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I fell off my bike today


drsolly

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I fell off my bike today, twice! The first time was, of course, my own stupidity. I use a folding electric bike; I got the bike out of the car, and unfolded it. It was raining, so I had my waterproofs on, and I had the PDA in an Aquapac. I got on the bike and set off. But ...

 

1) I had the front wheel the wrong way round. This, I think, reduced stability.

2) I'd forgotten to unfold the right pedal, so my foot slipped off it when I tried to make progress

3) Most importantly, with the front wheel the wrong way round, the electric motor sent me backwards.

 

I think it was the third of these that had the most effect. I fell off pretty much immediately; the bike just seemed to be uncontrollable. That's because it was going backwards, and I was trying to balance as if it were going forwards.

 

So I lay on the road, wondering what just happened, and how come the bike is on top of me instead of the more normal way round, and it was at that moment that my left leg decided to add cramp to my problems.

 

So I lay there, moaning (which I find helps, if not done too loudly) and straightening my left leg until the cramp subsided, then crawled out from under the bike, gathered up the PDA from the puddle it was swimming around in, and noted that the claims made by Aquapac, seem to be true; no water reached the PDA. Then I immediately spotted the stupid mistakes, fixed them, and pedalled off, assisted (in a forward direction) by the electric motor.

 

The second fall was a lot simpler, some hours later. I stopped the bike to do a cache, put down my left leg as the stabiliser, found that the patch of road I'd put my foot on was some inches lower than is needed to be for stability, and slowly, but inexorably, toppled over to my left. You know, there's this moment when you know you're about to fall, and there's nothing you can do about it except hope that it doesn't do too much damage. To me, that is; I care about the bike a bit, but not as much as I care about me.

 

In both cases, the main point of impact was my left knee.

 

But I've been having another problem; when I dismount, my left knee knocks against the back carrier, which is a lot harder than my knee, and so although my knee does no damage at all to the back carrier, the back carrier inflicts an ever-increasing bruise on my left knee. Obviously, I've been trying to dismount more carefully, and swing my left leg higher, but I've also started wearing a neoprene bracer on my left knee, to help protect it from this bruising. And that's worked well.

 

And so, luckily, the neoprene took a lot of the impact from the two falls.

 

Not all, though. I'm just stuck a plaster on my left knee, to protect it over the next few days (and I'll continue wearing the neoprene). I'll be out biking again tomorrow, unless when I wake up in the morning my left knee refuses to cooperate.

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I really hope that you're ok tomorrow, particularly your knee and would like to thank you for a post which made me laugh out loud as opposed to others I have been reading which have left me feeling rather depressed! On this note I think it's time for bed.

 

(Just to clarify, I don't usually laugh at other people's misfortunes - especially someone I don't know, and had I been there I would have been appropriately concerned and helpful. However, it was the image of the bike suddenly starting to go backwards without warning that amused me!)

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I really hope that you're ok tomorrow, particularly your knee and would like to thank you for a post which made me laugh out loud as opposed to others I have been reading which have left me feeling rather depressed! On this note I think it's time for bed.

 

(Just to clarify, I don't usually laugh at other people's misfortunes - especially someone I don't know, and had I been there I would have been appropriately concerned and helpful. However, it was the image of the bike suddenly starting to go backwards without warning that amused me!)

 

Well, I laughed. And I was the one who fell. So you can too.

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You (or your knee) might find something like a Specialized Command seatpost helps. You can set three heights in it so that when you're riding you can have it at one height but then drop it for dis/mounting. I think it was originally designed for mountain bike riders who might want one height for power and another for more technical terrain but it might help with your knee problem. Whether it will fit in a folding bike, I have no idea.

 

Your second story sounds like the time I hit a big sheet of ice on my bike, you get to the point where you know you're going down and just hope it doesn't hurt too much. Being able to laugh about it always helps.

 

:laughing:

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I laughed too, with a feeling of growing recognition because as that is what I am like on a (normal) bike all the time! I also said a few quiet 'OOOh!'s over the cramp and your knee, so hope that helped. :lol:

 

I'm not sure what a 'back carrier' is on a bike (some kind of bag at the back of the bike, I hope) but perhaps you could get a softer one?

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Sorry drsolly, but your story had me laughing so much there were tears rolling down my face. It's the way you tell 'em! Not laughing at your pain of course, it was just the bit about the electric motor sending you backwards! :laughing:

 

Hope you heal up soon. You've reminded me I need to get an Aquapac, good to hear that it's actually doing its job!

 

Cass

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With due deference to your previous recoded geocaching injury from a dog, maybe the bike should be ordered to be under proper control, on a leash perhaps, blame the owners and if it still doesn't see the error or it's ways have it put down. :laughing: :laughing:

Have you tried threatening the bike with your stick?

 

You know, the old 'let it know whose boss' thing...

At the moment it looks like it thinks IT is the boss.

