Fell Off

[aroncox]

Well it's not my month obviously! 50Cycles returned my bike after spending a lot of time working on it (thanks guys!) and on my way home I must've hit some black ice or oil as my wheels slipped out from under me and I skidded sideways into and partially under a bus. I've fractured my left wrist, and my right elbow and lost a lot of skin from my knees, so no more cycling for a while. Now my wife and mum are telling me to get rid of my bike, but I'm sure it was just one of those things and won't happen again (for a long time anyway).

What are the worst cycling related injuries you've had? Do you have any helpful hints on how to stop tyres from slipping? Do you change the way you cycle in the winter months?

Thanks,

Aron.

 

[carpetbagger]

When i was a kid,i had a second hand fat wheeled bike,Brakes depended on your shoes contact with the ground !.I was going downhill on the pavement and a car backed out of a driveway ,luckily i hit it in the middle if the rear wheel,not causing any damage.....unluckily my wedding tackle slipped right along the seat causing a great deal of discomfort...after that a bike with brakes that worked was a priority !!

 

[Beeping-Sleauty]

Well it's not my month obviously! 50Cycles returned my bike after spending a lot of time working on it (thanks guys!) and on my way home I must've hit some black ice or oil as my wheels slipped out from under me and I skidded sideways into and partially under a bus. I've fractured my left wrist, and my right elbow and lost a lot of skin from my knees, so no more cycling for a while. Now my wife and mum are telling me to get rid of my bike, but I'm sure it was just one of those things and won't happen again (for a long time anyway).

What are the worst cycling related injuries you've had? Do you have any helpful hints on how to stop tyres from slipping? Do you change the way you cycle in the winter months?

Thanks,

Aron.

Ouch... bad luck Aron, if both wheels slipped away from under you that sounds like ice and with both wheels being disobedient your control options diminish to zilch. sorry to hear about your injuries.

i had my rear wheel swiped away from under me in central London causing a keel-over that left me with a broken collar bone, consider myself lucky, it could have been much, much worse. it was several months before i could cycle again and gave me plenty of time to consider what steps i should take to try & ensure i avoided all possible risks & minimised my exposure to traffic.

These days i try & stay out of traffic by using side streets or alternative routes that will avoid most vehicles and will get off the road entirely when i can, in the absence of pedestrians i will often use the pavement, and i never try to 2nd guess what any other road user will do, i assume they will do the most stupid thing and will happily wait until their action is complete before i make my move.

when it's wet, or cold, or windy i exercise extreme caution, remembering catastrophe is always just a metre away.

hope you heal up soon & get back on your trusty.

best

beeps

 

[flecc]

Sorry to hear this Aron, hope you mend quickly.

I think the most likely cause of the sideslip in the London area was diesel fuel oil spillage, very common due to drivers filling their tanks to the brim, and it's as least as lethal as ice in this respect. It's the bane of cyclists and motorcyclists in urban areas, and if the ground is a bit moist, it's completely invisible.

In response to your query, I do ride differently off season, particularly late autumn, what with slime from fallen leaves, oil spillages hidden by damp, and the occasional chance of ice, it's the worst time of all, as illustrated by two threads here on falls at the same time.
.

 

[Tiberius]

Bad luck Aron, sorry to hear that.
I think I came off lucky in my incident.

I had to think for a bit about whether to post on here or just keep quiet, but I decided it was better to talk about these things.

Nick

 

[HarryB]

Diesel spillage

Yes I had something similar but not as spectacular as going under any wheels, which is my nightmare scenario. Glad you are all right. Mine happened going around a mini-roundabout and the front wheel just slipped away and I landed on my hip. Very painful but I took all the force and the bike was fine. I tested the road surface and could very easily push the bike along with front wheel locked so obviously some diesel. I was wondering at the time whether having a front wheel drive cycle had caused some of the problem as I had just opened the throttle to go round the roundabout.

Hope you recover and get back on the bike again - my spill didn't put me off but I always go round that roundabout with my feet down!

 

[flecc]

Roundabouts, corners and bends are always the danger points for diesel spillage, as a truck or van goes into them and leans, fuel slurps against the filler cap.

The caps are supposed to be fuel tight and MOT checked, but are frequently very leaky due to rough handling.

One slide off I had was where a van driver had filled up and then parked overnight on a downhill stretch leading into a roundabout. With the filler cap on his long tank at the front, fuel had dribbled out all night and smothered the roundabout, that hidden by morning damp on the road.

Nagging both the police and the council by repeated phone calls to each got a gang out to scrub the road clean within an hour, and the van driver sternly lectured by the police on his responsibilities.
.

 

[giguana]

bad ice brrr! get well soon!

Thank God for the countryside and little side streets.

 

[aroncox]

Thanks for the replies everyone! I didn't realize cars/vans could leak diesel onto the road, but I'm sure that was the problem. It was horrible as there was no warning and no chance of regaining control.

I wonder how long it will be before I can cycle again, I guess I'll at least have to wait for the cast to come off. Oh well back to horrible public transport.

 

[Ian]

Thanks for the replies everyone! I didn't realize cars/vans could leak diesel onto the road, but I'm sure that was the problem.

It does happen, and not always due to mechanical faults. Last week I had just filled my car with diesel when I witnessed another 'customer' drive off without paying, I was so distracted by this that I forgot to replace the the fuel cap. The result was a minor spillage on the first left hand bend.

Buses seem to be the worst offenders, take care when passing bus stops.

 

[Footie]

Sorry to hear of your miss-fortune.
If it’s any comfort, I remember bombing down a back road into town, one icy morning, and hitting frozen water run-off (going right across the road) from the fields. The bike went one way and I went the other. Unfortunately, I came to rest sitting in the only unfrozen puddle. Luckily, no injuries – just my pride and a wet ass
.

 

[aroncox]

It does happen, and not always due to mechanical faults. Last week I had just filled my car with diesel when I witnessed another 'customer' drive off without paying, I was so distracted by this that I forgot to replace the the fuel cap. The result was a minor spillage on the first left hand bend.

Buses seem to be the worst offenders, take care when passing bus stops.

Interesting as where I fell off was right next to where all the buses stop in Greenwich, there are a number of bus stops in a row, and I fell off on a sharp bend just before the stop. Oh well, I know where to go slow next time!

 

[Tim]

OUCH! Sorry to hear that Aron. My last tumble was in similar conditions, but with a helping hand from a royal mail van. Take care out there

 

[redalpha3]

Very sorry to hear of your misfortune. Diesel spillage at the roundabout was the cause of my last "spill". I hope you recover quickly.