I crashed again (photo with blood)

[Teek]

on my mountain bike, I low sided into a concrete wall, long story, bottom line = brand new greasy tires! I HATE new tires with all that release crud on them. I told my hubby I only wanted to ride in dirt for awhile, he wanted to ride the bike path on the beach, talked me into it, I went up a driveway onto a side walk going downhill on the Calif. Incline, my front end was fine but the back tire just wanted to slide along the lip and it did, it was too slick to bite the way it should have.  I'm an experienced rider, I ride single track and urban stuff. But I couldn't compensate for the equivalent of hitting oil.

I'm really ticked, my bike's a little dinged but mostly okay, I ended up riding 24 blocks to the ER since my arm was a bloody mess but I hadn't hit an artery or lost consciousness, even though my head hit the concrete, and my hand still worked fine. I didn't want a $500+ bill for a transport, I was going to take the bus since it has bike racks on the front but I didn't see any when I got up to the right street, so just rode. I figured I'd get there just as fast, and it was 3 hours before they sewed me up anyway and they had me on "fast track". I should post a photo of the helmet, I don't know where it is at the moment. I needed stitches inside my arm because the damage was so deep, plus fitting the skin and stuff underneath back together (that was only 9 stitches so it was deep but not long, I sliced a big V into my arm). I was super lucky that I didn't break any bones, I didn't scrape my face off, and this was just on a bicycle with no cars and probably 10mph.

What did the most damage was a cuff style metal bracelet on my left wrist, I figure it must have hooked on the bike and it was shoved way up my arm and twisted, and when it twisted it went deep into my arm, I had to pull it out, it was gross! The ER dr said that's common, so I'm not wearing any jewely when I ride from now on. I think with a armored jacket and gloves on a motorcycle it would be different, but the speed and length of road travel would be a lot longer going down with a moto too.

So the point is just what we all know: to wear all your gear all the time, I would never ride anything without a helmet, indeed I have been looking all over for a lightweight full face bicycle helmet, I've seen too many people after face plants on a bike. The ER techs said they'd had 5 bike accidents in yesterday. This was low speed, no heavy moto to fall on me, and I have a knot on my forehead and two crushed spots on the helmet, which did it's job; also road rash, a messed up knee, and a badly bruised and rashed shoulder.

The two little red spots are bit of fat from my arm that were still stuck to my middle shirt that soaked up most of the blood, and I was wearing 3 layers.

The good thing is seeing me crash really opened my hubby's eyes to how careless he is sometimes when he rides, and he swears he is going to slow down, at least on blind corners on his moto! He was a wreck, I had to tell him what to do, just follow me.. 

This was last night and the shirt (cut open) is still wet, yuch. I just cut both sleeves off.


http://home.earthlink.net/~roughroadstudio/owww.jpg

[beRto]

Sorry to hear about your crash

Get well soon!

[ohgood]

what cut your arm ?

looks like you staged a crime scene to frame a neighbor for murder !

every single MTB crash i've had meant blood. lots of blood. get that taste of iron in your mouth and you know you've cut something bad

glad you're ok, i was hoping for pictures of the wound though. think i'm sick.

[Teek]

The wound was disgusting, my arm was hanging open but we are too lame to figure out how to get phone photos out of the phone and I didn't want my hubby fainting. He's still getting sick just remembering what he saw. We can see gaping holes in living bodies all over the 'net, so I didn't want to be rude.

I just wanted to remind all that even low speed crashes are not kind to uncovered human bodies, and it was the bracelet that did the damage (the bent end is how deep it went into my arm), otherwise I would have just walked away with big bruises and rashed.

I wanted also to point out the danger of the jewelry. Probably flexible watchbands etc. are okay.

ohgood, yeah, I've been luckier before with my MTB crashes, usually just end up picking out gravel and limping around for a week or two. Tasting blood is scary, usually in bad bike accidents there's a face plant that means ripped or bitten lips, broken teeth and noses, jaws etc. I know two guys that happened to. Now with horses I've ruined my knee, hip and ankle on the right and broke my right hand, tore my left shoulder up a few times and broke my left ring finger. Not bad for 30 + years. I'm not counting the falls where I did forward flips in the air and landed doing shoulder rolls or on my back or went down face first in the dirt.

But man do I feel lucky. I'll photo the stitches if anyone wants to see I'll post them, but it really looks like nothing much all sewn up back together, my dr did a really good job. The lidocaine started wearing off while she was still stitching and I could feel the needle andthe last couple of sutures, but my tattoos hurt worse.   

[beRto]

The wound was disgusting, my arm was hanging open but we are too lame to figure out how to get phone photos out of the phone and I didn't want my hubby fainting. He's still getting sick just remembering what he saw. We can see gaping holes in living bodies all over the 'net, so I didn't want to be rude.

I just wanted to remind all that even low speed crashes are not kind to uncovered human bodies, and it was the bracelet that did the damage, otherwise I would have just walked away with big bruises and rashed.

