my accident yesterday

congokid said:

I had a nasty fall last night on the way back from work - my first in 12 years of cycling in
London, not counting near falls against parked cars and the first time I tried spd pedals
and shoes.

Bad luck matey. I had an almost identical accident back in May. Very similar injuries and I was
wearing a helmet (which split almost symmetrically). The helmet pivoted my chin into the road, I
suppose hitting at the point where you cut your forehead.

You'll feel a bit wary on your bike for a while. But you'll soon get your nerve back.

Though I do find myself taking corners MUCH more carefully in the wet these days.

Simonb

"congokid" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I had a nasty fall last night on the way back from work - my first in 12 years of cycling in
London, not counting near falls against parked cars and the first time I tried spd pedals
and shoes.

Welcome to the autumn.

From experience cracked ribs hurt like hell for a while then slowly ease down to mere continuous
annoyance. 6 to 8 weeks before all is well -- but it does get better slowly. Try not to sneeze,
cough or laugh -- I know -- hard.

Get well soon.

T

<snippety snip>

Quoted message said:

So - all my own fault for not heeding the potential danger posed by the wet road conditions, going
too fast, and not wearing a helmet while doing it. A helmet might have saved the cut and bump, but
I'm still not convinced I need to wear one if I can learn from the experience to cycle more
carefully when it's wet.

Ouch! Glad to hear you're not too badly done over though.

I don't think you can blame the police, nurses et al for having a rant about helmets - After all, I
imagine they must see some quite horrific sights on a daily basis.

I had a near-miss last night. Going down a steep hill, thinking how much I was enjoying the ride,
when suddenly there's a car turning out of a road infront of me. Slammed on my brakes (which I'd
adjusted just before I left the office, thank deus) and skidded for a fair few yards. Driver was
very nice and apologetic, what with her "Sorry, I didn't see you". No, you wouldn't have, there was
a bus on the opposite side of the road to you and there were parked cars either side. Quite cute,
though. Alas, failed to get her number.

Thomas, onto another day of cycling now it's cold.

Glad you aren't seriously hurt. Rest, heal & grow strong again.

Cheers, helen s

~~~~~~~~~~
This is sent from a redundant email Mail sent to it is dumped My correct one can be gleaned from
h*$el***$$n*$d$ot$**s**i$$m*$m$**on**$s$@*$$a**$*ol*$*.*$$c$om*$ by getting rid of the
overdependence on money and fame
~~~~~~~~~~

"congokid" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I had a nasty fall last night on the way back from work - my first in 12 years

<snip> Glad to hear you're still compus mentis <s?> and still in (more or less) one piece...be
patient with the healing process, it is a wonderful thing and shouldn't be rushed. If you were a car
(?!!?) some greasey bloke'd be standing over you sucking between his teeth, saying "it's gonna cost
yer, that mate!!...at least 400 I reckon!!". Regards the helmet thing, they must see lots of
accidents where they believe a helmet would've been preventative with regards to the amount of
injury sustained by their patient. Just refer them to this ng and ask them to raise the issue....or
at least Google ;-)

I was out in it and my brakes disappeared totally (chromed steel wheels & leather lined brake
pads)...nice ride though ;-)

Dave.

congokid said:

I had a nasty fall last night on the way back from work - my first in 12 years of cycling in
London, not counting near falls against parked cars and the first time I tried spd pedals
and shoes.

Sorry to hear about your accident. Its something that many people overlook or don't know that the
first rain after a long dry spell makes not only manhole covers but also the roads in general very
greasy. Many car drivers get caught out as well. All the oil and rubber that has accumulated over
the dry spell mixes with the water to make a nice slippery surface. Give it a day or two of rain and
traffic and it will wash away but take extra care meanwhile.

Tony

--
"If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything." Mark Twain

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I had a nasty fall last night on the way back from work - my first in 12 years of cycling in
London, not counting near falls against parked cars and the first time I tried spd pedals
and shoes.

