First crash today

[Luigi de Guzman]

first crash today since I was seven .

coming up to the red light at the intersection of Tooley St. and
Borough High St, right at London Bridge. sharing lane with black car.
black car seems to nudge a little to the left. nudges handlebars.
luigi goes sailing over the bars.

observation: time really does slow down when you're falling. i felt
like i was in the air forever. i see my arms come clean off the bars,
and go over my head.

I land on my elbow, not my forehead. I'm not wearing a h*****.

roll around in the gutter, dazed.

passers-by ask if I'm okay. I get up, i pick up my bike, i'm dizzy.
someone helps me to a nearby wall. black car driver comes out to see
if I'm okay. I am unhurt, or at least not badly hurt.

passerby asks if I'm okay, if there was a crash, was he--pointing at
car--involved? absently i wonder if I have to do anything. i'm more
concerned with getting myself looked-at and getting to school.

i try to explain what happened to driver, who either cannot hear or
understand me. it doesn't matter. i'm not thinking straight either.

i cross the street to Guy's Hospital, ask for the Minor Injuries unit.
after some waiting,during which i see someone wheeled out, presumably
towards the 'Tis-but-a-flesh-wound Unit, and several people who are
very calmly dressed and not outwardly injured go before me, a nurse
calls my name and I sit down. she cleans up the road rash, such as it
is (small patch on elbow where I landed), has me test my range of
motion (complete. nothing broken) and cleans the blood off my toes
(was wearing sandals. stubbed two smallest toes on right foot, on
landing).

I get out, pull out an allen key, fix my stem so that I can steer, and
ride the rest of the way towards school, from which I write this
report.

so i'm waiting for the blame. go ahead and shout at my lane placement.
i was where everybody else rides, out of the gutter, clear of the
doorzone, not in the full lane. I've taken that intersection many
times before. I crashed today.

i'm lucky to have gotten off so lightly. no head injuries, no broken
limbs. no ugliness--and to have crashed across the street from Guy's
Hospital. Otherwise.

mind how you go out there.

-Luigi

[RG]

"Luigi de Guzman" > wrote in message
om...
> first crash today since I was seven .
>
> coming up to the red light at the intersection of Tooley St. and
> Borough High St, right at London Bridge. sharing lane with black car.
> black car seems to nudge a little to the left. nudges handlebars.
> luigi goes sailing over the bars.
>
> observation: time really does slow down when you're falling. i felt
> like i was in the air forever. i see my arms come clean off the bars,
> and go over my head.
>
> I land on my elbow, not my forehead. I'm not wearing a h*****.


I would suggest you go home past Waterloo and call in on Mr Evans to buy a
helmet - even Guys Hospital will struggle to repair broken brains!

RG




>
> roll around in the gutter, dazed.
>
> passers-by ask if I'm okay. I get up, i pick up my bike, i'm dizzy.
> someone helps me to a nearby wall. black car driver comes out to see
> if I'm okay. I am unhurt, or at least not badly hurt.
>
> passerby asks if I'm okay, if there was a crash, was he--pointing at
> car--involved? absently i wonder if I have to do anything. i'm more
> concerned with getting myself looked-at and getting to school.
>
> i try to explain what happened to driver, who either cannot hear or
> understand me. it doesn't matter. i'm not thinking straight either.
>
> i cross the street to Guy's Hospital, ask for the Minor Injuries unit.
> after some waiting,during which i see someone wheeled out, presumably
> towards the 'Tis-but-a-flesh-wound Unit, and several people who are
> very calmly dressed and not outwardly injured go before me, a nurse
> calls my name and I sit down. she cleans up the road rash, such as it
> is (small patch on elbow where I landed), has me test my range of
> motion (complete. nothing broken) and cleans the blood off my toes
> (was wearing sandals. stubbed two smallest toes on right foot, on
> landing).
>
> I get out, pull out an allen key, fix my stem so that I can steer, and
> ride the rest of the way towards school, from which I write this
> report.
>
> so i'm waiting for the blame. go ahead and shout at my lane placement.
> i was where everybody else rides, out of the gutter, clear of the
> doorzone, not in the full lane. I've taken that intersection many
> times before. I crashed today.
>
> i'm lucky to have gotten off so lightly. no head injuries, no broken
> limbs. no ugliness--and to have crashed across the street from Guy's
> Hospital. Otherwise.
>
> mind how you go out there.
>
> -Luigi

