Advice after first fall

miju

Had my first fall tonight after my Felt Z85 front wheel slipped into a small groove on the road and knocked me off balance.

Feel like a right tool for falling off when cycling on a straight road along Coast Road.

Bike frame seems OK handlebar tape and cleat pedals took a bashing and my shoes are gouged and scraped to hell. Is there anything else I should be checking?

Also, I'm ok but got a fair few deep cuts on elbow and ankle but as you can see from the pic I got a bad road rash on my thigh about size of my hand.

Are there any tips on getting that to heal quicker as its already stinging like hell and have a funny feeling it will be worse tomorrow.

MajesticDonkey

Can't give advice on getting yourself better, but regarding the bike I'd be checking that all your gears are still changing properly as the derailleur may have been bent slightly depending on how you fell.

Ole Rodrigo

Nows the time to go scoring chicks.

GreeBo

antiseptic to clean out the rash, and then spend some some with warm, salty water on it.
I had a viscous one on my calf this time last week (astro slide) and its now nicely scabbed over and painless.

Squidgy Black

That's why a lot of cyclists shave their legs, helps keep road rash and cuts from infections, makes them easier to treat without the hair carrying dirt.

Best bet is to just keep cleaning it with disinfectant, and a bit of sudocream.

Wishbone Ash

miju wrote: »

... front wheel slipped into a small groove on ... .....on a straight road along Coast Road.

Clontarf?

There was a thread here a while back about that groove. I didn't think too much about it until I hit it myself one day. I managed to stay upright but it scared the crap out of me.

daragh_

See a Doctor if you are worried.

Arnica is brilliant for bruising.

miju

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Clontarf?

There was a thread here a while back about that groove. I didn't think too much about it until I hit it myself one day. I managed to stay upright but it scared the crap out of me.

Yeah thats the one. Took my eye off the road for split second and slipped straight into it

Zyzz

Congratulations on your first fall, you are now a real cyclist.

Dotsie~tmp

Was it along here? I was nearly killed by a groove submerged in the rain there. I felt the wheel lock in and threw me off as a double decker was just about to pass. I just caught my balance as I was falling into its path.

Cookie_Monster

miju wrote: »

Yeah thats the one. Took my eye off the road for split second and slipped straight into it

I clipped a road grove along there 3 days before my wedding and by some miracle managed to stay upright, though the crash wouldn't have been nearly as painful as the explanation to the wife :eek:

Hermy

miju wrote: »

Feel like a right tool for falling off when cycling on a straight road along Coast Road.

Not at all! Wait until you fall off while stationary because of issues with clipless pedals and then you'll know what's it's like to feel foolish.:o

copperhead

i find manuka honey great for cuts and road rash, heals them up very quick

Cyclewizard

I was almost thrown off along there on the way to howth a couple of months back too. Scared the crap out of me! Like others have said some antiseptic and it'll be fine in a few days. Had plenty of grazes from soccer on the older style astro and as long as you clean it out and try not to get clothes etc stuck to it you'll be fine

miju

Dotsie~tmp wrote: »

Was it along here? I was nearly killed by a groove submerged in the rain there. I felt the wheel lock in and threw me off as a double decker was just about to pass. I just caught my balance as I was falling into its path.

Yeah thats that place. Thanks for all the kind words guys, road rash is killing me / oozing today but hopefully will start healing up next day or two and I'll be back on the bike in no time

Zen0

I came of in Clontarf about three months ago. Lucky not to break my jaw. I think out was further along, travelling towards Sutton. Tramline crack caused by bad road repairs. Reported it to fix my street, for all the good it did. Still, I think you, and anybody else who had a fall around here needs to report it on fix my street, because somebody is going to get seriously hurt around Clontarf. To be honest, I avoid that area on a road bike since that incident.

DirkVoodoo

Jesus, that photo looks awful! Best way to sort that out is get a razor to it quick!

Briando

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Clontarf?

There was a thread here a while back about that groove. I didn't think too much about it until I hit it myself one day. I managed to stay upright but it scared the crap out of me.

Me too.. and it was wet at the time dont know how I stayed rubber side down.

biomed32

Jelonet from the pharmacy, its basically gauze with vaseline on it and is fantastic for road rash speaking from experience

Popoutman

Any of the pharmacy-supplied antiseptic creams will be cheaper than and more effective than the manuka honey. The honey is a valid alternative if nothing else is available - but the proper creams are a lot better than the honey. The Jelonet stuff is good as it provides a mechanical protection as well as an air barrier. Keeping the scab from drying out completely helps with the recovery and the causes of pain with the healing

Also regarding the arnica claims - lots of scholarly articles by real scientists that have shown no difference to healing with arnica application. Save your cash and use e.g. vaseline rubbed in on a bruise under unbroken skin. Having said that, if buying a placebo works for you then by all means go ahead. Personally I see no benefit to the arnica creams.
( example links for the studies: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9068434 http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/complementaryandalternativemedicine/herbsvitaminsandminerals/arnica

The dent to confidence on the bike can take a little time to get back - just take care and work up to where you are comfortable again, and keep pushing a little past that that until you are back to where you were. That and send a registered letter to the council about the danger, with the details of the medical visit etc.