I'm just going to warn you now - The next two photos I shot of my bandages/injuries is pretty gross. Don't scroll down if that's the sort of thing that is going to make you hurl and never come back again!
I promise beauty and fun will return to the blog very soon, more along the lines of cherry print bathing suits while sunning at the Legislature, like I was doing last week.
Don and I had decided to ride our bikes down to Fort Edmonton with Dexter, for a family fun-filled day (and on my birthday too). I've ridden that route several times before, and I didn't think anything of it. After all, I've been riding my bike almost every single day.
The incident had nothing to do with cars or intersections. I was going downhill on a multi-use trail (there is a switchback and then a descent) and let's just say I accelerated quickly. I wasn't even pedalling! After straightening out from a curve at the bottom of the hill, my front wheel clipped a little rock. There was a weird wheel-wobble (like when you hit a patch of sand or slushy snow) and because of the speed there was not even a moment to correct the wobble. My handlebars torqued 90 degrees to the right and I was thrown from the bike.
I was on the Amsterdam and wearing my helmet. I recall the impact (OUCH) and then some subsequent rolling/skidding. It's a cliché, but it happened really fast. At no point did I lose consciousness, I just remember breathing and thinking, "That's a good sign, you're alive." My helmet suffered notable impact on both sides. My right thumb really hurt so I lifted up my arm to look at it and noticed the skin was scraped off the webbing between my thumb and forefinger. Yuck. I decided to put it down and stopped looking at it. Then I looked at my leg and saw there was a whole lot of asphalt stuck in my shin. Ew.
Don was riding ahead of me with Dexter in the Madsen. They were completely fine! When he noticed I wasn't there anymore, Don turned around and came back to see what was up. He rode up and said, "Oh my... that is some road rash."
Dexter said, "Hi Mama!"
So I have road rash on both my elbows, my left knee, and my left shin. My right thumb has a torn tendon so it's going to live in a splint for a while, but the hand doctor said there is no need for surgery - phew!
All in all I am just very relieved it wasn't worse and the lesson I am coming away with is that speed highly increases the likelihood of accidents. Bicycles are not dangerous. The way I usually ride (leisurely, residentially) isn't risky or dare-devil at all. The crazy speed I had happening on that river valley trail was an anomaly. Note to self: I am not young anymore!
Take a look at my bandaged arm.
And the leg. The abrasions on the thigh are actually the very minor scratches.
So I have a lot of mixed feelings.
I feel really stupid and keep re-imagining what happened in an attempt to think of what I could have done to prevent the tumble. My conclusion is: don't ride so fast!
This has been a humbling experience. I am missing my freedom of mobility. I'm battered and bruised and limpy and slow. It hurts a lot, and it sucks.
But I'm getting better every day. And if I wasn't in good health to begin with I wouldn't even be able to get up without assistance. All sorts of funky muscles are compensating for the parts of my body that don't move properly, and I am thankful I have relatively strong muscles because of my cycling.
The experience has reminded me to slow down. It's good to take it easy.
We have already dropped off the Amsterdam to get looked at by the bike dudes. With my right thumb in a splint I can't brake properly so I want to ride the Amsterdam again so I can use the coaster brake. I will not attempt riding at all until my left leg can bend normally and until I see the hand doctor and get fixed up with a less gigantic splint.
I do not think biking is dangerous. And if we're talking transportation then I still think that bikes are less dangerous than cars. Yes, I had an unfortunate bike accident. I am human! Though it's awful that I fell off my bike, it does little to change my beliefs about active transportation. In fact, my proximity to the train is what has been keeping me mobile since I'm too gimpy to drive. Even without wheels, my train is just a hobble up the street.
Am I the only person who has taken a tumble? Please tell me I'm not the only one!
I'll keep you all updated on my recovery - I am hopeful it will all happen in good time. Until then, ride safe and relaxed, and take care of yourselves!
37 comments:
If it's any consolation, I fell off a curb while walking and ogling a bike and badly scraped up my leg from ankle to knee. Things happen, and I'm glad you're (mostly) all right. Get well soon!