[Robin Hubert]

"RG" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Luigi de Guzman" > wrote in message
> om...
> > first crash today since I was seven .
> >
> > coming up to the red light at the intersection of Tooley St. and
> > Borough High St, right at London Bridge. sharing lane with black car.
> > black car seems to nudge a little to the left. nudges handlebars.
> > luigi goes sailing over the bars.
> >
> > observation: time really does slow down when you're falling. i felt
> > like i was in the air forever. i see my arms come clean off the bars,
> > and go over my head.
> >
> > I land on my elbow, not my forehead. I'm not wearing a h*****.
>
>
> I would suggest you go home past Waterloo and call in on Mr Evans to buy a
> helmet - even Guys Hospital will struggle to repair broken brains!
>
> RG

Helmet thread!!!



--
Robin Hubert >

[dlj0@Lehigh.EDU]

In article >,
(Luigi de Guzman) writes:
>first crash today since I was seven .
>
>coming up to the red light at the intersection of Tooley St. and
>Borough High St, right at London Bridge. sharing lane with black car.
> black car seems to nudge a little to the left. nudges handlebars.
>luigi goes sailing over the bars.

Problem here is that the two of you were too close. Overtaking vehicles have
to give adequate clearance regardless of vehicle mass. Who was overtaking
whom? If you were both going the same speed, why "share" the lane? Hard to
place blame on either operator without knowing more, but is blame really what
you want to assess? You got through it with only a minor owie. The driver
apparently did not get his paint scratched. Chalk it up to experience and be
sure to give adequate clearance when passing, and demand it when being passed,
but don't share a lane with a car.


David L. Johnson
Department of Mathematics
Lehigh University

[Fraggle]

(Luigi de Guzman) wrote in
om:

> first crash today since I was seven .
>
> coming up to the red light at the intersection of Tooley St. and
> Borough High St, right at London Bridge. sharing lane with black car.
> black car seems to nudge a little to the left. nudges handlebars.
> luigi goes sailing over the bars.
<snip>
> so i'm waiting for the blame. go ahead and shout at my lane placement.
<snip>
> -Luigi

No one in internet land can tell you if anything you did lead to the
accident, mull over in your mind if YOU think you were in the wrong. If
you were not then don't beat yourself up! Even if you could have done it
different then don't beat yourself up, just think "next time I will
do...."

I would also try and cycle in quite areas for a few days, build your
confidence back up.

being hit is nasty, but not the end of the world

Also if you have not read "cyclecraft" I think it is worth a read.
http://www.pickabook.co.uk//cgi-bin/bkdetail.pl?isbn=0117020516

Fragg

[reset@mailandnews.com]

On Mon, 11 Aug 2003 15:49:04 GMT, "Sorni" >
wrote:

>"RG" > wrote in message
...
>>
>> "Luigi de Guzman" > wrote in message
>> om...
>> > first crash today since I was seven .
>> >
>> > I land on my elbow, not my forehead. I'm not wearing a h*****.
>>
>> I would suggest you go home past Waterloo and call in on Mr Evans to buy a
>> helmet - even Guys Hospital will struggle to repair broken brains!
>
>> > (was wearing sandals. stubbed two smallest toes on right foot, on
>> > landing).
>
>And some shoes!
>
>Bill "sandal thread! for Robin" S.
>
>
http://softline-online.com/english/airbag/airbag.htm

"STRUCTURE OF OUR SAFETY AIRBAG JACKET
Our airbag system consists of jacket and airbag vest:
- Jacket:
The motorcycle jacket is attached by an airbag system in the type of
vest, removable easily from the jacket.
The jacket is wearable without air bag system but installed by
optional CE certified protectors
- Air bag vest:
Our jacket consists of liner-type vest and the vest contains the air
bag so that it is very easy and quick to assemble or dismantle.
This liner-type vest is installed with air bag system, easily attached
and removable, in order to protect neck, body, and hip.

