MFP Cycling Club
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I don't believe the coincidence... in my earlier post I repeated the oft repeated advice to never bike without a helmet... and sure enough, I had the lesson proved to me once again.... this time personally.
I had a bike accident this morning ... a damned fool maintenance man was doing something called "sidewalk" polishing... on the bike/walk lane... but took a break, leaving his big hose and slippery wet crud there on the sidewalk, without so much as a cone or warning... I had been at the gym and was riding my bike home. I saw his truck, over on the side of the road, but didn't see the hose which looked like just another crack in the sidewalk.... and I hit it [it was at a 45 degree angle], lost control of my bike and took quite a hard tumble.
I lay there near the road, half on the sidewalk, half on the grass... my bike upside down... stunned. I was conscious, but hurt. At least 10 cars passed, and no one stopped... until finally, one guy in a big SUV did.. he called out to me, came over and told me he was a retired fireman/EMT... he checked me over... and the hose situation... went over to the truck and almost pulled the guy out by his shirt, pointing out that I had been hurt and why hadn't he helped and why had he left the hose and mess there? The guy said he didn't see me, and didn't leave a red cone there because "no one pays attention". to them anyway. So, I have a witness now, to his negligence. Then my hero came over, helped me up carefully... and insisted on driving me home [really, just around the corner], and made the workman put my damaged bike in his truck and follow. I was less than two minutes from my house. Oh, and my prescription sunglasses were broken too.. they flew off on impact.
To make a long story short, this wonderful EMT insisted that I call my hubby who was out, but not far, and also called fire and rescue who showed up in minutes. I didn't really think I was badly hurt, but they pointed out that my face was badly scraped, I had a baseball sized lump on my thigh and more bruises here and there and had hit my head. When DH got home after a few minutes, we all decided that I ought to err on the side of caution so rode in the ambulance to the emergency room for a check over. After an exam and CAT scan, I was allowed to go home to nurse my wounds.
There's a huge lesson many of us have spoken about before ... I was wearing my bike helmet, fastened, even tho I was on a sidewalk and close to home. I might not be typing this had I not had my helmet on... as I hit my head on the cement ... but the helmet absorbed most of the blow, not my vulnerable skull.
Oh, and there's another huge lesson here about improperly marked dangers to warn people on public byways. This guy worked for our property management company. My hero made sure to get his name, and jotted down all the necessary info... this is not the end. At the very least, someone will be paying for bike repairs, a new helmet, sunglass replacement and any of the uncovered by insurance expense of my trip to the emergency room.
anyway... I'm a little the worse for wear, but I'll be OK in a couple days and will be out on my bike again soon.
Happy riding... and WEAR YOUR HELMET even if you're just going around the block !!0 -
I had a bike accident this morning ...
anyway... I'm a little the worse for wear, but I'll be OK in a couple days and will be out on my bike again soon.
Happy riding... and WEAR YOUR HELMET even if you're just going around the block !!
:noway: Oh Barbiecat1. I am so glad you are okay. I ride my bicycle to/from work. Good wake-up call not just regarding the helmet, but also being constantly alert for strange objects, unevenness etc. on the way.
Take good care of yourself!!! (((hugs)))
:bigsmile: Did 100k last week. Hope to do the same this week!
Rebel 0 -
BIKE COMPUTER QUESTION! I just got a little Schwinn bike computer. It asks for my tire size and it gives me 4 digits... my bike tires are 26x1.95 So what do I put? I just assumed that the last two digits were for if you're bike has tires that are say, 26.25 or whatever.... So I just put 2600 because they are 26 even. Is that right???
Your helmet looks great!
Your question about the wheels size, the best thing to do is roll out your wheels, you want to put the circumference of the front wheel into the computer. Mine is 2025mm (for example)
Best way to do this is to put a piece of tape on the side of your wheel, and use a black marker to draw a line on it. Find a nice flat level area, like you garage floor or driveway. Put another piece of tape on the floor, put a line on it. Position your bike so that the line on the tape on the wheel and the tape on the floor are basically touching. Then roll your bike forward for one revolution of the wheel, the line with the tape on it goes around once, stop when it is again touching the floor, just put a mark on the floor, then measure between the two marks and you will have your circumference measured out.
I hope that make sense :happy:0 -
Holy crap Barbiecat1 I'm so glad you were wearing your helmet, sorry for your trouble!!
Them EMT guys, obviously even the retired ones, are often some of the best people you will ever meet! When you get better and are feeling up to it, send the guy a cake or something :bigsmile:
Now I have to ask.......
..." How is your bike ?" :noway:
:laugh: Sorry, always got to ask how the bike is after a crash:bigsmile:
yep, always wear a helmet :glasses:0 -
Barbie, glad to hear that you're ok, considering.:noway: Crashing is NO fun. Glad to hear you're getting a new helmet and sorry to hear that there's damage to your bike.:frown: More importantly, sorry there was damage to you. :flowerforyou: I went right to the hospital after my crash too. Better to be safe than sorry.