I wanted also to point out the danger of the jewelry. Probably flexible watchbands etc. are okay.

ohgood, yeah, I've been luckier before with my MTB crashes, usually just end up picking out gravel and limping around for a week or two. Tasting blood is scary, usually in bad bike accidents there's a face plant that means ripped or bitten lips, broken teeth and noses, jaws etc. I know two guys that happened to. Now with horses I've ruined my knee, hip and ankle on the right and broke my right hand, tore my left shoulder up a few times and broke my left ring finger. Not bad for 30 + years. I'm not counting the falls where I did forward flips in the air and landed doing shoulder rolls or on my back or went down face first in the dirt.

But man do I feel lucky. I'll photo the stitches if anyone wants to see I'll post them, but it really looks like nothing much all sewn up back together, my dr did a really good job. The lidocaine started wearing off while she was still stitching and I could feel the needle andthe last couple of sutures, but my tattoos hurt worse.   

Maybe just post links instead of embedded photos? 

[Teek]

Maybe just post links instead of embedded photos?   

Done, but would it make as much of an impression?   

It's only a little blood on the shirt to get people thinking, and the sutures look like nothin'.

[Archer]

ouch, luckly I havint  ripped open anything.  Most of my body damage comes from getting my neck popped in BJJ.  Oh well im still young enough to lose skin.  Lets just hope I dont mess up my bike in the process 

[spc]

I used to do a little bit of pedaling, though mostly on road ( Trek 1000 frame, Look HSC carbon fork, Speedplay pedals, Campy Record all over including the wheels, yup I was a road geek) I had one interesting time on a mountain bike.  I lost focus for a minute and hit a huge stump, flew over the bars and slammed into a tree.  I was knocked unconscious for about 10 minute until the next rider came along.  I was sore for weeks after that shaZam!.

[Teek]

My dr. regaled me with stories of roadies (serious road cyclists) like you Terry, and I guess they come in the most beat up from tangling with idiots in cars. At least we usually as MTB riders wear double shorts, knee pads, elbow pads and tougher shoes. I think I'll at least be wearing knee pads all the time now, maybe elbow too. The roadies also go much much faster and in traffic. We passed so many when out of our 2 1/2 hour moto ride in the canyons, and these guys are in granny gear climbing up to 4-5,000 feet, I think they are crazy insane and so dang cool too. They are truly dedicated. 

Your bike sounds awesome. Things happen fast on a downhill trail, sorry about the stump! Man, to be out that long can mean a real serious concussion, I hope you got checked out. Probably not huh? Yeah, I'm more sore today, probably worse tomorrow, but for how hard I hit (it sure seemed like that wall came up quick, I don't think it was a real hard hit, but the front of my helmet is split in one spot and crushed in in another, both in front, and I cracked the back too. It's funny, I had noticed a small crack int he outer shell in the back and told my hubby I wanted to get a new helmet, and that it was probably time. 20 minutes later it was crushed and now I can't ride until I get one. I wanted a yellow one to match my bike, LOL!

Who says we don't get everything we ask for?

I'm sore and stiff but not even taking any meds, I was gonna take the Vicodin scrip, fill it and sell them, but that would just be wrong...      I can't take them, they make me sick.    A couple or three Motrin before bed will work fine.

I still feel extremely grateful and lucky, my overall gratitude level has skyrocketed.

I just kind of want to help keep everyone else a little bit safer too.

My poor Mom said maybe you guys should wear your moto gear on your bicycles!!   

My GF said NEVER get on that bike again! 

I may scrub the crap off my tires though, ASAP before it goes out again, THAT is why I always scrub new moto tires with a wire brush on a drill, all the way to the chicken strip! 

Everybody stay SAFE out there!

[yamahonkawazuki]

lol been there hun. gotten my share of rash and sanded open stuff. both roady and mountain. i go on charity rides for ADA every summer. next one is this saturday. ( im going as a volunteer this year health is not greatest atm) lol i remember the mishaps tho. but glad youre scarred BUT okay tho

[spc]

Yeah, I injured myself a lot riding road.  Tons of road rash, mostly from locking handlebars towards the end of a local race   I didn't have a granny gear, south GA is flat as anything,  I had a 43t chainring and a 10 speed cog that ranged from a 10t to a 21t.

Yeah, I was pretty banged up and of course I didn't go to the Doc.  I couldn't count the number of concussions I've had on both hands

I used to use 400 grit sandpaper a time or two around on my tires back then and still do on the Moto.

Damn, now I want to get a bike.  I'll probably get a MTB, I was a roadie before the Army and that changed my body stature quite a bit, I don't think I'd ever be satisfied with my on road performance now.

[Teek]

Terry, with your experience you know bikes have almost that same feeling as the motos, but the endorphins from pedallng are great! Especially for a roadie, you get that cadence going and a smooth spin and it's heaven. The bike is so light it's like flying on the ground. Awesome!