FUNCTION
As soon as a rider wearing a jacket equipped with airbag being thrown
away from a motorcycle by the impact of a sudden accident, the trigger
in the key box hits the gas cartridge pulled by a coil wire fixed to
the motorcycle, to release the CO2 gas into airbags installed in the
vest within 0.5 second like the air bag in a car working by impact
sensor.
The swollen airbag protects a rider's neck, body and hip by buffering
from the impact of crash, and the swollen airbag becomes deflated
through gas release valve, to make a rider feel comfortable.
One of the features is that another airbag runs beneath the gas
distributing compartment in order to protect the rider's breast from
the projecting objects in case of an accident.
The swollen airbag becomes deflated gradually through gas release
valve within 10 seconds, to make a rider feel comfortable. In case of
difficulty in tightness or in breathing, unfasten the front zipper of
your jacket. "

[Zoot Katz]

11 Aug 2003 06:24:45 -0700,
>,
(Luigi de Guzman) wrote:

>first crash today since I was seven .

Let's just hope it's not the start of a trend.

Glad to hear you're okay.
--
zk

[Rick Onanian]

On Mon, 11 Aug 2003 15:49:04 GMT, Sorni > wrote:
>> I would suggest you go home past Waterloo and call in on Mr Evans to buy
> helmet - even Guys Hospital will struggle to repair broken brains!
>
>> > (was wearing sandals. stubbed two smallest toes on right foot, on
>> > landing).
>
> And some shoes!

My feet are damn tired of being in shoes. I want sandals!

My ingrown toenail has gotten much better, you can't even
tell now, since I started wearing sandals whenever I could.

I will now proceed to acquire SPD sandals.

> Bill "sandal thread! for Robin" S.
--
Rick Onanian

[Joe Potter]

Luigi de Guzman wrote:

> first crash today since I was seven .
> ...
>
> -Luigi

So did I this last week.


I am 51 and took up cycling for health reasons on doctors orders. (I can not
jog or walk due to knee problems)

Here in Orlando it has been raining for about three months. We have ten
thousand darn Oak trees --- many in my yard. Well, they give off some darn
black stuff that collects on the street and is pure oil when it is wet.

I hit a patch and then the road. Damn well surprised an old fella.

Nothing in life is totally safe. I will tell the Doc that his cure may yet
kill me! :-) But, I find that I love to cycle. Shoot, I now have bikes all
over my garage.


--
Regards, Joe

[Rick Onanian]

On 11 Aug 2003 18:44:48 GMT, Fraggle > wrote:
> No one in internet land can tell you if anything you did lead to the
> accident, mull over in your mind if YOU think you were in the wrong. If
> you were not then don't beat yourself up! Even if you could have done it

Whether or not you were in the wrong, you should still
try to think of ways you could have avoided it.

Fault doesn't matter in the end; you're just as dead /
broken / whatever injury, regardless of whose fault it
is, when it has happened.

Fault is good for determining who pays the bills.

However, as another poster said...the odds catch up
to you, no matter how careful you are, if you ride
enough. Sooner or later the odds will catch up with
me, and I can only hope it's as minor.

> Fragg
--
Rick Onanian

[David L. Johnson]

On Mon, 11 Aug 2003 20:24:17 +0000, Rick Onanian wrote:

> I will now proceed to acquire SPD sandals.

They are great for all but the longest rides. I tend to wear mine all day
-- in fact I have them on right now.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored
_`\(,_ | by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. --Ralph Waldo
(_)/ (_) | Emerson

[Hunrobe]

I'm glad that you're okay.
No h****t comment, no "you should have" advice.