I'm glad that Don was there when you had your accident.It would've been scary if someone wasn't there to help you.
I spend a lot of time around cyclists, racers in particular. It's not unusual for them to get into epic tumbles/crashes and I've seen really horrible road rash before, although your rash sounds just as awful!
Last October Bruce was racing and the course was wet, particularly the pavement section. He tried to pass the racers in front of him, but this racer wouldn't budge.As Bruce accelerated and moved to pass him, this guy shoves Bruce with this shoulder and Bruce skidded hard on the pavement for about 3 meters. I screamed and I think it freaked out Isaac. It was really gross. He still has scars from the rash on his thighs and on his knee. Mostly his pride was hurt, too.
Anything I can do to help you, let me know,Sarah.
Interestingly enough the last time I took a tumble was because I was going too SLOW! I was going from a side street to a main road verrrry slowly and the pavement of the main road was on a higher level than the side street. Didn't have enough velocity for my tire to easily roll over the lip, took a spill (in a dress, flashing several cars my underwear!). But because I wasn't going fast I came out of it mostly uninjured - a scrape on one of my palms and some damaged pride, but fine aside from that.
Spills happen, it's not just you! Glad you're healing well and that the tumble hasn't changed the fact that you view cycling as a very positive thing. Love the blog, Miss Sarah, thanks for posting so honestly about this!
myOmy! I hope you're on the mend quickly!
I ride a "mountain" bike & a road bike and I have fallen/crashed more than I care to admit. :) Usually it's user error, not the bike's fault! I biffed really good on my bike a couple of years back (on a neighborhood sidewalk). I took a corner too sharply and took a tumble into the grass. I managed some scrapes & a badly sprained left hand. I still had to ride back to my friend's house which was still a mile away. I think my ego was bruised more than my hand was though!
Nope! You are not the only one to take the occational tumble. I fell and hurt my wrist this summer.
You should think about getting a new helmet, they are only rated for one impact, the same way baby car seats and airbags are one impact safety devises.
i just started riding a bike again about 3 years ago (after a 10+ year absence). in the first few months, i fell off it twice.
the first time was on a multi-use trail, when i hit a little patch of smaller gravel and got that "wheel wobble" that i just wasn't skilled enough to correct yet. and fell off the side. came down on my hand, and the gravel scraped me up a bit.
the second time was cycling home from the local park where we do yoga. i wasn't watching the road closely enough and hit some recessed train tracks parallel instead of perpendicular. front wheel got stuck in the track and i went up and over the handle bars. the bruising lasted for weeks.
i haven't fallen since. thankfully. and i'm much more comfortable on my bike these days.
best of luck with your recovery!
I just recovered from my terrible accident. back in june, and not thru a motorist or ped, I crash my bike into a near by (PARKED!)car..I really don't even know what happened, I just couldn't control my handle bars for a brief moment. It shouldn't have happened. I mean really shouldn't have. My leg got VERY infected..I mean turned green n everything, pain was too much, and on top of that, my leg looked horrid...The skin is still coming in, so I still have to deal with looking at a off-color patch of leg.
I was SO depressed...even if I was only off my bike for as month, it killed me. I was sitting and eating n gaining weight that whole month(which is a huge setback for me) plus, had to stay out of the sun cause of the antibiotics I was on..and summer just began! I missed alot of NYC bike events which made me even cry, but what was worst of all was the inactivity. I need it to feel good about myself.
I listened to my body and waited till the time was right to get back on the bike. Waiting sucked..but the time will come for you Miss Sarah, your spill was DEF worst than mine, and healing right is key. DONT RUSH IT! I know EXACTLY how you feel!!!
speedy recovery and blessings,
K.
p.s. theres a post about my accident on my tumblr: cruiserdolly.tumblr.com
As you can see, you're not the only one! My last crash was in the middle of Toronto traffic. It wasn't with a car, but I got sort of trapped between a construction site and a lane of traffic, was going too fast and my front wheel went into a rut in the road alongside a streetcar track. I knew I was going to wipe out and everything went into slow motion. I sort of landed on my side underneath my bike. People came and helped me get up. I landed on my knees, so that hurt, but I took a minute to gather myself and went on to work with crooked handlebars and feeling a lot of pain. By the time I got to work, my foot was all swollen and I could barely walk - I had broken two bones in my left foot and really banged up my knees.