Thanks for the 400 grit sandpaper advice, I'm not going out on it again til I have my new helmet and the tires are roughed up and maybe wiped down with some acetone! I'm a little cranky with Specialized, the tires were 130. shipped and they are Crossroads Armadillo Elites, supposedly all terrain, but I'm thinking now it may not be such a great design for street, though I can see it doing great in dirt. But they sell it as a cross tire.

I checked my bike over this evening, she's fine, most of the rash is on the tip end of the nice BMX pedal. Adds character. 

I never understood about guys lying there bleeding and ripped up and yelling "How's my bike?!!!"     Now I do, it's involuntary! 

[spc]

Never rode on crossroads, but i don't think they make a road tire.  I rode one pair of Michelins and was duly unimpressed, from then on it was Conti's.  I had my bike down to 15.8lbs built, not bad for a bike I pieced together on an AL frame for under $1k.  I still have it in storage, but I doubt I can ride it, I'm about 2 inches taller now    

Yeah, I'm missing it now, gonna have to get another bike.

[yamahonkawazuki]

interested in selling it?

[Affschnozel]

And I thought you crashed that beautiful GS of yours with new Yosh pipes....

Those motor-less bikes are dangerous, I'll just stay on much safer motored-bikes 

Get well soon 

[spc]

interested in selling it?

Dunno, I may stay on the road and just buy a new frame.  Of course, I really really want something like this   http://cgi.ebay.com/59CM-EDDIE-MERCKX-CORSA-EXTRA-ROAD-BIKE-CUSTOM-NR_W0QQitemZ260245127172QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item260245127172&_trkparms=72%3A552%7C39%3A1%7C65%3A12&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

[Ronin]

Worst wreck I ever had was on a bicycle!    Hope ya feel better soon

[Toogoofy317]

Back in 2000 I rolled my truck on I-4. Totalled my three month old truck and got a no call no show to work even though the Hospital called to let Disney know what happened. Thank God I just moved right behind Disney so I thought I'd just use my MTB less than a mile away. I wrecked the truck in June in August I was leaving Disney and was hit from behind by a cadillac. My shoulder broke the windshield, hip took out the side view mirror, and shorts removed the side panneling of the car. All-in-all I did $3.000 to his new car. Not a scratch on my bike at least, partial dislocation of hip ( found that out when trying to stand and 'cuss him out), and road rash on the arm. So, one could say damn your luck sucks because of rolling a pick-up and getting hit by a car less than two months later. Or I'm lucky I practically walked away from it! Still have some hip issues but not to bad mainly just a stiff shoulder.

So, this is why I'm a proponet of gear. I was not wearing a helmet that night and for the life of me don't know how I didn't hit my head. But, now don't care if it is just in the apartment complex helmet goes on!

Mary S.

[GeeP]

Yeow!  You were leaking pretty well there!

Damn, I think I'm going to stick with motorcycles.

They're safer!   

[Teek]

Hubby and I have decided motos are safer too!

TooG, you did WHAT?!!!     OMGZ, that ihas got to be a lifetime's quotient of wrecks, but then you wrecked in your driveway, if that's 3 you should be done, LOL!    You are one strong woman, maybe my new hero!

Yama, please be careful out there riding when you are not at your best healthwise and do take care of yourself.

Terry, is that the kind of tire you glue on? Those are seriously low profile! Your 15.8 pound put it together yourself road bike sounds awesome. 

Affschnozel I swear I had a premonition, and I was extra careful on the GS that day. We had a great 2 1/2 hour ride in the canyons, but getting there on a stretch of PCH that was all ripped up by those pavement scrapers was nerve wracking for me, because my bike was sliding every which way especially when slowing down and coming carefully to a stop- it would slip around in back and even start to wash out the front tire following the deep ruts. It was deep wavy grooves and huge chunks of rounded gravel/ asphalt. The squirm at speed was bad enough but speed made it easier to ride. Two guys were behind me on big Harleys at a light, and one yelled at the other "Isn't this FUUUUN?!" and he meant like mess your pants fun. The bikes with the fat tires had it a lot easier, I have stock sizes, they were just following the grooves all over and all I could do was ride light and let her wiggle around underneath me. But I'm a sissy on stuff like that. I swear I thought I might be going down a few times, would have with the front tire being so squirrely if I hadn't kept putting my feet down to push her back up.

Ronin and Affschnozel and Yama and beRto and ohgood and stompy thanks for the good wishes! 

I had to go to work today but I'm feeling a lot better, I iced everything for 24 hours, believe me ice is your friend! It seriously reduced a lot of the aftereffects that would have been much worse pain wise if I hadn't got on top of the inflamation. I am finding bruises everywhere.

Oh well, if we learn something from the war stories we all benefit. My girlfriend who said I'm too old to be doing this stuff is older than me and riding a young Friesian stallion, and she said if you have a death wish come ride him, but she rides him all the time and has offered to let me ride him before, so I think she was projecting!