Regards,
Bob Hunt

[Pat]

x-no-archive:yes

>
> The funny thing is that folks who walk for miles and miles wonder at how I
> can ride my bike for so far, and for so long. Little do they know that
> cycling is far easier and much more funthan walking.
>
>
>
> --
> Regards, Joe

Duh! Coasting is my best skill! :P Everytime I pass a runner, I marvel
because if they knew about coasting, they'd ride bikes, too....and cycling
gets you places faster, and cycling creates its own little breeze so you're
not so hot...and....

Pat in TX

[Luigi de Guzman]

Joe Potter > wrote in message >...
> Luigi de Guzman wrote:
>
> > first crash today since I was seven .
> > ...
> >
> > -Luigi
>
> So did I this last week.
>
>
> I am 51 and took up cycling for health reasons on doctors orders. (I can not
> jog or walk due to knee problems)
>
> Here in Orlando it has been raining for about three months. We have ten
> thousand darn Oak trees --- many in my yard. Well, they give off some darn
> black stuff that collects on the street and is pure oil when it is wet.
>
> I hit a patch and then the road. Damn well surprised an old fella.

Ow.

If it makes you feel any better, that's more or less what happened to
Joseba Beloki.

Except that Beloki's going to be out of the saddle for a long time...


>
> Nothing in life is totally safe. I will tell the Doc that his cure may yet
> kill me! :-) But, I find that I love to cycle. Shoot, I now have bikes all
> over my garage.

Called home yesterday. Folks were very supportive...but dad told me
maybe it would be a good idea to stay off the bike for a while.

Well I rode in to school today.

*grim grin*

-Luigi

[Luigi de Guzman]

Joe Potter > wrote in message >...
> Pat wrote:
>
> > x-no-archive:yes
> >
> <snip>
> >
> > Makes you feel like a kid again, doesn't it? Just carefree and zooming
> > about without a worry. People wonder why we ride. If they knew, they'd
> > all be out there riding!

Most of the time I find it's a lot more human than driving. And far
more interesting. In a car you're cut off from your environment. On
a bike you *are* the environment (to lift a phrase from the Critical
Massers).


> >
> > Pat in TX
>
>
> Yes, spot on.
>
>
> The funny thing is that folks who walk for miles and miles wonder at how I
> can ride my bike for so far, and for so long. Little do they know that
> cycling is far easier and much more funthan walking.

The reason is fear. I think I may have put off a few of my
non-cycling friends from cycling in traffic when I told them about my
crash.

Although the way some people view fear is intriguing. There's a
fellow in my building, officer candidate material, very smooth, who
said to me last night: "I see you cycling and I think--say, there
goes one courageous fellow..." And this is a guy whose intended
profession is to be on the receiving end of hostile fire.

-Luigi

[Pat]

x-no-archive:yes

>
> Called home yesterday. Folks were very supportive...but dad told me
> maybe it would be a good idea to stay off the bike for a while.
>
> Well I rode in to school today.
>
> *grim grin*
>
> -Luigi

Yeah, parents are like that. I think it makes them feel better for having
given "good advice" but it isn't realistic. Did he want you to walk? Hope
you're not sore anymore. Confidence will take some time.

Pat in TX

[Tom Keats]

In article >,
"Pat" > writes:
> x-no-archive:yes
>
>>
>> Called home yesterday. Folks were very supportive...but dad told me
>> maybe it would be a good idea to stay off the bike for a while.
>>
>> Well I rode in to school today.
>>
>> *grim grin*
>>
>> -Luigi
>
> Yeah, parents are like that. I think it makes them feel better for having
> given "good advice" but it isn't realistic. Did he want you to walk? Hope
> you're not sore anymore. Confidence will take some time.

Also, I figure a bit of the old "getting back on the horse right
away after being thrown" comes into play.

Once one rationalization for not riding sets in, the rest follow.
Best to nip that in the bud.

Y'know, I never could understand those off-road freeriders who seem
to delight in getting injured to the point of not being able to ride
for months on end. And then going and doing it again. I guess the
riding addiction takes various forms.


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Powered by FreeBSD
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

[Zoot Katz]

Tue, 12 Aug 2003 09:05:22 GMT,
>,
Joe Potter > wrote:

>Little do they know that
>cycling is far easier and much more funthan walking.

