Author Topic: Have you fallen off today?  (Read 8658 times)

Paul

  • L'enfer, c'est les autos.
Have you fallen off today?
« on: 11 April, 2017, 01:17:01 pm »
We don't already have one of these, do we?

I fell off on Sunday. I was due.

I was recce-ing a route I'll be riding in July as part of the Jenson Button Triathlon (I've been dragged in to someone else's midlife crisis which is a bit rich as I seem to be navigating, if not have navigated, my own reasonably safely).

Anyway, there was a gentle left hand bend on a slightly downhill bit which I was able to take at some speed. However, the hard right hander that immediately followed was too much too soon. I was not going to be able to stay on the road, so I had to choose between a tree, a section of curb, and what appeared to be deep, lush grass. I managed to take off enough speed to miss the tree and the curb, flew into the grass and bailed right before the hedge/ditch combo.

Got up and did a quick check: everything seemed to be in order, except the grass was mostly nettles! Took about 24 hours for the effects to wear off, but me and bike seem now largely unscathed!

I'll be treating that turn with more respect on 23 July.
What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?

woollypigs

  • Mr Peli
    • woollypigs
Re: Have you fallen off today?
« Reply #1 on: 11 April, 2017, 01:29:32 pm »
Ouch. Glad it was only nettles.

As for me my answer is NO, but I will insert a YES, because I have just jinxed tomorrows ride :)
Current mood: AARRRGGGGHHHHH !!! #bollockstobrexit

Re: Have you fallen off today?
« Reply #2 on: 11 April, 2017, 01:39:11 pm »
I think the only two potential responses to this question are "yes" and "not yet"  ;D
Eddington Number = 132

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: Have you fallen off today?
« Reply #3 on: 11 April, 2017, 01:54:06 pm »
I'm not riding now.
I don't think I came off more than a dozen times in nearly 40 years!

I was too nervous/dyspraxic to ride no-handed.
What a shame...

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Have you fallen off today?
« Reply #4 on: 11 April, 2017, 02:09:52 pm »
I still remember falling of my trike into a huge clump of nettles taller than myself, aged 4 or so. That was at the end of our garden path! It was a bit of a wild garden back then.
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

T42

  • Apprentice geezer
Re: Have you fallen off today?
« Reply #5 on: 11 April, 2017, 02:36:37 pm »
Anyway, there was a gentle left hand bend on a slightly downhill bit which I was able to take at some speed. However, the hard right hander that immediately followed was too much too soon...

On the downhill part of Sunday's biggest climb I zoomed in the GPS and I kept an eye on the writhing purple line between bends. It felt like cheating, but it helped.
I've dusted off all those old bottles and set them up straight

Andrij

  • Андрій
  • Ερασιτεχνικός μισάνθρωπος
Re: Have you fallen off today?
« Reply #6 on: 11 April, 2017, 08:30:26 pm »
Came close a couple of times today - borrowed a friends bike and shoes, my first time with SPD-SLs.  Uncliping was fine; clipping in, OTOH...
;D  Andrij.  I pronounce you Complete and Utter GIT   :thumbsup:

Re: Have you fallen off today?
« Reply #7 on: 11 April, 2017, 08:36:10 pm »
No, but the only bike I've been on today was a spin bike, and even I find it difficult to fall off those.

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Have you fallen off today?
« Reply #8 on: 11 April, 2017, 11:06:42 pm »
An Audi driver tried to give me some help falling off earlier, but fortunately didn't succeed.

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Have you fallen off today?
« Reply #9 on: 12 April, 2017, 10:06:44 am »
Ha! Same happened to me this morning on the way back from emergency shopping. About 8 a.m. so I should have been asleep.  ::-)
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

ElyDave

  • Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society member 263583
Re: Have you fallen off today?
« Reply #10 on: 13 April, 2017, 08:06:02 am »
I almost fell off on Sunday when an Audi driver followed by a BMW both passed me with appropriate distance  :o
“Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.” –Charles Dickens