Sorry to hear about the accident. I broke a rib once coming off my bike, it hurts. get a few extra
soft pillows out to help you maintain a comfortable sleeping position. And don't sneeze.

Quoted message said:

Almost immediately a policeman drove up in a dog handler vehicle, cleaned my wounds with some
wipes , and scolded me for not wearing a helmet.

[...]

Quoted message said:

The first nurse who treated me scolded me for not wearing a helmet,

I know they mean well and that they see a lot of accidents, at the same time I also know they
wouldn't chastise an unhelmeted motorist or pedestrian, but maybe we all need to carry some A5
handbills with us when we are on our bikes. It can be very difficult to explain your stance on
helmets while being stitched up in casualty or while sitting bleeding in a cop car. Maybe a leaflet
with a few salient points and a web address for more info would be useful?

Colin

"Dave" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I was out in it and my brakes disappeared totally (chromed steel wheels & leather lined brake
pads)...nice ride though ;-)

Get some alloy rims! It's autumn, it's going to be wet, and throwing away your braking capability
for the next 6 months is just silly.

cheers, clive

Quoted message said:

Its something that many people overlook or don't know that the first rain after a long dry spell
makes not only manhole covers but also the roads in general very greasy. Many car drivers get
caught out as well. All the oil and rubber that has accumulated over the dry spell mixes with the
water to make a nice slippery surface. Give it a day or two of rain and traffic and it will wash
away but take extra care meanwhile.

I would add that manhole covers are best avoided when bike is leant over on bends in all conditions.
They never provide as much grip as tarmac does. At least try to straighten up as much as possible if
you don't spot the cover in time or have miscalculated your arc - even if that means momentarily
heading straight for the edge of the carriageway: chances are that you'll be able to brake and/or
corner in time or at least the resulting crash will be more controllable (depending on circumstances
of course). Same with /any/ piece of particularly dodgy surface (bump, hole, water/ice/gravel patch,
debris, painted line, etc).

You see professional racers seemingly riding straight into a ditch deliberately for this sort of
reason after over over-cooking a corner - because there was some chance to recover or get a soft
impact. You instantly loose all control when slipping over onto your side and the impact of hitting
he road can be very hard. Kerbs do make life more dangerous in urban areas but the same still
basically applies. There's usually still a good chance of making the corner in time or at least
slowing before hitting the kerb then having /some/ control while the bike is upright after hitting
it, even after you're up in the air!

~PB

"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Dave" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I was out in it and my brakes disappeared totally (chromed steel wheels

&

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

leather lined brake pads)...nice ride though ;-)

Get some alloy rims! It's autumn, it's going to be wet, and throwing away your braking capability
for the next 6 months is just silly.

cheers, clive

I guess it wouldn't be beyond reason to use my 100 squid clunker that's already got alloy rims and
v-brakes when going out in the rain and save the 'racer' for dry days...such as yesterday, which was
glorious....I was in a bit of a hurry though. Having said that, any advantage was lost by having to
consider 'no brakes' constantly ;-) Dave.

I said:

I would add that manhole covers are best avoided when bike is leant over on bends in all
conditions. They never provide as much grip as tarmac does. At least try to straighten up as much
as possible if you don't spot the cover in time or have miscalculated your arc

Modify that to "at least try to straighten up a bit". There's not always that much risk when at a
slight angle in the dry.

~PB

Pete Biggs said:

I would add that manhole covers are best avoided when bike is leant over on bends in all
conditions. They never provide as much grip as tarmac does. At least try to straighten up as much
as possible if you don't spot the cover in time or have miscalculated your arc - even if that
means momentarily heading straight for the edge of the carriageway: chances are that you'll be
able to brake and/or corner in time or at least the resulting crash will be more controllable
(depending on circumstances of course). Same with /any/ piece of particularly dodgy surface (bump,
hole, water/ice/gravel patch, debris, painted line, etc).

