Falling

Caroline_ie

I was wondering if you the most experienced of you guys have a way to fall and not break anything. Is there a right or safe way to take a fall?

kenmc

In theory, which is all well and good, you're supposed to tuck into a ball and roll with it. About the worst thing you can do is stick out your hand at a 90o angle to your arm, but it's hard not to. Especially since most of the time it happens fast and hard. I think you just need to try and fight your instinct to fight it, and go with it as much as you can. In theory of course.

Junior

Don't stick your hand out to break the fall (easiest way to break a collar bone)
Try Roll into it..

Other than that ..

sickle

just try to land on my backside, plenty of padding there.
last time i fell off my bike i was about 10yrs old though so that method may not work anymore....

Vélo

Back in the days when I was an apprentice jockey we were taught how to fall properly. I mean they tried to but it was pointless as it never came in handy. It's a natural reaction to put your hands out. You've even less chance on a bike as you're closer to the ground than when on a horse. When you're going down just hope for the best.

Raam

http://www.roadbikerider.com/index.htm

Learn How to Crash



Well, don't actually try this while on a bike. The idea is to practice how to fall so if you do take a tumble while riding you can reduce the chance of serious injury. It means instinctively doing the right thing.



Legendary cycling coach Eddie Borysewicz had his U.S. national team riders do "crash drills" at the Olympic Training Center way back in the 1970s and '80s. These drills were much the same as lots of us did when tumbling in PE class. You can do them inside on mats this winter or out on the grass if the ground isn't frozen or covered with slush.



The basic move is the shoulder roll, in which you turn and tuck your head so that the impact is taken as lightly as possible by a shoulder and dissipated across your back. If you have a background in football or gymnastics, you might already have the reflexes and they merely need to be sharpened.



Do rolls onto both the left and right shoulders so you feel natural going either way.



Start easily by rolling from a squatting position, then progress to standing. When that feels okay, take a few slow steps first. Then run and roll. Finally, run 20 feet and dive over a cardboard box or your tumbling partner who's on her knees.



This progression should help make this technique reflexive so you'll automatically tuck and roll if you crash.



Tip: Wear your cycling helmet while practicing. Not just for head protection but to make the drills closer to real riding conditions.

Vélo

Raam wrote: »

Finally, run 20 feet and dive over a cardboard box or your tumbling partner who's on her knees.

I will in me arse!!

Raam

Aquinas73 wrote: »

I will in me arse!!

Go on, it will be fun.

seamus

Although as said, it's next to impossible to tackle your natural reactions, they generally come about as a combination of nervous reaction and adrenaline.
If you crash a lot, then the nervous reaction lessens, as does the amount of adrenaline your body releases. If you ever watch MTB downhillers or BMX dirtjumpers come off even the worst spill, there are rarely any flailing limbs, instead there's usually just a graceful roll, ending in an olympic-worthy stand.
That because if they spend 5 hours a day on the bike, they'll probably have about 3 serious crashes per hour. So they're just not afraid any more and a crash is as natural to them as leaning into a corner.

There's also a certain amount of recognition which comes into it. Anyone who's crashed knows that there is a certain period of time which feels like an eternity (but is probably a few hundred ms in reality) where you know you're going to crash, and you also know that there's nothing you can do about it. If you're crashing constantly, you learn to recognise these signs and react appropriately when you do recognise them.

Aside from attempting to ride on an ice skating rink (or taking up DHing/BMX), I don't know if there's any way you can "practice" or desensitise yourself.

Vélo

Raam wrote: »

your partner who's on her knees.

Maybe one could think of something to try with this!:D

Gavin

If your elbow is bent when you hit the ground, it's not too bad, should absorb some of it and allow you to roll.

We did rolling and such years ago when I was trained as a lethal ninja, it's actually worth practising on a bit of carpet/grass/gym mat. There are probably lots of videos on youtube about how to do it properly. If you practice enough you might get into the habit of it, but frankly, road crashes seem to happen just too fast. Sometimes it's a matter of just saying, ****, I'm in trouble, relaxing and let it happen. Relaxed muscles and such won't get as damaged.

In the interim, whilst trying to regain confidence, you could get some wrist protectors, the same style as the wrist splints a hospital give you, just gives support to the wrist and palm. Me missus uses them after clockin herself on rollerblades and they seem pretty good, not restrictive. I use lots of pads when on the MTB, knee and elbow. Overkill really, but it gives me a bit of confidence to go a bit faster than I might not otherwise, and I am discovering that speed tends to get you out of trouble on the MTB rather than get you into it. Sort of.

Anyway, sure avoid icy conditions and take the descents carefully, your confidence will return after a while and what's the rush !

Raam

Here we have a picture of it in action

Quigs Snr

I think at the end of the day its all down to luck. Every crash is different. If a rider goes down in front of you in a race you do your best to avoid him but in reality you could well get impaled on his bike and the rest of the bunch will hit you too. I've been in a pile up or two and there really is no correct course of action. You hope the guy behind doesn't flip and land his crankset on your face !

Out in a smaller group on your own, sure you can try to tumble. Never worked for me, usually you have a split second when you realise you are going down, often you won't come out of both pedals, say if you slide on ice you will likely be attached to the bike with one foot still when you hit the ground, so no tumbling for you. Best you can do is to try to land sideways on the upper part of your back I reckon.