I definitely thought a lot about what I did to cause the fall and am a better cyclist for it now, for sure. And you're right - speed is often a big issue. Hope you continue to heal and feel better!
Nope, you're not the only one. I once went head-first over my handle bars while riding slowly UP-HILL. I braked to miss a roller-blader, and used my front brake instead of my rear brake. Epic fail. And four broken bones in my right hand.
Ouch! I took a tumble too, did involve a car, but partly I now realise that it was also due to the fact I was riding a new bike and wasn't very familiar with. I wasn't even going that fast!
It's good to get back on the saddle when health allows you so, great to read this nasty tumble hasn't put you off :D Get well soon!
L x
I am currently hobbling around on crutches because I have two (!) broken feet. Which I got from over use. From *walking*!! So at least you have a much better story.
The only reason I I don't have a story of falling off my bike in the last few years is because I ride a Danish cargo trike.
Good for you for knowing you should wait to get back on your bike till your knee is better, and your arm is... smaller. I was at a party last week with a woman who was in a knee brace because she had recently had knee surgery. But rather than taking it easy, she was doing things like taking the stairs (because she wanted to "keep up with the guys"... she was also complaining that her PT wasn't helping as much as it had been, and that her recovery had flattened. Um, I think I know why.
Healing takes time, and using knees and thumbs (and in my case, feet) before they are ready just keeps you injured longer. So I'm wishing you patience.
I've torn a tendon in the past - recovered fine without surgery!
And you are still my biking hero!
Oh my, that road rash looks painful! I hope you get well soon!
I haven't falled off my bike, but I've taken plenty of spills while running in the winter. Usually by hitting an icey patch on the road or sidewalk. I can't even tell you how often I've felt that sensation of my legs just giving out and me landing on my butt or hips. It hurts and it bruises your ego but I love running and it's NEVER made me question my committment to running or running outdoors all year long. It's all just part of the package.
I'm glad to see you write about this and also talk about how you feel about cycing post fall.
Oh wait, I forgot, I did fall off my bike last summer at a social ride when another cyclist ran me off the road and I hit the gravel sideline and did a controled crash sort of thing. It hurt and it messed my bike up a bit but I also got back on and finished the ride.
Point being, it's good to metaphorically get back on the horse when these things happen. Otherwise you'd never continue with any activity if you wrote it off after the first sign of trouble. And I believe that it's a good example for Dexter to see his mom take a fall, recover, and get back on the bike.
Hope you feel better soon though!!
S.
Oh my goodness! So glad that you are healing and that you were able to get help right away. I've definitely fallen a lot over the years. The two worst spills I experienced were when I still had my mountain bike and fancied myself a bit of a tough guy. I tried riding down a gravel hill into Mill Creek Ravine and picked up more speed than anticipated. I lost control of the bike and sailed towards a barrier. Somehow, miraculously, I hopped off the bike before I hit the barrier, but I got some wicked bruises and had to replace the handle bar. Another time I tried to go down a steep single track and lost control and skidded down the hill. Some cuts and bruises (and hurt pride). My sister is a racer and lost control of her bike in a race in Montreal while riding on cobblestone. They had to take her to Emergency. She had some pretty serious road rash but was thankfully okay. It happens to everyone! Get better soon...
-Zoe
You and me both, GF! I got side swiped by another cyclist on my way home from work yesterday. Before I knew it, my bike was out of control and I was falling to the ground! Was not as battered as you sound & look, but I feel your pain.
I hope we're both back in the saddle soon.
Kristin/Velo Vogue
First of all, I have to say I love your blog! You make cycling so approachable and stylish. Every post is like a photo essay - I wish I was as busy as you are!
