornering is getting the line right prior to the corner, with the right speed going into it. Scrub your speed before the corner when riding in a straight line and then concentrate on balance and technique through the turn itself, applying the right amount of power that grip dictates when exiting.

Sorry to hear about your offs. I think a double accident can often happen as one is left quite shaken after one event, adrenaline all over the place, damaged soft tissue hardening up which means that balance and technique suffer...making a second spill much more likely. Hope you don't feel too bad in the morning.

markhewitt1978

Have a look at the tyres, pretty much all bikes come with terrible stock tyres, so that may be something you want to change.

craker

I'm not sure there's many folk out there who look out of the window of a morning and decide what tyre pressure to run. It's always going to be damp this time of year somewhere on the road.

So what tyres are you on?

Sorry about the crashes by the way!

oxoman

Hunter, keep cycling and as others have said run the pressure a bit lower. Remember when icy or wet take it steady cornering and stay off drain and manhole covers etc. Nice to see the car driver got out to check if you where ok, they don't always do that. Also ride positively, you are not going to fall it works for me most of the time.

apreading

I remember you from your wheel problems - glad they got sorted in the end.

Sounds like you may have pumped the tyres too hard at the weekend and made the slip more likely, dont know how wide or sticky your tyres are - narrow and/or cheap tyres may have contributed too.

Its possible that the second slip was made more likely by you being a bit nervous and tentative - strangely this actually makes an accident more likely sometimes!

If you are leaning over when cornering then this can also contribute and can certainly contribute to making your accident hurt more. I was taught when mountain biking that you lean the bike but your body stays upright, so if the bike slips you more or less (less usually!) stand up rather than your side hitting the deck.

jgsi

A few minutes watching the excellent GCN channel
http://youtu.be/rpo_AcVmerA
all basic , common sense stuff, but well worth reminding oneself of it from time to time, whether you are a beginner or expert.
The lower tyre pressures is one good trick I forgot last year when I was on tyres that were well known for limited wet grip, and it did not end well.

southdownswolf

Forget lower pressure in your tyres, get yourself some of these...





Joking aside, hope you feel better soon.


(I will now have an accident this weekend and break my collarbone no doubt...)

Chunky101

Hunter, both offs sound like they hurt, kudos to you for getting back on and sticking with it. I'm mightily impressed, not sure many could have coped with that.

Hunter84

I need to get better tyres and will look in to that. My tyres are the ones that came with the bike when I bought it. They are fairly wide, more like mountain bike tyres than the thinner road bike tyres I've seen on other bikes. In regards to taking corners, I'm pretty basic, I don't really lean to a side. I tend to take corners pretty wide and slow down a bit before I get to them. I'm getting more confident and a little faster, the first crash I was probably going a little too fast considering it was icy but at the time I didn't realise it was icy.

Andy_Wrx - I'm hoping there won't be more but realistically, I'm probably going to get bashed up again at some point

Apreading- Yeah wheel problems are firmly in the past. I found out that Halfords bad rep is unfortunately deserved. (No offense to any Halford employees reading)

Southdownswolf - Been a while since I used stabilisers, might need to go get some. Hope you don't break your collarbone.

Chunky101 - Thanks, feeling a lot better now. Ribs and back still a bit sore and neck has been surprisingly sore but a few more days and I'll be ok.

Manc33

I went too fast on my MTB round a corner on the road (on knobblies) and I felt it "go" but I pulled it back. Not a slide but it just sort of went on me, hard to explain, I still don't know how I wrestled it back. Twice that happened on that bike, the stupid bike was front heavy. Now on my road bike I just hammer it around corners. 8)