Post-Winter potholes

[103Alex1]

We all know not to play games with potholes but just a reminder to be extra careful after Winter. Many of the roads are in a terrible state and the potholes filled with rain. Took a different road than usual yesterday to avoid rush hour traffic and hit one dead on that was very close to the kerb. I knew when it happened likelihood was only thing to do was hope for a soft landing.

Managed to recover the bike out of it but Front wheel deflected into kerb and went down under me on the left hand side (I had a heavy load of stuff on the back unevenly balanced which likely didn't help). Unfortunately the buildings were extremely close to the kerb (tiny backstreet pavement) and got thrown sideways headfirst into a brick wall of a business doorway. Must have been like something straight off You've Been Framed

Fortunately the people in there came out to help - and call paramedics ... as I was unconscious and went into convulsions despite my speed being right down. Just as well ! 6 hours in A&E with CAT scans, X-Rays and my head in a brace. Only real damage found is to my neck soft tissue. I'm used to whiplash type injuries - a frequent side-effect of Wakeboarding not often discussed, but very stiff and I know it's going to be a few days before I can turn my head properly again lol. Head gash that'll heal up fine. Made a right mess of the pavement though as disproportionate amount of blood gets shed.

Called a family member who managed to come and recover my bike and shopping in a large taxi before I got carted away - and only damage was to my rack bag - the bottle pouch ripped away but can be fixed. Even my rear light survived. Smartphone mounted in Ultimate Addons Tough Case on handlebars detached on impact as it's supposed to and the phone suffered no damage at all. Awesome product that. Seatpost swivelled 70 degrees on impact but all intact and fixed.

So a miracle really I got off so lightly - though the Black Eye makes me look like I've been back in the Dojo and definitely feel like I've done a few rounds with Mike Tyson.

Be careful on those roads !

 

[D8ve]

Glad you survived. close thing with head injuries.

 

[KirstinS]

Blimey - agree with D8ve - head injuries are just so unpredictable and therefor very scary.

Most glad to hear you survived relatively unscathed. And bike

With a black eye you can at least break out your best " you should have seen the other bloke"

 

[103Alex1]

Most glad to hear you survived relatively unscathed. And bike

Pure luck, Kirstin. If I'd been racing through the streets on a road bike when that happened and flew off that into a wall I seriously doubt I'd have come out of it so lightly (relatively !). Was actually being extremely careful on the speeds and probably going considerably slower than I would have been doing on a road bike - about 12mph I reckon.

Can't fault the paramedics or the hospital ER actually. They all did an incredible job and took no chances at all. Checked absolutely everything and really great and caring manner right through. Was "dead impressed". I think the very finest of our medical profession are in the ER dept. .

With a black eye you can at least break out your best " you should have seen the other bloke"

- the last black eye I got was from a girl practicing Karate sparring - she hadn't quite got the hang of the idea of "pulling back" after contact at the time lol. Needless to say I kept a bit quiet about the incident .... and a bit of a low profile for a few days

 

[flecc]

Can't fault the paramedics or the hospital ER actually. They all did an incredible job and took no chances at all. Checked absolutely everything and really great and caring manner right through. Was "dead impressed". I think the very finest of our medical profession are in the ER dept. .

Sorry to hear of this accident Alex, hope the healing is rapid.

There was an interesting BBC2 "Horizon" program last night about checklisting to avoid human errors. Developed in the USA this has apparently been introduced in most hospitals across the NHS now and I recently had this practiced first-hand on me in a private hospital too. It's mainly applicable in A & E and during operation and post operative procedures, and ensures that nothing is missed. The improvements in error rates has apparently been spectacular. Elsewhere checklisting is used by other emergency services, especially in fire fighting.

The title of the program was Horizon, how to avoid mistakes in surgery, but it covered far more than just that. The presenter was Dr Kevin Fong, a senior surgeon at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

To watch it on i-player, here's the link
.

 

[bazwaldo]

Hello there, sorry to hear about your accident but very glad you are on the mend with no life threatening injuries.
Not sure if I missed it but I did not notice any reference to a helmet.
Were you wearing one?
How does your accident affect the yes/no helmet debate?
Last Halloween day I had an accident a bit similar to yours in that I tried to mount a low pavement with my Ebike and got thrown into a stone garage wall which ended up with a visit to A&E and 5 stiches in my knee cap.
It's amazing how resilient our Ebikes are as with a bit of adjustment I was able to cycle home - once the pain had subsided!?!
The only lasting damage my bike had was the locking plate on the easy adjust handlebar stem.
Best wishes for a full and speedy rcovery.
Barry.

 

[103Alex1]

Hi Barry

Thanks and really sorry to hear about that - hope the knee cap is recovered ! Irony is I steer pavements and kerbs a very wide berth usually, despite the 2.1 knobbly tyres I have on that bike, so my becoming acquainted with one was entirely involuntary and definitely not by design

The pothole was very cunningly concealed amongst several others a load of cracked up tarmac I was focusing on. Guess I just got complacent about how resilient bigger tyres are on this round - and probably should have been running them at lower pressure. They survived with no damage or punctures, as did my front rim - which is a miracle. Decent bike that !

The helmet thing is an interesting one - I only nipped out effectively 'round the corner' and didn't bother looking for it ! I'm still split on the question of wearing one unless you're riding at high speeds. Wonder whether wearing one would have potentially done just as serious (if maybe different) damage. It's always hard to say and depends on all the circumstances I guess.

 

[jackhandy]

I never get on the bike without my helmet. Maybe because I rode motorsickles for years, dunno. Besides, without my hat I wouldnt have the helmet cam.
But I draw the line at knee pads

All the best for a good recovery Alex. Sue the ******s!