There's also a tendency to try to correct the slip on the manhole cover which then messes you up as
soon as you hit the more grippy tarmac on the far side. Better to have some speed and not react so
before you have slipped much at all you are already back on tarmac and no longer slipping. Something
I learnt mountain biking on loose surfaces is to leave it to the bike and it usually sorts itself
out for you.

Tony

--
"If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything." Mark Twain

In article <MPG.19db6ed941f2ed50989cc8@localhost>, Colin Blackburn
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I had a nasty fall last night on the way back from work - my first in 12 years of cycling in
London, not counting near falls against parked cars and the first time I tried spd pedals
and shoes.

Sorry to hear about the accident. I broke a rib once coming off my bike, it hurts. get a few extra
soft pillows out to help you maintain a comfortable sleeping position. And don't sneeze.

I can't even bear to blow my nose! Even trying to switch the alarm clock off is an effort. Another
day off work - oh well.

Thanks Colin and everyone else for the sympathy, of which I feel rather undeserving since the spill
was my fault in the first place.

Thinking back I was probably going faster than usual since I only ever take the route I was on to
avoid the snarl up on the King's Road at the Edith and Gunter Grove junctions, and was glad to be on
a relatively clear and quiet stretch, and near home, too.

Promise to be more careful in future.

--
congokid Eating out in London? Read my tips... congokid.comcongokid.comOpen ↗

"congokid" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I had a nasty fall last night on the way back from work - my first in 12 years of cycling in
London, not counting near falls against parked cars and the first time I tried spd pedals
and shoes.

I was freewheeling down a slight incline and gathering pace to a corner where I had to swing right
and then up a slight incline after the turn. However, as I entered the turn I couldn't avoid a
large square metal manhole cover and felt the Brompton wheels starting to slip, and before I could
do anything I went over a second cover, at which point the bike squirted out from under me and I
hit the tarmac, landed partly on my face and must have slid almost a yard. This was after some
heavy rain all afternoon in London so the road and manhole covers were greasy under the wheels.

I was able to get up right away and drag my bike off the road. I had bumped and scraped my
forehead, and must have landed on my right hand and knee as well, as my little finger and the knee
cap were badly skinned. The right side of my chest was also sore where I think I landed on some
part of the bike.

The driver behind stopped and got out of his Range Rover to ask if I was OK, and pointed out that
my head was bleeding. Almost immediately a policeman drove up in a dog handler vehicle, cleaned my
wounds with some wipes , and scolded me for not wearing a helmet. He also called for an ambulance
from the local hospital which still has A&E. I sat in his car to keep warm until they arrived, and
he took some particulars. I was only about half a mile from home and although I felt a bit shaken,
I really wanted to get home and clean up, but the policeman thought the cut above the eye was deep
enough to warrant stitches.

Meanwhile I'd folded up the bike, which didn't seem damaged. I haven't checked it properly yet.

The ambulance took about 20 minutes to reach us, and after measuring pulse and blood pressure, the
drivers took me to the Chelsea and Westminster hospital, which was only about half a mile away. I
could hear transmissions from other ambulances about a motor bike or scooter rider who had come
off her bike but 'no other vehicle involved', so maybe others were caught out by the sudden wet
weather.

After being checked in I waited in the A&E while quite a number of early evening casualties got
patched up. The first nurse who treated me scolded me for not wearing a helmet, checked for broken
bones and was satisfied that I hadn't been knocked out or concussed by my fall. Another cleaned
the main cut, applied some kind of glue to it and inoculated me against tetanus. I eventually took
a taxi home, washed the grazes and applied plasters to the worst bits.

The bump on the head swelled up impressively and I thought I'd have a shiner as well. The chest
pain began to bother me more, but I'm sure it's just bruising, or perhaps cracking. I understand
there's no particular treatment for this apart from rest and no exertion.