If its a slow motion over the handlebars job I usually try to tuck my head into my chest so if I do land on my head it will be on the rear lip of the helmet rather than on the face or crown. I usually put my hands up like a boxers defence too...

Caroline_ie

Verb wrote: »

In the interim, whilst trying to regain confidence, you could get some wrist protectors, the same style as the wrist splints a hospital give you, just gives support to the wrist and palm. Me missus uses them after clockin herself on rollerblades and they seem pretty good, not restrictive.

Got me the lidl special yesterday ( 1.99 ): They re very comfy, will try them on the healed wrist in 9 days

Vélo

Maybe you could all practice this on the Saturday spins. I defo go up to see a load of Boardsies get off their bikes to run 20 feet and fall over a few sheep. mmmm I sense a great YouTube moment.

gabigeist

My automatic reaction was always to jump (in that slow motion time when your wheel has slid but your still upright).
Most times I've landed running or sometimes taken the brunt of the shock in my legs before falling over into a roll. I once slid on my face however when my legs tangled so its not perfect.

Anyway, my point is that it is prob not the best method for competitive cycling etc but if you're in traffic, its very useful to help stop you going under a truck etc. Its actually quite awesome if a car pulls out in front of you as I've harmlessly slid across both a car roof and bonnet whilst my bike has slammed into their door.

ROK ON

Playing rugby from a very early age teaches you one invaluable lesson - how to fall. (you fall a lot in rugby).

Tuck you elbows in around your rib cage. Tuck your legs and knees in. Let you shoulder, hips/bottocks take the inevitable force of gravity, and fall.

Just have to trust yourself. You will be sore (may even brake a bone), but there is a lower chance of injury comapred with sticking an arm/leg out. Works skiing and cycling. Have tried falling from both (not on purpose mind you). Hope my luck remains.

kenmc

Yeah I took a hell of a lot of hits in rugby too, often times you're caught unawares, and you still manage to offload the ball and bring yourself to ground safely.

TinyExplosions

Most of the advice is solid... I tend to end up landing on my face when I come off, so no danger of breaking collar bones

Biggest one to take away is not to extend your wrist out. Try land on a shoulder or arse.

Turbulent Bill

Do clipless pedals make falling any worse? I've only used platform ones so far, but I'd imagine you couldn't disengage fast enough if you felt a fall coming on. I know they will release under heavy pressure (when you actually crash), but at least with platforms you can bail off if you have some advance warning of a spill.

Canis Lupus

Get pissed up and go for a cycle blindfolded on grass. After an hour you should have plenty crash experience and be ready for the road. :P

kenmc

The flip side of staying attached to the bike is that you know where it is, and is unlikely to surprise you by landing on you afterwards.

Junior

Tbh, I've came off the bike I'd say all of about three times since I was 11, if your falling alot your doing something wrong

Trojan

seamus wrote: »

I don't know if there's any way you can "practice" or desensitise yourself.

I was just about to post this, but I see ROK ON has beat me to it:

ROK ON wrote: »

Playing rugby

Seriously, it helps a huge amount. I don't have experience of Judo, but I'd hazard a guess that it helps too.

Junior wrote: »

Tbh, I've came off the bike I'd say all of about three times since I was 11, if your falling alot your doing something wrong

Never been MTBing, eh?

Junior

Trojan wrote: »

Never been MTBing, eh?

That was the third one, dislocated a finger, popped it back in myself and rode home... all 18 miles...

scottreynolds

Raam wrote: »

Here we have a picture of it in action

That guy is the dude. Pure Euro rool. No wonder you have that piccy Raam. How about we do a You Tube Video of it in action.... I'll shoot the video you can be the crash test dummy...

Since, I'm not riding much lately, I'll you demo how not to do it.

short circuit

Junior wrote: »

Tbh, I've came off the bike I'd say all of about three times since I was 11, if your falling alot your doing something wrong

By those exacting standards ... I am Ok then ... I have only come of the bike twice since 11 ................................. 11AM that is ...

I can still remember when I came off the bike twice in a matter of 8kms ... once when a woman driving a car decided that she hates men in lycra ... and then 20mins later going around a roundabout when black ice caught me out.

To be honest I have been able to replicate Raam's pic pretty effective when the car took me out ... more by accident when I did a summersault and landed on my arse than by concious effort on my part

After the first fall in adulthood ... its been easier .... you realise that not every fall is going to kill you ...

Raam

scottreynolds wrote: »

That guy is the dude. Pure Euro rool. No wonder you have that piccy Raam. How about we do a You Tube Video of it in action.... I'll shoot the video you can be the crash test dummy...

Since, I'm not riding much lately, I'll you demo how not to do it.

Uhm, pass?

bcmf

had a total of 3 spills in my life.latest not so long ago front wheel went from me under frost.
Other 2 was many many moons ago.A van door on me collided and ended up with me in the a shocking tangle in the middle of the N2 in Finglas.
And descending down somewhere in Wicklow knowing my brakes were in rag order couldnt slow down going round a bend and straight into a ditch.
A good article in Decembers edition of Pro Cycling with Cyril Guimard.He was saying that modern day pro riders dont know how to crash.Hands out all over the place where as he was taught to "Roll".