When a cycle commute goes horribly wrong!
gravityboots
Posts: 4
First post and I thought I'd make it a good one.
A bit of back story - So I used to commute daily in all weathers 20 mile round trip all year round for many years. Had a few tumbles over the years, nothing serious. Changed job and a bit further away - closer to 30 mile round trip, got a bit soft, life's too short to ride on censored days. Got into motorbikes and my bicycle became more of a social thing and less of a commuter thing. When I commute I tend not to social cycle so much which I kinda liked. This year I thought I'd switch it round a bit get back into the nice weather commuting thing and get a bit more bike fit again. So Lovely sunny morning, a bit cool but I'll warm up on the 14 mile journey to work. Won't hammer it, plenty of time just enjoy the ride.
My wife worries about me on the motorbike so before I set off I tell her that my bike route is much safer. Our local village is very quiet. There is a bit of a 10/15 minute danger zone through a village with heavy traffic after that 10 miles worth of mostly cycle ways. Set off, hmm not as cold as I thought and what a beautiful day.
So here I am 5 minutes from home in my quiet local village where it all went horribly wrong....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar_R8MSV7UE
Enjoy!
A bit of back story - So I used to commute daily in all weathers 20 mile round trip all year round for many years. Had a few tumbles over the years, nothing serious. Changed job and a bit further away - closer to 30 mile round trip, got a bit soft, life's too short to ride on censored days. Got into motorbikes and my bicycle became more of a social thing and less of a commuter thing. When I commute I tend not to social cycle so much which I kinda liked. This year I thought I'd switch it round a bit get back into the nice weather commuting thing and get a bit more bike fit again. So Lovely sunny morning, a bit cool but I'll warm up on the 14 mile journey to work. Won't hammer it, plenty of time just enjoy the ride.
My wife worries about me on the motorbike so before I set off I tell her that my bike route is much safer. Our local village is very quiet. There is a bit of a 10/15 minute danger zone through a village with heavy traffic after that 10 miles worth of mostly cycle ways. Set off, hmm not as cold as I thought and what a beautiful day.
So here I am 5 minutes from home in my quiet local village where it all went horribly wrong....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar_R8MSV7UE
Enjoy!
0
Posts
The main thing is bike seems fine. It has marks on the fork where the cars bumper hit it but everything looks straight and feels fine. Few scuffs where it skitted across the road, the shifter rotated and that was it. It's my lucky bike!
As an aside, I was more than half expecting you to be taken out by one of these enormous pot holes, that road is awful!
Voodoo Bizango - 2014 - Dead - Hit by a car
Vitus Sentier VRS - 2017
I guess it was a bit too bright for the fatty to bother to look?
Shouldn't you be using their insurance to have your bike checked over for damage? Don't want your handlebars to snap a few months down the line.
hope not to much damage / pain also dont be put off
Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
Beware a low sun. Lad along the road from us drove head on into a parked car because he couldn't see where he was going. There is a major clue there but a high percentage of drivers just keep going...
I am not sure. You have no chance.
Glad you're ok but get yourself legal representation and claim for everything. The driver might be more careful in future.
http://100hillsforgeorge.blogspot.com/
http://www.12on12in12.blogspot.co.uk/
Did the car behind stop?
Get the front rim, forks and steerer checked over at least, just to be sure that they didn't crack as a result of the impact.
"What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
"It stays down, Daddy."
"Exactly."
Had a slightly similar situation years ago (without any ninja skills). I was hammering (relatively, it was fast for me) over a crossroads at London Bridge in torrential rain, and a cab did the same thing. I ended up shoulder barging the cab hard (and scaring the bejesus out of the fare). Had a massive rant, got a sincere "SMDSY" (despite being lit up and in hiviz) but just carried on in the end as bike and body seemed fine.
Fast forward 7 odd years to now, and what I think transpired to be a torn rotator cuff means my shoulder still hurts, and I struggle to lift stuff over my head...
Get their details (I guess they live in that cul-de-sac?), get the whole bike checked out and go straight to your GP with any niggles that are still there on Monday.
And report those potholes to the local council!
Bikes: Donhou DSS4 Custom | Condor Italia RC | Gios Megalite | Dolan Preffisio | Giant Bowery '76
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I have had the exact same accident in my mind some time ago but somehow in real life have just managed to avoid it, still dont know how. The experience leaves you slightly more alert to it happening again and you might pre-empt it a bit more if a similar situation arises in the future - you will possibly anticipate it happening with a few false positives for a while too, but thats no bad thing. I was knocked off my bike on a roundabout two years ago and mangled bike/shoulder etc was less fortunate than you. That roundabout has now been outed as the most dangerous bit of road in Reading. I ride it every time I commute on the bike and always slow down more and look intently at the cars joining the roundabout to be REALLY sure they have seen me and reacted now. Three weeks ago, my extra alertness (or nervousness if you prefer to call it that) prevented me from having the same accident again. A car pulled out and I was well prepared and able to take avoiding action. If I hadnt been knocked off two years ago then I would have been three weeks ago. So use the experience to do whatever you can to maybe react in time to avoid it in future although we must all accept that sometimes this is not possible.
Normally you can watch these videos with the knowledge that 'something' is going to happen, and you can spot it coming a mile off.
This one was out of nowhere :O
Strava
- Yes 'Out of nowhere'. Sometimes there's just nothing you can do. I thought I was already very wary. I've had plenty of close calls over the years but definitely one of my nine lives gone this time.
- Unfortunately the gravel rash on my legs is testament to my lack of ninja skills.
- did the car behind stop? Not sure. First off, the lady lived nearby and she brought her husband over. Someone else did appear...whether that was the car behind I'm not sure. He kept asking where did the lady hit you (on your body)......I just said "EVERYWHERE!"....I assume therefore he presumably just saw me lying in the junction and didn't witness it....so probably not the car behind. He hung around a little while until I'd recovered and then disappeared. So I was left with the lady and her husband. A local builder who was across the road at the time (the white van you see in the video) later told me he witnessed it all but never came over to help at the time.
That's a good point. I might do that. Cheers!