Another hazard to keep an eye out for is parked cars. You never know if that door is going to open. Happened to my brother more than once. Luckily at a very slow speed with no injuries or damage. Just something to be aware of.
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Oh my!!! :noway: You really have seen enough of the ER! Take it easy and hope you're feeling better soon. :flowerforyou:Hello fellow cyclists. Checking in at only 59 miles this week. I mentioned earlier in the week that I had a collision with a bee; well guess what! The sting got infected and made the whole right side of my face swell up like a balloon. Not a good look and very painful. What with that and the coral infection two weeks ago, I've seen more than my fair share of ER here, plus had more antibiotics than anyone should be in the business of taking. I've had two days off cycling (Friday and Saturday) and only managed a measly 5.5 miles today popping into town.0 -
BIKE COMPUTER QUESTION! I just got a little Schwinn bike computer. It asks for my tire size and it gives me 4 digits... my bike tires are 26x1.95 So what do I put? I just assumed that the last two digits were for if you're bike has tires that are say, 26.25 or whatever.... So I just put 2600 because they are 26 even. Is that right???
Your helmet looks great!
Your question about the wheels size, the best thing to do is roll out your wheels, you want to put the circumference of the front wheel into the computer. Mine is 2025mm (for example)
Best way to do this is to put a piece of tape on the side of your wheel, and use a black marker to draw a line on it. Find a nice flat level area, like you garage floor or driveway. Put another piece of tape on the floor, put a line on it. Position your bike so that the line on the tape on the wheel and the tape on the floor are basically touching. Then roll your bike forward for one revolution of the wheel, the line with the tape on it goes around once, stop when it is again touching the floor, just put a mark on the floor, then measure between the two marks and you will have your circumference measured out.
I hope that make sense :happy:
Thanks! I actually found the instructions for that part... it was still a bit confusing, but hopefully I got it right... Close, if not. I am going to try it out tonight! Tonight will be my first ride that counts toward my 100 mile goal I think that might be a fairly easy goal... but I can always adjust it Thanks to everyone for all your help! 0 -
Wow what a ruff week. Between Clare's bee attack and Barbie's hose accident, I am just shocked. I hope that all of you will heal quickly. I will be praying for your quick return. And for everyone out there cycling in our group, to remain safe in our travels.
Nice look Panda.0 -
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Thanks, lol! :glasses:
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Wow what a ruff week. Between Clare's bee attack and Barbie's hose accident, I am just shocked. I hope that all of you will heal quickly. I will be praying for your quick return. And for everyone out there cycling in our group, to remain safe in our travels.
Nice look Panda.
Thanks- looks like you started a trend, gwynh!0 -
BarbieCat, were you wearing gloves?
I know a lot of street riders who don't wear gloves, I always do, three reasons, the extra padding helps with hand fatigue, two, when or hopefully IF you crash, often you land on your hands, and they take a beating, and thirdly, on a street bike without fenders, if you are riding and your ride through glass (happens more than you may think) you can reach down and lightly touch the tire with your glove and knock off any glass.
Now that last one, is not something you will be seeing me do anytime soon, for one, my bike has fenders, and if I do run through glass, I'll be stopping to check my tires thank you If you are riding in a large roadie group, like 70 riders, often it is just about impossible to stop, if you are in the middle of the group, so you would reach down and brush the glass off your tires..... no really we did this...... and it worked, no flats. Back then, the road tires did not have Kevlar in them and "sew up" or "tubs" while very light and fast were also fragile, I ran clinchers thank you.
Running over a regular garden hose is often no big deal, as it is fairly soft, but the kind of hose you are talking about, is usually very hard, and covered in muck at an angle without warning, yeah, I can see how that would put you on the ground in the blink of an eye. Again, thank goodness for the EMT fellow.
I had one really bad crash, off road, on the way to work one morning, there was this service road that everyone used instead of riding in traffic at the university, it was a regular dirt road, that was about 4 Km/2.5 miles long. I used this road every morning at the entrance of the road there were two steel posts and I guess at some time there had been a chain or rope across the entrance, but in the year and a half I'd been using the road I'd never seen any rope or chain etc on the posts, even lying on the ground. One morning in the winter, in the rain, I was going along on the regular road, and came up to this dirt road entrance, it was early and still somewhat dark, and raining, I was bombing along at my usual pace, the next thing I know I wake up in the hospital........
Some bozo Parks Board worker had taken it upon them selves to put a cable, yes a quarter inch cable across the entrance between the two posts. No flag on the cable, no waring sign, no nothing. I did not see it, not even sort of.
