BikeGary
Well-Known Member
So here in SoCal I don't have to worry about ice on the trail, but apparently I do have to watch out for sand which gets washed on the trail due to the recent rains. The county has done an excellent job maintaining the trail and I don't ride everyday so I wasn't as careful as I should have been.
We had a break from the rain Tuesday so I tried to ride to work yesterday. I got about 10 miles into the ride when I rode around a corner on the rt 56 trail and hit a patch of sand which had washed down from the hill above. I thought I was going to make it when all of a sudden I knew I was in trouble. The front wheel slid out to the left side and down I went on my right. My shoe came off the pedal but the handlebars and the crank arm trapped my right leg. The pave grabbed the sole of my shoe and rotated it outward so I ended up with a hole on the instep on the lower inside of my foot and another sprained ankle! This time it's my right foot. The big sprocket had about 7 or eight teeth ground down again. Fortunately I was wearing my super tough gloves made for rescue workers and my hand came away with nary a scratch. The glove though has a hole in the heel of the palm. Kevlar is only so strong against abrasives.
Thing was as I was sliding I was trying valiantly to get out from under the bike, but the handlebars hooked my knee, and the friction of the road was pushing my leg back and up into the bars. And my ankle couldn't hold a straight line. It hurt like heck at the moment it happened but not so much now. I've iced it for a day, and taped it and put Arnica gel on it and taken some ibuprofen.
My right shoe is toast. The strap on the instep was worn off, and a large hole is in the top of the shoe. It cut through my sock and abraded my foot skin.
The bike appears to have no other scratches on it. I did lose the bell which sits on the end of my handlebars, but it wasn't doing it's job anyway. (ceased to ring well a month or two ago.)
I think I was only going 10 to 15 mph, but I haven't checked my cycle computer yet. The whole fall seemed to happen in slow motion and I think I was trying to recover and stand it back up until it was far too late.
I had to call my wife to come get me as I was too far to walk home or to work. (13 more miles to work)
Dang!
Well at least I didn't hit my head or my hip. I was going about 10mph so less impact than the last crash. The thing is when you lead with your feet, that's what is going to take the brunt of the fall. It's way better than leading with your head. On my DF I would probably have hit my wrist and shoulder at a minimum.
I expect to be off the bikes for the next 6 to 8 weeks. With spin class I can get back in shape before committing to the road.
My take-a-way is to wait longer after the rains before riding this trail.
Meantime I have a four wheeler knee cart for the office which everyone is having fun wiping around the halls on.
We had a break from the rain Tuesday so I tried to ride to work yesterday. I got about 10 miles into the ride when I rode around a corner on the rt 56 trail and hit a patch of sand which had washed down from the hill above. I thought I was going to make it when all of a sudden I knew I was in trouble. The front wheel slid out to the left side and down I went on my right. My shoe came off the pedal but the handlebars and the crank arm trapped my right leg. The pave grabbed the sole of my shoe and rotated it outward so I ended up with a hole on the instep on the lower inside of my foot and another sprained ankle! This time it's my right foot. The big sprocket had about 7 or eight teeth ground down again. Fortunately I was wearing my super tough gloves made for rescue workers and my hand came away with nary a scratch. The glove though has a hole in the heel of the palm. Kevlar is only so strong against abrasives.
Thing was as I was sliding I was trying valiantly to get out from under the bike, but the handlebars hooked my knee, and the friction of the road was pushing my leg back and up into the bars. And my ankle couldn't hold a straight line. It hurt like heck at the moment it happened but not so much now. I've iced it for a day, and taped it and put Arnica gel on it and taken some ibuprofen.
My right shoe is toast. The strap on the instep was worn off, and a large hole is in the top of the shoe. It cut through my sock and abraded my foot skin.
The bike appears to have no other scratches on it. I did lose the bell which sits on the end of my handlebars, but it wasn't doing it's job anyway. (ceased to ring well a month or two ago.)
I think I was only going 10 to 15 mph, but I haven't checked my cycle computer yet. The whole fall seemed to happen in slow motion and I think I was trying to recover and stand it back up until it was far too late.
I had to call my wife to come get me as I was too far to walk home or to work. (13 more miles to work)
Dang!
Well at least I didn't hit my head or my hip. I was going about 10mph so less impact than the last crash. The thing is when you lead with your feet, that's what is going to take the brunt of the fall. It's way better than leading with your head. On my DF I would probably have hit my wrist and shoulder at a minimum.
I expect to be off the bikes for the next 6 to 8 weeks. With spin class I can get back in shape before committing to the road.
My take-a-way is to wait longer after the rains before riding this trail.
Meantime I have a four wheeler knee cart for the office which everyone is having fun wiping around the halls on.