Re: Have you fallen off today?
« Reply #11 on: 05 June, 2017, 09:48:24 pm »
I started riding BMX again last year (Kind of mid-life crisis, I guess) and got one of my colleagues to do the same. He's a fair bit younger, so had less of a break than me and while I've had to start pretty much from scracth again, it's still fun.
We've started going to the various skateparks on weekend mornings, when it's mostly the 35+ crowd that's out and yesterday we decided hit the dirt jump park on the way back. This is the area I got the least experience in, so struggling to clear one of the jumps cleanly, I added an extra crank or 2 on the pedals...and went waay to far, landing on the front wheel and got catapulted straight into the incline for the next jump. Landing mostly on the side with my arm underneath me, which bent the ribs a fair bit and knocked the air out of me. Now that's something I haven't done for a long time and its quite an amazing reaction from your body. I also knocked one knee into ground, which I only really noticed later when it was rather swollen and colourful, but nothing is torn or broken,
 I knew one of these was coming...this was about as bad as it gets and while I'm sore and feeling beaten up, it's good to know that I can take a fall like that and not break (completely).

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Have you fallen off today?
« Reply #12 on: 05 June, 2017, 09:54:45 pm »
I fell off at 40mph about three and a half weeks ago, but had forgotten about this thread.  The bike is fixed and the road rash has nearly healed.  Hopefully I can soon start work on overcoming Teh Fear.

Slightly annoyed that Shimano have changed all their shoes to ones that don't fit properly since I wore a hole in a perfectly good one during the crash (explaining the then unexplained small bruise on my foot - I didn't see the shoe damage at the time because barakta removed my shoes for me in a standing position).  I had a look on eBay and found an amputee selling their spare of that model in the right size, but for the wrong foot.

Paul

  • L'enfer, c'est les autos.
Re: Have you fallen off today?
« Reply #13 on: 05 June, 2017, 10:50:03 pm »
...I added an extra crank or 2 on the pedals...and went waay to far, landing on the front wheel and got catapulted straight into the incline for the next jump.

Ouch.

I did almost exactly the same some years ago. I was cycling to work on a mtb (the commuter being out of action) and couldn't resist a spin on the Alvaston Park BMX track. I went over the front wheel and landed on my back with the bike on top of me and quite a lot of road rash on my right arm and leg.
What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?

Paul

  • L'enfer, c'est les autos.
Re: Have you fallen off today?
« Reply #14 on: 05 June, 2017, 10:56:15 pm »
  The bike is fixed and the road rash has nearly healed.  Hopefully I can soon start work on overcoming Teh Fear.

 :thumbsup:

Slightly annoyed that Shimano have changed all their shoes to ones that don't fit properly...

Is this a fact? I wondered when a new pair (this year) of shimano shoes of the same size I've taken for 20 years didn't fit the same (seemed slightly larger).
What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Have you fallen off today?
« Reply #15 on: 05 June, 2017, 11:24:26 pm »
From an unscientific sample of the three types of MTB shoes that I found in Decathlon on Saturday, I'd say they've made them longer and narrower (and - other than the low-end ones - plasticier and roadier).  This is annoying because I seemed to be one of the rare people with Shimano shaped feet.

My damaged shoe has some life left in it before the remaining fabric gives up, so I've got time to shop around for alternatives.  Will have to look in some proper bike shops...

Re: Have you fallen off today?
« Reply #16 on: 06 June, 2017, 01:53:31 am »
...I added an extra crank or 2 on the pedals...and went waay to far, landing on the front wheel and got catapulted straight into the incline for the next jump.

Ouch.

I did almost exactly the same some years ago. I was cycling to work on a mtb (the commuter being out of action) and couldn't resist a spin on the Alvaston Park BMX track. I went over the front wheel and landed on my back with the bike on top of me and quite a lot of road rash on my right arm and leg.

I landed perpendicular enough that there was almost no sliding, and only a little rash on my elbow.

Re: Have you fallen off today?
« Reply #17 on: 06 June, 2017, 07:50:14 am »
No but it's still early.
Move Faster and Bake Things

ElyDave

  • Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society member 263583
Re: Have you fallen off today?
« Reply #18 on: 06 June, 2017, 05:00:39 pm »
Yes,

had an appointment for my annual insulin pump users clinic today at Addenbrookes.  Decided to ride there (rail from Ely to Camb) and had a planned nice long route back to recover part of my lost weekend. Having ridden there between the stations, and knowing the wind was getting worse I decided to shorten my ride home.