I started riding last summer, for the first time since childhood, and managed to scrape and bruise myself up pretty good that summer. The trail we rode on was not the best for beginners, and I would get patches of splinters from trying to maneuver a 2 foot section where the trail gates were locked. The tumble that happened on my last ride of the fall involved coming down a small hill, hitting a patch of ripped up concrete, being afraid to turn sharply, and catching my tire on the side of a large landscape rock. I went airborne 90 degrees, perhaps 6 feet in the air, over the rock and, thankfully, onto soft grass. It all seemed to happen in slow motion, and the adrenaline must have kicked in because I was more embarrassed than anything. I hopped up and told a female runner who ran up to check on me that I was fine. I still remember seeing her horrified face as I was mid-flight. My husband was 20 feet ahead of me, unaware it happened. I ended up with a bad hematoma on my thigh and breast from going over the steel handlebars. (I was riding a 70s Raleigh LTD, which showed no damage I could find at the time. Spooky!) We rode three miles back to the car and I waited for the bruising to heal. I still have a bit of a dent in my thigh, but I've been through worse. (I have two titanium rods in my back from non-bike related surgery.)
Funny part is that I was debating wearing a helmet that day, and I decided to do it anyway. Since then, I've purchased a few other helmets in different prints. If this is how I ride (murphy's law always applies to me), then I'm going to wear a helmet and have fun with them! I'm working my way up to transportation cycling, and have outfitted one of my bikes with baskets for trips to the local grocer. (Hubby and I love to rescue, fix up, and wrench on old bikes, so I have a few.) I don't ride as much as I like, but when I build up enough confidence to ride alone, I know a whole new world will open up for me.
Dear Miss Sarah,
I am so sorry to learn of your accident. I hope you feel better soon. I had an accident 10 months ago. I was riding in a bike lane, on a boardwalk, and was not going fast. What happened for sure, I'll never know. I was with a friend, conversing as we rode. She said I stopped talking, she turned back to why, and saw my bike make a 90 degree angle with the boardwalk...me landing face first. Pedestrians called an ambulance and police too. Many said there was a problem with the boards being lose. The EMT looked over my bike (new) and said my brakes weren't put on properly. Regardless, I ended up with bruised ribs, black and blues in too many places to name, as well as a black eye and fractured eye socket. I missed riding my bike terribly. I gained weight. And I had to go to work looking and feeling the way I did each day to teach children. It was rough. But I do know not to take things, such as my health, for granted. I also posted about it at the time. (www.inspiredcyclist.com late last Sept. and there are some shots recently in a collage on July 1st I believe...year in review).
I am hesitant to cycle in a large group, and notice that I'm still a little anxious at times. However, I'm riding, and still love it.
Listen to your doctor, be patient with yourself, complete some fun projects - like editing your films, and feel better soon.
Maureen
My wipeout occurred when I was barely moving, slowly turning actually, on a beach path and sand caused my tire to skid. The fall would have been nothing major if not for the cupholder hitting me in the chest to the point if knocking the wind out of me! Nobody witnessed my embarassment. Feel better soon.
i've tumbled before but caused by a car then into the train tracks in sf. it' happens to everyone apparently from what other cyclist tell me. you took it pretty hard but i'm happy to hear your positive attitude. looking forward to your recovery and post adventures.
Ouch, indeed, but happy it was not worse for you. Spills? First was "running out of road" as speeding teenager. The forest magically opened for me, something snagged the Raleigh's front wheel and I somersaulted over the bars to a soft landing in the autumn leaves. No harm, no foul and not much learned, either. Second was wiping out at speed on a manhole cover while turning a corner in downtown Richmond. Clothes torn and bloodied but the greater injury was hearing, "Cameron, are you alright?" Nowadays much of my riding is done on a mixed use path aboard a vintage 3-speed. I've been wearing a helmet for rides in traffic, but your story, thoughtless riders like the one KT encountered and my evergreen taste for going fast may yet see me helmeted always.
Ouch!! Thank goodness Don was there, so you weren't alone. Hope you have a super speedy recovery, Sarah!
