Dear
"George of the Jungle", as an expert on falling 6 times off your bike in one season, what do you carry in your first aid kit, including the size and type of bandages, OR is there a Fully stocked Ambulance on call when people know that you are riding??
The reason I am asking is that I had my first fall that required stitches (9), since a trail bike accident in 1973!!! That's a LONG time between visits to a hospital!!!
I hit a groove between a seat concrete slab and the rough concrete pavers of a bike-way, that kicked my front wheel, creating speed wobbles, and the front slipped out under me, all in 0.5 secs.
My right knee hit the ground at 20 kph (13 mph) and I stopped instantly, but smashed a bone growth+ MANY scar tissues from previous injuries, which are always on the right, (BIG lump) under my right knee, so my air bag has been destroyed!!!
My bike is OK as the 550 mm wide WTB handle bars, stopped the derailleur hitting the ground and the only damage was the $5 Ring, ring bell!
The good news is that after the perfectly straight stitching FINE scar disappears, I will be able to be knee model with a face lifted knee!
There was a lot of bone fragments in the wound area, but no tendon or cartilage damage!
My Ortlieb first aid kit, that I have carried everywhere for the past 4 years, was woefully inadequate, as its antiseptic wipes had dried out, and the bandages for only for scratches, not grazes! I had added a spay can of skin, but it could not stop the bleeding, so I had to ride 10 km to home with a red right leg!!!
I will get the stitches out this Monday, and hopefully NOT have my right leg in a splint, to limit the knee movement and the movement of the tightened skin in the stitch area.
The only other accident above 5 kph (in gravel), was also at 20 kph, 18 months ago when I was adjusting the rear air bag suspension on the Silvio, going over a 100*50 mm (4"*2") length of soft wood, and I hit the rear brakes, forgetting that our road had just been Hot Mixed, as an upgrade from very grippy chip seal, with the wood moving and the rear wheel dropping like me and a stone, which resulted in a destroyed pair of shorts and a big burn/graze on my right hip!
Does the 27 or 21 degree seat back mean that when falling with either the front or rear wheel slipping out, you land on your hip?
Has anyone fallen off a 45 and 27/21 degree seat backed bike and noticed different landing zones?
