Falling off your bike is a part of cycling, right from that
first grazed knee when learning to ride a bike as a child. I think cyclists blank
this fact out of their minds, because otherwise we’d all have given up years
ago! In just the last two years I have had two bad accidents which have resulted
in a trip to A&E. I’d had quite a good run before that, but there was still that
incident when I head butted a tree and the day I rode into the back of a parked
car. So law of averages say that I’m going end up back in hospital again at
some point in the future. Somehow these thoughts don’t cross your mind as you hurl
yourself, pedal to the metal, down a steep singletrack decent. You are living
in that adrenalin fuelled moment, focused on the enjoyment and competitive
instinct of keeping up with those around you.
Luckily the majority of accidents don’t result in a trip to the
hospital. In actual fact I fall off pretty regularly if I stop to think about
it. Last week I came a cropper on a log crossing, bruising my leg. This Sunday a
group of us swept into a wooded decent and I caught a handlebar on a tree. The
bike stopped instantly, the bar rotating and swinging me up into the air and
over the front of the bike. We were going pretty fast at the time, but luckily
I landed in the middle of the path unscathed. A few miles later a tree leapt
out and struck Dave on his shoulder and we all (Dave included) thought he had
busted his collar bone - but he hasn't. Both incidents could easily have been much more serious.
It is all down to chance, I know somebody who had a life changing fall just spinning
round in the car park before a ride waiting for his mates to get ready.
Roadies tend to tangle with each other, as demonstrated by my
30mph face plant last year. Mountain bikers usually run out of talent and end
up in the scenery. Whatever the result you can guarantee the first priority of
any rider once they have brushed themselves down and the wounds have healed is; “When can I get back on the bike”. It must be addictive!
1st trip to A&E on 1st November after fall on relatively flat dirt track ends up with 4 fractures to proximal humerus(classed as broken shoulder) requiring surgery. Stainless steel plate and 11 screws in my right shoulder. Now the hard part 2-3 months off bike and plenty of physio. Can only put it down to lack of concentration on such an easy track. Luckily I was with a group and only 2 miles from home, could have been a lot worse. Recently I had put a tracking app on my mobile which I would recommend to everybody now.
ReplyDeleteOuch! Hope you are on the mend John. Put your feet up for the winter, and I hope you are back in the saddle as soon as possible.
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