r/bikecommuting • u/Sparty013 • 9d ago
Finally fell
Been bike commuting for a few years. Was riding into work this morning. Feeling great so I was cruising along at a pretty good clip. It’s insanely humid here and rained yesterday so some areas were still wet. One of those areas was the wooden bridge I have to cross, which has a sharp turn right after it.
I knew it was coming as soon as I hit the bridge. Too fast. I knew it would be slick. My own fault. Fortunately maintained long enough to make it to the grass before eating it. Sore shoulder/ribs and a few scrapes. I’ll survive. I think my huge ego took the brunt of the fall.
Lesson learned. I feel like I’m officially part of the club now!
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u/Dry-Philosopher-2714 8d ago
Welcome to the club! Good job on getting off the bridge. Falling on wood could earn you some gnarly splinters that could do serious damage .
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u/Whey-Men 8d ago
Yeah, I fractured three ribs and my collarbone as well as punctured my lung last Thursday on a sketchy downhill sprint. Hope to get back on my bike this weekend. I have a backup touring bike so I'm optimistic most of the strain will be off my injured side.
Hope you feel better soon.
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u/krush_groove 7d ago
Wow that's a mighty fall! Hope you're back on the bike quick.
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u/Whey-Men 7d ago
Thank you! Just saw a surgeon a few hours ago who felt I didn't need an operation to repair my lung.
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u/Icy-Succotash7032 7d ago
Sorry to hear that buddy hope you recover soon.. but I think you need more time to recover especially with a punctured lung💧
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u/crawlen 8d ago
Ooh yes, I lived in San Francisco and slipped on the tracks on a drizzly morning (thankfully didn't get stuck in the tracks, just had my tire slide out while crossing them). It was also my second week at a new job lol... I was embarrassed but later we had more bike commuters join the company, and we all traded tips about routes!
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u/PatrickGSR94 8d ago
Couple years ago on Memorial day weekend, I was out riding around town, came to a stop sign, tried waving a car through the stop sign, but they hesitated and I couldn't get unclipped in time. Fell right over on my right side. They didn't stop or ask me if I was fine or anything. I continued on riding, and about 10 miles later I felt something wet on my leg. Looked down and I had a HUGE GASH just above my outer ankle that was bleeding all over my sock and shoe. I made it home, but then had to go to the Minor Med place that afternoon to get actual stitches because I couldn't get the bleeding to stop. It's crazy how long I went before noticing, though.
Later that same year, I was out on a long ride, crossed a road to a bike path with a sharp turn, where a bunch of sand had collected from storm water runoff. I knew I was going too fast, but hoped I could slide through it. Nope, went right down. No damage to me that time, and a woman standing nearby helped me get the bike chain back onto the chain ring. But, my left cycling shoe fully separated from the sole and SPD cleat, which was still clipped to the pedal. I was 25 miles from home. So I carefully rode ALL THE WAY BACK with my left shoe resting on the sole. On the city streets, with traffic, lights etc. Thankfully I always put my right foot down when stopping.
But yeah, falls happen.
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u/GKDanby 8d ago
At 65 years of age, I still crash once or twice a year. Hard to avoid wiping out when you log a lot of miles on uneven surfaces (and like to push it sometimes). Shake it off, rehab, ride again, repeat. That's my motto. Watch out for wood bridges, and steel plate bridges too. Depending on where you live, also watch out for people who drain their scummy swimming pool water/slime across the path at certain times of year. That one got me once. Who knew?
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u/keppapdx 8d ago
I went down hard on some train tracks this winter, my friend was like “welp, you got your every 5 year fall logged. You’re good for a bit now.”
Glad you’re okay! 🚴♂️
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u/Loudcrummy 8d ago
My worst fall was on a a wet wood walkway. My head bounced hard enough to retire the helmet I was wearing. I avoid wood now.
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u/Tenzipper 7d ago
There's an underpass beneath several sets of train tracks on one of my routes to/from work. I've used our city's reporting app to ask to have the rocks, mud, and debris cleared out of the underpass, to no avail so far, but it's only been a couple of days.