Somehow in my previous comment I forgot to mention my other more epic fall (my brain must really want to forget it!) Like one of the other commenters, I too got caught in a streetcar track in Toronto and I don't know for sure but I think I did a somersault when I fell. my helmet was on but it was too loose and flew right off. This happened just as I was about to go thru an intersection (across from a hospital incidentally) and in front of a crowd of people waiting for the streetcar. I was lucky in that I only scraped my elbow and no cars were around to run over me at that moment. It was scary but made me more aware of my surroundings. Someone helped straighten my handlebars and I rode home really slowly and a bit dazed. But I was back on the bike the next day.
Ouch! I'm so glad you're going to be OK. I just started to ride again-first time since childhood-and I'm still so wobbly I almost fell over stopped at a light, on both feet,ha ha. When I was a kid, I rode straight into a parked car!
I'm afraid of falling every time I get on Bluebelle but I guess I can't let that stop me.
Heal quick!
Owwww. If there's any way I can help distract you while you heal, let me know!
No falls for me since childhood, but I did ride Mary Poppins into a tree about a year ago. I was the last rider on a group ride, actually, and her coaster brake wasn't equal to the hill we were going down. I needed to avoid the cyclist ahead of me, so I had a choice of steering her into a spruce's branches while skidding my feet, or go off the path in the other direction into a parked car. Bike and I were both fine afterward - I still need to have the coaster hub looked at - but a bit shaken up. Since then I've mostly ridden my bikes with hand brakes, and I'm a bit more nervous on big hills than I probably need to be.
Owowowowow! My apartment block is on a steep slope and I'm paranoid of going too fast, my wheeels locking and slipping on the fallen leaves and going bye-byes. I never look forward to the shower after a scrape, so a major slip worries me.
Thankfully it wasn't more serious and you had someone with you! Hope you recover soon and that the incident area doesn't spook you in the future!
I'm so sorry to hear about your spill, Sarah!! I am new to city/commuter cycling. Before this year, I hadn't ridden a bike for well over a decade! I'm originally from Calgary, but in Toronto now and was absolutely terrified to get out in Toronto traffic.
Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that your blog has been such an inspiration to a newbie rider. I took the plunge this summer and am now joyously going around the city on a little Pashley I got on sale. I have a new love for my city that comes from seeing it on a bike.
You make city biking look so doable, fun, safe (spill included), and best of all, lovely and stylish too! So please take care and get well soon. Looking forward to many more stories about your biking adventures.
I bailed out laat summer right after crossing a flat intersection. Somehow my flip-flop got caught in my spokes, which meant full stop and as the bike fell over, I went with it. More embarrassing than injurious though.
Hope your recovery is speedy!
DZ
Get well soon.
My son jumped the curve near our house, ran into another, and hit his head on the curb. He was wearing a helmet. My daughter (who thinks helmets are uncool, I make her wear one), had to go through me standing in the street pointing at the mark on the curb from the helmet, yelling at her this is why you wear one.
Helmets=good.
That happens. In decades of bicycle riding, I've only had one where a car hit me. The others were either mechanical failure (broke axle, broke gear thingie, etc.) or operator error ... yeah, me. Like the time I bought some shirts, had then hanging from my hand in a plastic bag, the bag got sucked up into the front wheel ... locking it up, and I went over the bars and was rewarded with road rash. I learned that having a rack or basket (and using it) could be helpful to avoid things like that. loose gravel or sand is always hazardous ... I've gone down in it before.
Last week with a pulled hamstring, hobbling along with a cane, I was still able to ride 8 miles on my bicycle ... that muscle wasn't bothered by it. Really enjoyed it! :-)
Hey Guys!
Thanks so much for your support and wishes for a speedy recovery. And for sharing your own tumble stories - EGADS. I wish for all our sakes there was a more elegant and painless way to recover from road rash. It's AWFUL! I would rather give birth again.
Freth - Those bites sound horrid. At least riding hurts less than walking. For me it's the opposite:) Get well soon!
I don't know anyone who rides regularly who hasn't fallen off in some spectacular fashion. My husband and I each put in at least 2,000 kms/year (he is more like 4,000) and he crashed into a kerb and broke his helmet and knocked himself out - had road rash on his face! I hit an upright with something in my front basket and it flipped me and the bike so fast, I couldn't begin to save myself. Almost broke my wrist.
