Today started off as a good bike ride. That is until I crashed. I’m alright except for a few bumps and bruises; Green Lightning is alright as well. I have no excuses, I simply wasn’t paying close enough attention and lost control when my bike wheel got stuck in a crack throwing me off course. The road I was on was an asphalt road with a concrete curb. Occasionally when the road starts to crumble, the point at which the two surfaces meet crumbles first. As I was cruising down 60th at about 20mph I drifted into the crack. When my tire started to get stuck, I overcorrected to the right ended up colliding with curb. When I hit the curb I went flying – bike still attached to my cleats. Thankfully because I overcorrected to the right, I ended up landing in the grass rather than on the pavement. I whacked my head pretty good and probably should replace my helmet even though there aren’t any visible cracks. It is a few years old anyways and is due to be replaced. I also banged up my hip and shoulder on the side that hit the ground.
The red circle is roughly where my tire got stuck.
Yeah, I know it doesn’t look like much – still not quite
sure how it all happened.
I was pretty shaken up after the crash and took a few minutes to just sit in the grass and collect my thoughts. I was even able to check my email while I sat there resting – the beauty of being a gadget geek. Once I determined that I would be able make it back home, I hoped back on my bike. I immediately noticed a problem with the front brakes – they were making a cyclical rubbing sound as I slowed down. Upon further inspection, I noticed that I scuffed up the rim when I hit the curb which created an uneven breaking surface. On the way home I passed a LBS, Kentwood Cycling, and got their opinion on what to do about the rim. Taking their advice, I was able to use some fine steel wool to buff down the rough part of the rim when I got home and it riding smoothly again. I did notice a few other scratches on the crank that I must have incurred when I skidding across the curb, but those just give the bike character. Right?
Anyways, despite the crash, I ended up with a fairly decent ride. I averaged over 18mph on the ride – probably close to 19mph if had been more precise with stopping my watch at lights and what not. I cut my actual workout of 7×3 minutes at zone 5 short at 5 intervals because of the crash, but still feel I got a pretty good workout out of it.
Here is a glimpse of my battle wound on my upper thigh/hip.
I don’t think it should slow me down this week at all as it just
feels like a bruise.
1 comment
carol
July 15, 2009 at 11:15 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
wow, sux about your tire getting caught in a crack. I think about that when riding past sewer grates sometimes, guess it is possible! Glad you are okay. Heal well!