What’s the worst cycling accident you ever had? Was it your fault or someone else’s?

neris wrote: »

Just out of curiosity anything happen to the driver? Ban? Points?

No nothing, no laws were broken, just reckless impatience.

Most comical one for me without doubt was falling into the canal at Cross Guns Bridge - tried to cycle between the gate and a post beside the canal, hit off the gate and wobbled down the bank. Because I was clipped in, wasnt able to break the fall.

I was standing up to my waist in water, trying to climb out. The bank there is about 8 feet high and fairly steep. Couldnt get out.

Good few people walked past, asking helpful questions like "are you alright?".

Then a chap that on any other day I'd have described as an absolute scobe came along walking his pitbull, seen me in the water, skipped down the bank and says "give us your hand", pulled me out and then pulled my bike out. I was grateful to say the least.

Broken ribs, punctured lung and 7 stitches in my back from the (folded) key fob - 3 days in hospital, about 6 weeks off work iirc. It was racing, but race wasn't "on" at the time which was probably part of the problem, everyone had eased off was eating and drinking and someone went down ahead and no time to react. He admitted pulling away from a touch of wheels, so I guess that makes it someone else's fault?

I don't know whether it would've made difference, but I was let get up off the road which could have caused the punctured lungs, but only for needing the stitches and the doctor doing the stitching sending me for an x-ray, I would've just gone home and suffered it out assuming just cracking ribs.

That was the end of me racing, as I couldn't have another period out of the job in relatively short succession. However, I've got a racing licence for 2021, for what it's going to be worth the way things are looking.

Was in a cycle lane, in heavy London traffic. Went up the inside of a bus, at a junction, and was hit on the right by a milk van on the junction.

Broke my shoulder-blade, but made a full recovery after a good bit of physio. Always consider myself very lucky that it wasn't worse.

Cycling down a quiet enough street and suddenly a parked cars door swings open and my neck/chest area hit the upper corner of the door dead on. Ended up with some stiches just under my neck and unable to move my shoulder properly for months.

Wow, some serious injuries here. I've had anumber of breaks and cocussions myself, but not due to cycling accidents.

Ive properly come off my bike three times, all as a teenager. The first one I think I mentioned on here before. An old Raleigh front wheel had been put on "the wrong way", and the bearings seized, causing the axle to concertina into itself. I was crossing the road at the time, and came out over the handlebars. Breakfalls and rolling saved me from hurting myself beyond some scrapes and nicks.

The second one was on the way home in winter time from supervised study in school. I think i was probably in 6th year. I was cycling along by the canal, no street lighting, and too late I saw a guy walking ahead of me. He was walking on the wrong side of the road, so he didn't see my light, and had headphones on, so he didnt hear me. I went straight into him, and knocked him down. My one clear thought was that I had a flask of soup in my bag and if I fell it would break and everythin would be ruined. I landed, running, on my feet. To this day I don't know how I managed it .

The third one was the only time I was actually hurt. The likelihood is that I was concussed. Cycling to school on an icy morning, coming up to a hump back bridge, I got out of the saddle at the bottom to get up and over it, and on the first pedal strok, the bike came out from under me onblack ice. I rattled myself pretty badly, and the lady in the car behind me stopped because she was concerned about how hard I'd fallen. The reason I believe I was concussed is that she offered to drive me home, and I told her no, I needed to get to school

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Ah here - we don't have skangers in Skerries!

Yeah I was wondering, it's affluent af.
Anyway I'm lucky in that I've never really had any bad ones, I remember once in about 2005 my wheel went into the luas track at the Jervis St stop and I went flying off. It was wet out and mud went all over me that was in the track. Right in front of a rush hour crowd too, scarleh. Wasn't really hurt though.
A couple of times about 10 years ago I fell off while hammered coming back from pub, but the details weren't clear when I woke up the next day.

Worst crash: broken neck (3 vertebra, bits of scull tore off by ligaments too), dissected vertebral artery that included nice blood clot that could have resulted in stroke, stretched arm nerves. Four months ago. Then hit by
some nice depression/physiological-stuff/PTSD afterwards.

fatbhoy wrote: »

Worst crash: broken neck (3 vertebra, bits of scull tore off by ligaments too), dissected vertebral artery that included nice blood clot that could have resulted in stroke, stretched arm nerves. Four months ago. Then hit by
some nice depression/physiological-stuff/PTSD afterwards.

And I think, we have a winner.

@fatbhoy, I hope, you have made a full recovery.

Eamonnator wrote: »

And I think, we have a winner.

@fatbhoy, I hope, you have made a full recovery.

Thanks. Artery is permanently out of action. Doctors said I wouldn't notice because I've another that will compensate, plus two that traverse on the outside of the spinal column. But you don't get given four for no reason, so I suspect there's a definite downside.

MojoMaker wrote: »

Jesus Christ Fatbhoy, that list of injuries is more than enough to make me think twice about cycling at all.

Quite a depressing thread when you read about life changing injuries from cycling, however temporary. These and Beasty's really leave a psychological mark. Not to trivialise anyone's injuries.

Well, if it's any consolation, it was from sheer and utter stupidity on my part (which brings with it its own shame), and it's MTBing, so I guess most people on this forum are roadies.

For the curious, it happened because I went off a big drop too slowly, had an OTB and landed on my head. Could have done the same accident 20 times and only landed on my head once, so bad luck played a part too,

Shotser wrote: »

No definite downside. You have 4 arteries feeding the Circle of Willis, 2 at the front (the internal carotid arteries) and 2 at the back (vertebral arteries - which merge to form the basilar artery). The Circle of Willis which is inside your skull at the base of your brain then gives off arteries that supply your brain. Everyday movements can cut of (momentarily) any of these 4 arteries supplying the Circle of Willis, that is why you have four of them, its built in redundancy. Because it's a circle the blood will get to the brain regardless if one of your internal carotids or vertebral arteries is no longer functioning. [Source - I'm a former physio anatomy lecturer]

Thank you, that's encouraging. The doctors mentioned something like that to me, but you've explained it better than they did. I feel better.

Shotser wrote: »

Hope your feeling better. I've done the same on drops, fear of going too fast and you end up going too slow!

It was fear of overshooting the landing, which I thought you'd need to brake just after because there's a tree and a bend. It's the big drop at the start of the trail at the big crossroads in Carrick. So I actually brain-froze and brake-checked just before it. I can't explain the rationale because there was no rational rationale :pac:

I reckon I could do it grand with a bit of a manual and a load of speed. Some day this year I'll do it.

Broken arm was the result of my worst crash, well a bent forearm apparently that required plaster and a sling. I had stood on the crossbar of a BMX... bike =/= skateboard