Today I've been off work and moving slowly and delicately around the flat. The bump swelling has
gone down a lot and the black eye hasn't got any worse, but the chest pain is rather debilitating.

So - all my own fault for not heeding the potential danger posed by the wet road conditions, going
too fast, and not wearing a helmet while doing it. A helmet might have saved the cut and bump, but
I'm still not convinced I need to wear one if I can learn from the experience to cycle more
carefully when it's wet.

--
congokid Eating out in London? Read my tips... congokid.comcongokid.comOpen ↗

Sorry to hear about your fall. I had a collision with another cyclist on a cycle path about 4 weeks
ago - both of us went flying and suffered grazes, etc. The longest lasting injury has been a pulled
muscle in my chest (I originally thought I had a collapsed lung, cancer, broken bones, etc) - it may
be what you have. It is a bugger but is a good excuse to get my partner to rub goo onto me at night!

Get well soon

Matt

congokid said:

I had a nasty fall last night on the way back from work - my first in 12 years of cycling in
London, not counting near falls against parked cars and the first time I tried spd pedals
and shoes.

White/yellow lines are lethal in the rain as well. I once had the back of my racing bike slip out
about 2 feet (which virtually put the bike sideways!) and I wasn't braking or even cornering
particularly hard. I didn't come off, which was just as well as I was in the middle of a pack.

In message <[email hidden]>, congokid <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

In article <MPG.19db6ed941f2ed50989cc8@localhost>, Colin Blackburn
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I had a nasty fall last night on the way back from work - my first in 12 years of cycling in
London, not counting near falls against parked cars and the first time I tried spd pedals and
shoes.

Sorry to hear about the accident. I broke a rib once coming off my bike, it hurts. get a few extra
soft pillows out to help you maintain a comfortable sleeping position. And don't sneeze.

I can't even bear to blow my nose! Even trying to switch the alarm clock off is an effort. Another
day off work - oh well.

Rest and enjoy - but don't let daytime TV addle your brain :-)

Coincidentally, ?I had my only bad tumble on my Brommie a few years ago.

Cycling to the station on a frosty winters morning, I was taking it steady, but suddenly, and with
no warning the front of the bike went away and down I went, I went down sideways, and as I have
toeclips on it, I had no chance to get my feet out it was so quick.

I managed to give my knees some nasty twists that took weeks to sort out.

It seemed to meat the time that the Brompton with it's small wheels seemed to go down much quicker
than a larger wheeled bike would have done, but I dunno if there is any reason for this or if I'm
just imagining it.
--
Chris French, Leeds

In article <[email hidden]>, Zog The Undeniable <[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

White/yellow lines are lethal in the rain as well.

After a few warning slides along these I've learned to give them a wide berth - although it's
not easy if traffic is forcing you onto them. Sometimes they're raised about an inch above the
road surface.

--
congokid Eating out in London? Read my tips... congokid.comcongokid.comOpen ↗

Pete Biggs' pbiggmelons2000{remove said:

I would add that manhole covers are best avoided when bike is leant over on bends in all
conditions. They never provide as much grip as tarmac does. At least try to straighten up as much
as possible if you don't spot the cover in time or have miscalculated your arc - even if that
means momentarily heading straight for the edge of the carriageway: chances are that you'll be
able to brake and/or corner in time or at least the resulting crash will be more controllable
(depending on circumstances of course). Same with /any/ piece of particularly dodgy surface (bump,
hole, water/ice/gravel patch, debris, painted line, etc).

Talking about painted lines ...

When I was doing my motorcyle gold course I was taught to always aim for the black bit of a
pedestrain crossing as there were two types of crossing at the time, one with a plastic black and
white coating that was slippery all over and one that was painted with white slippery paint and
black non slippery tarmac. On the first it didn't matter where you went, on the second it did but
you might not notice which was which so it was always safer to go for the black bit.

--
Marc Please note this is now a redundant email address. Add an extra c at the end of marc to email.