I had two busted ribs and a busted arm, I was picking dirt out of my hip and thigh for a month, each time I took a shower you could hear the tiny rocks hitting the bath tub. I was very lucky, but I was also prepared, I had on a good helmet that saved my life, for sure, I had on good cycling clothes for off road, these had pads in the elbows and knees, not much, but sure saved some road rash. I was also lucky because just down the road, in sight of the entrance to the dirt road was a favorite spot for the Mounties to set up a speed trap. The cops saw it happen, he was great, he came to the hospital and talked to me and let me know they were pursuing criminal charges against the Parks Board worker. My bike was wrecked, luckily it was not a good bike, but the case took a year until I got any money out of them, so I had to replace all my gear out of my own pocket. I ended up buying a really nice Cannondale Crit bike with the settlement
I kept my crushed helmet for years to show people who did not thing helmets were needed, the thing was in three pieces and was all smushed at the front and had blood on it too, I left that on to really drive home the point.
BarbieCat I hope you get well soon and have success going after this clod, imagine if it was little kid without a helmet, could be even worse outcome.
Some people just don't think!
Get better soon!0 -
I went to my chiropractor today, it is about a 9Km/5.5 mile ride, I was a bit late, so I was going at a fair pace, I was pleased to see the pace was 20.6 Km/h or 12.8 mph, not bad for city riding I think
When I went to go home I thought I should take the long way home
I ended up doing a total of 25.2 Km/15.6 miles and it is HOT, SUNNY and HUMID out there.......
At least here in Tokyo there is a vending machine on just about every corner, COLD water is so nice, I think I drank about 3 litres.
Total of 1 hour and 20 minutes, average speed was 19.1 which is 11.86 Mph, I know the clip in shoes/pedals sure helped!
Need to eat a banana, good for sore muscles, I still have my regular delivers etc to do, and my wife wants me to run into town to pay something at the bank.... More miles! 0 -
Hi guys, Julie from far off Australia here.
Helmets are compulsory here, I'm glad to say. Funny the arguments about not needing them when riding off-road. I knew a young boy who fell off his bike in the school yard, straight on to his head. In a coma for 6 mths, but survived because of his helmet.
I'm a dedicated roadie (although there are 11 bikes in my family of 3), so clipless pedals are the way to go for me. Although I have double sided ones (Crank Bros) because when I first used clipless I had a whole lot of difficulty clipping in. Actually, I found them much easier to get out of than toe clips (sideways action instead of pulling back).
Well, there was not much cycling for me last week because I've been sick: only 30 kms on Monday and 45 on Saturday. The weather here is horrible so no cycling yest, will have to see what it is like tomorrow. I will not ride in the rain because of safety and because it takes too long to clean the bike!
Hope those of you who are recovering from unexpected horizontal experiences recover quickly. I always say it is not the falling that does the damage, it is the quick stopping (in contact with the ground) that hurts.
GG0 -
Hi Julie!
Hope you get better soon and the weather turns for you!0 -
I only added another 9 Km to the total doing my regular deliveries, but I was pulling a trailer full of beer etc, so I hope that counts for something :bigsmile:
I am going to sleep well tonight!:happy:0 -
Found a nice 4 foot rattle snake fresh road kill. not damaged much at all. He will skin nicely for show and tell. Bummer part is... the killer got out of his car and cut off its rattles. :grumble: Oh well. .\
My 25 mile ride today was long and I wanted to be done at the 1/2 way point, but couldn't. :yawn:
Welcome Julie.0 -
Found a nice 4 foot rattle snake fresh road kill. not damaged much at all. He will skin nicely for show and tell. Bummer part is... the killer got out of his car and cut off its rattles. :grumble: Oh well. .\
My 25 mile ride today was long and I wanted to be done at the 1/2 way point, but couldn't. :yawn:
Welcome Julie.
Nice one gwynh! Why did the 'killer' get out and cut off the snake's rattle? Was he afraid it could do some damage to somebody?
I'm much better now and thank you everybody for your kind wishes. I've certainly seen enough of the ER department here, but they're keeping a close eye on me because I had such a swollen face and they were worried that I'd get swelling on the brain if they didn't get the swelling under control with antibiotics quickly. Back to the Drs again this morning ...
And Barbiecat. I was HORRIFIED to read of your terrible accident. I really hope you feel better very soon. I would say your helmet definitely saved you from much worse injury. It sounds like you've had some great help and advice from your hero. What a kind man. Anyway, get better soon and back on your bike as soon as you feel able.
I guess I need to get a photo with my helmet on up too!0 -
Clare, It must be a "'redneck" thing. You can tell the age of a rattle snake by the number of rattles it has. Kinda like rings on a tree. Many people like to collect the rattles as a type of trophy. No, they are not dangerous at all.0
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Well I'm down another pound today!!
I am sore, no long rides today, too freaking hot out there, and yesterday I forgot to put on sun block :blushing: <- that is not blushing, it's sunburn
I am celebrating, I'm going to buy some jerseys and cycling shorts, all MTB baggy types, don't want to scare the little children on the side of the road :blushing: <- OK, now THAT is blushing......
gwynh the rest of the snake could go to the Home Economics class, they can be good eating you know :happy:
@ClareRce Lots of people like to keep the rattles, they are kind of cool and they do rattle... :bigsmile:0
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