 

[GaRRy]

All the best for a good recovery Alex. Sue the ******s!

My thought exactly.

Does not effect cyclists but even the motorways seem to be breaking up with pot holes these days.

saving a few pennies now is going to cost us all pounds in the future.

 

[RoadieRoger]

Sorry to hear of your accident Alex, hope you make a swift recovery . Get someone to take pictures of your injuries and if you are able , a picture of the offending road . Even if you don`t take the matter further , the family album will benefit . Unless the Highway people get pressured, they may get complacent and the same might happen to some other unfortunate .

 

[Scimitar]

got thrown sideways headfirst into a brick wall of a business doorway.
I was unconscious and went into convulsions despite my speed being right down. Just as well ! 6 hours in A&E with CAT scans, X-Rays and my head in a brace.
the Black Eye makes me look like I've been back in the Dojo and definitely feel like I've done a few rounds with Mike Tyson.

Do be careful, Bond.

 

[MikeyBikey]

Ouch!, sounds even worse than when i got hit by a van.
You might get an 'Insurance Claim' form from your local council.
I complained about a damaged tyre to my local authority because their website was promoting cycling and asked for 'feedback'.
Last I heard, they had "asked highways dept for a report", so I'm not holding my breath
Cheers, Mike

 

[Zebb]

so sorry to hear about your accident, wish you a speedy recovery.

 

[103Alex1]

Thanks for the thoughts - appreciated. Still very woozy but got a lift and managed to get out today to stock up with supplies and get sorted for a few days in, and the obligatory trip to Maplins with a bag full of bits to get paired up and take back stuff I'm not needing. Not even a brick wall on the nut spared the poor souls a product interrogation Felt good to be up and about but simplest things a huge effort. Just got to accept it'll take a few days.

I've had the hole reported and hopefully it'll get sorted quick now. Drop in the ocean in this town unfortunately but every little helps I guess. I can't bring myself to sue anyone - accidents happen, I'll get over it and would rather they just spent money repairing the roads to be honest rather than paying me or lawyers. Must have cost the NHS at least £1500 to look after me yesterday ... I've still got everything pretty much intact and self-inflicted just as much pain doing active sports but thing is, just think how many potholes could have been filled with that taxpayer's money. Prevention is definitely better than cure.

I wasn't the first and doubt I'll be the last. Will make some effort to report more potholes now. It's easy to just ignore as someone else's problem but really we ought to get the bad ones on a list and their locations lodged if possible. The next person's head might not ricochet off the walls or a pavement quite as intact as mine did.

Do be careful, Bond.

Eye eye, moneypenny .... ... was glad of my electronic cigarette secreted in my shorts pocket in that A&E place - was ready for a crafty drag by the time I finally got left alone for a couple of minutes ! Thankfully with arms and hands working you can still have a quick vape even with your head in a brace lol.

 

[alfie]

The one real downside to this ebiking mlarkey is that it is very dangerous. I hope you recover quickly from your accident. My experience of A&E is exactly yours. I woke up in hospital a few weeks ago after crashing the bike down a straight downhill stretch of road. Someone found me in the road and rang the hospital. Was so impressed with the hospital staff. Makes me laugh when people complain about the Nhs. Can't remember what caused the crash which is a bit worrying. I think I headbutt the Tarmac after flying over the top.

 

[103Alex1]

I think I headbutt the Tarmac after flying over the top.

Oops ... not good ! Hitting a pothole at speed or being too heavy on the front brake can easily cause you to get flipped over the handlebars.

Does sounds like you probably landed on your head. Last time I actually got thrown over the bars I landed on my wrist .. put my arm forward to protect my head from impact - and of course broke my wrist in the process ! Seemingly more fragile than a tough nut Blackouts very common after trauma ... but how are we meant to learn from our experiences when the brain insists on locking the grotty bits away like that ?

Do have to be careful on high speed DH descents. If the bike doesn't feel happy take the speed down in a controlled way - lots of back brake and progressive but firm front brake. Was your bike OK ?

In fairness it's all cycling that carries dangers not just eBiking. Hats off anyway to the people who got you scraped off the tarmac and the A&E for sorting you out. Shame the rest of the NHS don't follow their lead more as they really are the nuts when it comes to quality care.

 

[anniegirl]

Sorry to hear about your accident.......hope you have a speedy recovery. I've only had my first electric bike a couple of weeks, and after reading this thread I will certainly be more vigilant of going downhill and pot holes etc.

Talking about cycle helmets. My brother in law was hit by a car whilst cycling. He was in a cycle lane! He was rather a mess after the accident, and he would have had a very serious head injury had he not been wearing a helmet.

 

[mountainsport]

Hi Alex,

I had just read your post and am very happy to know and hear that you are ok but at the same time a little shaken.

If it's not the potholes it's the inconsiderate drivers including taxi/bus drivers overtaking millimetres away from you,i wouldn't say all cases are similar because you can spot the considerate ones who trail a good distance behind you until the coast is clear and by doing so when overtaking you,literally can see he or she driving over on the opposite side of the road,i just have to smile and in turn put my hands up high in order for them to see my appreciation.

Anyway Alex hope you recover soon and thank you for informing us to be on the alert at all times.

Mountainsport.

 

[AlMel]

Potholes know no borders: they’ve spread like a rash over here as well. Nice to hear the positive about the NHS; daughter senior’s studying medicine in London and is highly committed to what it stands for. With best wishes for your recovery; get back on your wheels soon!

 

[banbury frank]

Hi Alex

Hope you are getting over your spill And all a Xipi wish you well

As For the NHS The best health service in the world We don't Know how good till we need it It is staffed by some incredible dedicated Professionals and the Nurses are all ANGELS both the men and the women

Frank