Welcome to the club!
I wish you quick healing!
I like your term of epic tumble. When people ask about the still-healing scar on my knee, I tell them about my spectacular non-traditional dismount from my bike. I was turning left over some streetcar tracks, hit one of the triangles, and lost control, leading to 6 stitches in the right knee and road rash on the left elbow and thigh. I have to say, if I had to wipe out in such a dramatic fashion, it was good do it in front of a cop car; they called the ambulance much faster than I would have thought to. I had to miss bike-to-work day the next day, ironically, but I got right back on the day after that because it was easier to ride than to walk.
I figure that in 15 years of commuting, I've had three tumbles, only one of which needed medical attention. That's a pretty good ratio. I've fallen walking on ice more often than that!
Get well soon.
Oh no! Sorry to hear about this. I hope you heal up soon.
Falling off a bike sucks. I have fallen, as I think you know already, on train tracks, which ended in a root canal. As you described, it happened too fast to react. Now I'm so ridiculously paranoid of tracks, I slow to a crawl when crossing them.
OH, Miss Sarah, so sorry that you got hurt, but I am glad you didn't do more damage (I couldn't help but think of your piano playing/teaching with a seriously injured fingers, hand, or wrist). Hang in. Heal quickly.
And yes, I took a tumble off my bike two years ago (with the road rash photos on my blog as well. And it wasn't on the street and involved no car traffic but happened on a bike trail when I was going fast and looked behind and clipped my husband's back wheel. Whoops. I fell in a spectacular fashion and still have some scars to prove it BUT I figured-- hey, I got that over with.
Be well. Ride on.
Oh my gosh...
I've recently started cycling after I took a tumble on my rollerblades. I've yet to fall, but dreading the inevitability of it.
I hope your injuries have healed nicely!
My crashes have all been more funny and less injurious than yours. One time I was biking home around 3am, and signalling to make a left turn (there was no one on the road--it was silly). As I started into the turn, I still had my arm out, which goes against what we teach people in our cycling courses. At the same time, I thought, "my nose is itchy", and reached up with my other hand to scratch it. I tacoed my front wheel in that fall, and had to walk home.
Another time I was slaloming around potholes (for fun--I could've just ridden straight) while hauling a BOB trailer for the first time. I destroyed my front wheel again and had to walk back to EBC.
Years ago, I was biking home along the 109 St MUT just south of Jasper, and was zigzagging across the trolley tracks (because it was fun). My wheels stuck in the rails and I went over the handlebars, landing flat on my stomach. But my bike landed wheels up, perfectly balanced upside-down. The wheels were still turning. I was mostly miffed that the guy walking by didn't even pause to ask if I was okay. Or at least comment on the improbability of my bike's landing. Thankfully the front wheel was fine.
Aaand, my winter bike used to have a front fender that would catch on my studded tire if I hit a hard bump. Usually this was on potholes on completely bare roads, since snow tends to smooth things out. I was making the seven block run to the Italian Centre, back when I still lived downtown, when I hit a pothole on dry pavement. The fender folded and wrapped up into the fork, locked up the wheel, and sent me flying. Right in front of a couple cops. They did ask me if I was okay. I think they may have suspected that I didn't altogether have my wits, since I was biking straight down the road, with neither snow nor ice, yet I just randomly crashed. I got up, fixed my fender, did my shopping, and then had it happen again on my way home.
I'm happy to report that I generally have better judgement these days. Generally.
Oh my, I just saw this a few days after the spill--well, hope things are looking up. Great pictures and great blog, Miss Sarah. I've been checking in on your blog for a few years now. Dexter is sure growing!
Cheers! Bruce
glad to see above this post you are recuperating. i fell on my bicycle once. it hurt my body and my ego. :) I still have a bit of an indent on my thigh muscle and a spot on my knee ~ the fall was likely more than 15 years ago now. the wounds mend, but the memory is always there as a guide to wiseness.
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