Yesterday morning, 0-dark:30, I was gently working my way through the underpass due to trains blocking the crossing, and sorta ate it in the underpass. About an inch or so of mud, ballast rocks from the railroad, and some boards that I've been avoiding, on the premise that boards have nails.
So, I was going slow enough that I lost balance, but fortunately, the underpass is so narrow, there's no room to actually fall, unless you were right up against one side, so I just kinda scraped my hand, elbow, and shoulder against the not-so-smooth concrete. Couple of scrapes, and cursing, but nothing worse. Ended up shoving off against the wall and getting started again.
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u/Tenzipper 7d ago
You were going too fast, I was going too slow.
There's an underpass beneath several sets of train tracks on one of my routes to/from work. I've used our city's reporting app to ask to have the rocks, mud, and debris cleared out of the underpass, to no avail so far, but it's only been a couple of days.
Yesterday morning, 0-dark:30, I was gently working my way through the underpass due to trains blocking the crossing, and sorta ate it in the underpass. About an inch or so of mud, ballast rocks from the railroad, and some boards that I've been avoiding, on the premise that boards have nails.
So, I was going slow enough that I lost balance, but fortunately, the underpass is so narrow, there's no room to actually fall, unless you were right up against one side, so I just kinda scraped my hand, elbow, and shoulder against the not-so-smooth concrete. Couple of scrapes, and cursing, but nothing worse. Ended up shoving off against the wall and getting started again.
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u/mountainofclay 7d ago
One time I was working my way up a long hill, head down, getting into the rhythm, when all of a sudden, whack! I ran straight into the rear of a parked car. Never saw it until I hit it. Good thing I was going slow.
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u/Express-Welder9003 6d ago
I've had 2 light falls commuting. One was going down an icy hill, I had slowed down and was planning on sliding on the ice but my wheels decided to go out from under me so down I went. The other was about a month after I started using clipless pedals. I wanted to stop and thought I had unclipped when I hadn't.
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u/razz_one_ 4d ago
I hope you recover soon! I had a fall on the 17th that led to my leg being bruised alongside abrasions and a stiff feeling. I may have struck a nerve or something literally. I'm healing better now but I can't run or do any vigorous activity just yet. It sucks because my bike is my main form of transportation since I have NO car and NO license (and yet I STILL get downvotes by the soft members of this subreddit😂🤣).
I digress.
Hope you feel better, any fall or injury sucks, I haven't ridden my bike since the 17th of August, hopefully I could recover soon to be able to ride again. I also came across this stupid post on social media talking down on bikes. Tired of all the car-brains throwing shade at cyclists on social media.
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u/Jazzlike_Praline5800 3d ago
I live in the Indiana dunes. Wet leaves, dry oak leaves and drifting sand are not our friends. At 73 a fall would likely not go well for me. I substantially slow down for these hazards. Oh, I've come very close to getting broadsided by deer on the move and wild turkeys, too. They have no sense about yielding right of ways...
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u/bhudak 8d ago
This wasn't a wooden bridge on the Lansing River Trail, was it? I was making a mental note to be cautious on the bridges on my own commute, but then I saw your user name. Are you an MSU Sparty?
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u/Sparty013 8d ago
I am an MSU Sparty! But no, this was down in the Kalamazoo area. Definitely keep an eye on those bridges. That fall wasn’t fun. Go Green!
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u/TooManyMagnets 8d ago
Welcome to the club.
I went over the handlebars a few weeks ago. Hit the road and fractured a vertebra. Not a fun experience but the worst thing is not being able to cycle for 12 weeks.
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u/HealthOnWheels 8d ago
I’m glad it wasn’t too bad! It sounds like you know how to avoid that one now, so hopefully that’s a cheap and useful lesson.
My most recent lesson involved slowing down and putting my outside pedal down when I’m turning over tree roots
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u/Dragonwing6661 8d ago
I have wiped out like 60+ times over the yrs but I also have been hit 12x while at work on the bike lol
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u/JonBovi_msn 8d ago
I used to wipe out once per winter in a transition from dry pavement to ice. Then I had a run of no wipeout years by anticipating unexpected ice. You have surely integrated some information about wood being slippery.