A hummin' bean on a bike is _the_ most efficient terrestrial
locomotion in the animal kingdom and mechanical realm.
--
zk

[Rick Onanian]

On Mon, 11 Aug 2003 21:50:38 -0700, Tom Keats > wrote:
>> If he'd been wearing a helmet it would have saved his life!
>
> At least Luigi had his allen keys at-hand:
> From now on, I'm not riding at all without my allen keys.

How about a helmet made entirely out of allen keys?

Or, how about one made entirely out of Alan Keyes?

http://www.sandh.com/keyes/PORTRAIT.JPG

> cheers,
> Tom
--
Rick Onanian

[Leonard Migliore]

In article >, Zoot Katz
> wrote:

> Tue, 12 Aug 2003 09:05:22 GMT,
> >,
> Joe Potter > wrote:
>
> >Little do they know that
> >cycling is far easier and much more funthan walking.
>
> A hummin' bean on a bike is _the_ most efficient terrestrial
> locomotion in the animal kingdom and mechanical realm.

Even better than a kangaroo?

[Zoot Katz]

Wed, 13 Aug 2003 03:41:09 GMT, >,
Leonard Migliore > wrote:

>In article >, Zoot Katz
> wrote:
>
>> Tue, 12 Aug 2003 09:05:22 GMT,
>> >,
>> Joe Potter > wrote:
>>
>> >Little do they know that
>> >cycling is far easier and much more funthan walking.
>>
>> A hummin' bean on a bike is _the_ most efficient terrestrial
>> locomotion in the animal kingdom and mechanical realm.
>
>Even better than a kangaroo?

Apparently:

"Man, unaided by any tool, gets around quite efficiently. He carries
one gram of his weight over a kilometre in ten minutes by expending
0.75 calories. Man on his feet is thermodynamically more efficient
than any motorised vehicle and most animals. For his weight, he
performs more work in locomotion than rats or oxen, less than horses
or sturgeon. At this rate of efficiency man settled the world and made
its history. At this rate peasant societies spend less than five per
cent and nomads less than eight per cent of their respective social
time budgets outside the home or the encampment.
Man on a bicycle can go three or four times faster than the
pedestrian, but uses five times less energy in the process. He carries
one gram of his weight over a kilometre of flat road at an expense of
only 0.15 calories. The bicycle is the perfect transducer to match
man's metabolic energy to the impedance of locomotion. Equipped with
this tool, man outstrips the efficiency of not only all machines, but
all other animals as well."

-Ivan illich
Energy and Equity

--
zk

[Rick Onanian]

On Tue, 12 Aug 2003 23:32:07 -0500, wrote:
> On Tue, 12 Aug 2003 21:38:52 -0400, Rick Onanian > from
> The Esoteric c0wz' Society wrote:
>> Or, how about one made entirely out of Alan Keyes?
>> http://www.sandh.com/keyes/PORTRAIT.JPG
>
> Did you know he's made out of ground beef?

Wow. He should reconsider running for president. I'd vote for
anybody made out of ground beef!

Or, this guy could run:
http://www.truecookplus.com/0e9686b0.gif

I'd vote for him!

If not, I'd vote for the lady in the "o" in this pic:
http://www.vendaravioli.com/logo.gif

Gee, the though of food-based voting opportunities
is appetizing...

> --
> http://home.sport.rr.com/cuthulu/ human rights = peace
> World War Three can be averted by adherence to a strictly enforced dress
> code!
> 11:31:29 PM 12 August 2003
--
Rick Onanian

[Elisa Francesca Roselli]

I go all yellow-jello when I read threads like this. I'm so glad you're
OK. I'm pleased,too, to learn that one can survive a cycle crash and just
get up and ride again.

Sorry I missed you in Cambridge but in the end I went no-where near the UL
and I was afraid you'd laugh at my poor cycling if we met.

Elisa Francesca Roselli
Ile de France and hating it

Luigi de Guzman wrote:

> first crash today since I was seven .
>