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dancing james
@veganjoseph
Had a pretty silly crash on Friday. On my way to work I took a new different 'long cut' to attempt a KOM. The segment started just round a corner on quiet streets. No traffic, no peds. Anyway, I come round the corner (knew there wouldn't be any car traffic) and scan the peripherals just to fully confirm no traffic or peds for safety. Last thing I focus on is actual the road in front of me which to my horror has a big steel barrier across to stop vehicle access. Whoops! About 5 metres away from impact and at 25+ mph I try and brake and resist the pedals but didn't help much...
The gate was at head tube/drop bar height which stopped the bike immediately. My feet unclipped and I was thrown from the bike. I went flying over the barrier in a stupendous front flip. My knee caught the barrier on the way over. I landed on the very top of my head and then onto my back/butt. The road the other side of the barrier was that weird very compacted gravel which has some loose gravel on top. I lay there for a few seconds writhing in pain and shock then assessed visible injuries. There was absolutely no one around for about a minute until one passerby asked if I was okay. I said I'd be fine and didn't need an ambulance. I thought it was a shame no one witnessed such a stupid accident. Must have looked pretty impressive. After a few minutes I got up and cycled the few miles back home possibly the slowest I have ever ridden.
Multiple cuts & scrapes on my right knee, couple more on my left elbow with a nice bump and a chunk taken out of my left hand which I believe was from a piece of gravel (luckily I was wearing gloves so could have been a lot worse). Been in bed resting up since then (now Monday). Knee got pretty damn swollen and still is but I can now fully extend and almost fully contract it again.
Wearing my helmet possibly saved my life here - at the very least my consciousness! Bike survived, although the stem got budged a few degrees off-centre which was easily fixed by loosening off the stem bolts and realigning. Hoping to be riding again tomorrow, albeit it very slowly!
Moral of the story: Don't be an idiot on roads you don't know (and always wear a helmet)!