However, on my exit route from the hospital campus, I crossed a roundabout watching as per usual for the motons trying to kill me, accelerated off the roundabout and looked up to find a stationary car in front of me.  A ped had "jumped out at the last minute" onto the pelican crossing.

Very wet, lashing it down at that point and I just couldn't stop in time. Went straight into the back window face first, then shoulder, then knee. I must have scrubbed off most of the speed as no blood, no road rash, no KO and very limited damage to the bike, just handlebars misaligned and left shifter skewed.  The driver was very apologetic, passers by very concerned but useless other than suggesting A&E.

With conditions deteriorating further it was now getting to the dangerous rather than adventurous, so I canned the ride and went back to the railway station halfway home.  Good choice as I think 2-3 hours in that weather and I'd have been looking at hypothermia - feet were white after an hour.

Got home with a very sore jaw with a big lump on it, slightly swollen LHS of face, and sore shoulder, neck and knee.  Local minor injuries unit said, no probs with the jaw structurally, but that and the neck will get sorer over the next few days.  Could have been much worse.
“Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.” –Charles Dickens

Re: Have you fallen off today?
« Reply #19 on: 06 June, 2017, 09:40:59 pm »
Got blown off my 'bent this morning. An Easterly commute into work was great, despite the rain, and I was going well with the wind at my back. Until the bit 100 yards before the left turn, when without warning the wind hit me from the stbd beam and I wobbled, a lot. But not enough to fall over. That was reserved for the kerb I couldn't avoid the wheels sliding along, with my centre of mass unable to correct the wheels back under me.

I suppose it was like getting tipped out of bed. Wore a lid today, but it wouldn't have made any difference. Sore port lower buttock but undamaged trousers, slight hole the in the same ankle, and a broken bar end cover. I also remember seeing a really big spark exit stage backwards along the pavement. Another reason to like being on a 'bent. I've been over twice properly and neither required me to tuck and roll or get catapulted over something.
Cruzbike V2k, S40

ElyDave

  • Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society member 263583
Re: Have you fallen off today?
« Reply #20 on: 06 June, 2017, 09:49:06 pm »
Into the back of a car on a bent? Probably more damage to the bike, bottom bracket, cranks, boom, less damage to my face, possibly more to my ankles/knees. 

Had pretty strong crosswinds Sunday on the bent, difficult control at times, today was much worse

Glad no damage to you
“Procrastination is the thief of time, collar him.” –Charles Dickens

Paul

  • L'enfer, c'est les autos.
Re: Have you fallen off today?
« Reply #21 on: 06 June, 2017, 09:58:14 pm »
It was rough out there today. My final left turn brought me into the wind tonight and an almost complete stop!

As Sgt Esterhaus would say: Let's be careful out there.
What's so funny about peace, love and understanding?

quixoticgeek

  • Mostly Harmless
Re: Have you fallen off today?
« Reply #22 on: 26 June, 2017, 11:36:25 pm »

Your nettle adventure reminds me of an accident as a kid. Riding along a bit of off road footpath, big expanse of soft grass on my right, epic nettles on the left. Log in the way on the path, I notice it too late, screech to a halt. Where upon I fall side ways. Lawn on one side, nettles on the other. Anyone wanna guess which direction I went?

Bloody nettles...

J
--
Beer, bikes, and backpacking
http://b.42q.eu/

Monty

  • Buffoon
Re: Have you fallen off today?
« Reply #23 on: 30 July, 2017, 02:54:01 pm »
Had a minor off on the MTB a couple of days ago. Going down a short, steep grass bank. Too much front brake and away it went.
I don't have 'proper' MTB tyres fitted, rather more off-road if you like. I need to try to get out of the thought process that I've carried for many years of motorcycling in that the rear brake is pointless!
Steady at 15

Kim

  • Timelord
    • Fediverse
Re: Have you fallen off today?
« Reply #24 on: 30 July, 2017, 03:11:10 pm »
I need to try to get out of the thought process that I've carried for many years of motorcycling in that the rear brake is pointless!

Some gravelly descents should cure you of that.  I recommend Sleightholme Moor