 

As I have a 'bad knee' myself, you have my sympathy.

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With due deference to your previous recoded geocaching injury from a dog, maybe the bike should be ordered to be under proper control, on a leash perhaps, blame the owners and if it still doesn't see the error or it's ways have it put down. :laughing: :laughing:

 

The dog bite is still mending nicely, and is on the other leg from the one that I just grazed by falling off the bike.

 

What I need on the bike, is a third wheel, and maybe even a fourth! Unfortunately, that would mean I wouldn't be able to get it through many bridleways.

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sounds like YOU are a danger to yourself, forget the folding electric bike and walk :lol:

 

pardon my ignorance, but why does an electric bike need pedals? :blink:

 

Unfortunately, my old problem of plantar fascitis has returned, which means I need to do as little walking as possible to give it a chance to heal. So I'm doing as much as possible by bike.

 

An electric bike needs pedals because a better term for it would be an electrically-assisted bike. Legally, they're limited to 250 watts in the UK, so they don't really have enough oomph to not need pedals. The electric motor is really a bit like having a strong wind at your back. But for someone with my age and knee-power, every little helps!

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With due deference to your previous recoded geocaching injury from a dog, maybe the bike should be ordered to be under proper control, on a leash perhaps, blame the owners and if it still doesn't see the error or it's ways have it put down. :laughing: :laughing:

Have you tried threatening the bike with your stick?

 

You know, the old 'let it know whose boss' thing...

At the moment it looks like it thinks IT is the boss.

 

As I have a 'bad knee' myself, you have my sympathy.

 

Like this:

 

 

Bikes respond better to kindness.

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first the dog now the bike they say things come in threes!!what next lighting,tree falling buy a lotto ticket see if you can break your run of bad luck B) but most of all take care :D

 

I wouldn't call it bad luck. I only ever have good luck. The dog was a bad owner, the bike was my own stupidity.

 

But for me, this is what caching is all about - going out and having adventures. Yes, sometimes an adventure means you get hurt, but the glow comes from overcoming these problems and pressing on (and finding the cache). The series I did yesterday morning, (around Wilcot) had some really excellent hides; you could see the hide and not realise that it was a hide, in some cases. But then, when light dawns, and you hold it with your hand and wiggle it, and it wiggles, and you get the feeling of triumph, "YES, GOTCHA!!" And then I went on a long bike ride around Marlborough Downs; most of the hides fairly ordinary (except for the rat), but great views, and great weather, and I met a couple of well-behaved dogs, and introduced a small group of muggles to the game. And as I was standing on the edge of the downs, basking in the sun, standing by the bike, and drinking a bottle of water, I was thinking, this is why I'm here.

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You (or your knee) might find something like a Specialized Command seatpost helps. You can set three heights in it so that when you're riding you can have it at one height but then drop it for dis/mounting. I think it was originally designed for mountain bike riders who might want one height for power and another for more technical terrain but it might help with your knee problem. Whether it will fit in a folding bike, I have no idea.

 

That sounded good, so I looked it up. £250. Wow.

 

That would help with the dismount, but not the put-the-wheel-on-backwards issue.

 

I'll put that in the category of "Would be nice" and take more care when dismounting.

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You (or your knee) might find something like a Specialized Command seatpost helps. You can set three heights in it so that when you're riding you can have it at one height but then drop it for dis/mounting. I think it was originally designed for mountain bike riders who might want one height for power and another for more technical terrain but it might help with your knee problem. Whether it will fit in a folding bike, I have no idea.

 

That sounded good, so I looked it up. £250. Wow.

 

That would help with the dismount, but not the put-the-wheel-on-backwards issue.

 

I'll put that in the category of "Would be nice" and take more care when dismounting.

 

It's not cheap, that's for sure. I guess if you have problems banging your knee when dis/mounting the question is whether it's worth it to save the discomfort.

 

Not sure what to do about the wheel issue. If you had a bike with disk brakes it's immediately obvious if the wheel is on the wrong way. Don't know if you can get an electric bike with disk brakes, although I'd hazard a guess that a new electric bike is an expensive way to avoid a rare mistake.

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You (or your knee) might find something like a Specialized Command seatpost helps. You can set three heights in it so that when you're riding you can have it at one height but then drop it for dis/mounting. I think it was originally designed for mountain bike riders who might want one height for power and another for more technical terrain but it might help with your knee problem. Whether it will fit in a folding bike, I have no idea.

 

That sounded good, so I looked it up. £250. Wow.

 

That would help with the dismount, but not the put-the-wheel-on-backwards issue.

 

I'll put that in the category of "Would be nice" and take more care when dismounting.

 

It's not cheap, that's for sure. I guess if you have problems banging your knee when dis/mounting the question is whether it's worth it to save the discomfort.

 

Not sure what to do about the wheel issue. If you had a bike with disk brakes it's immediately obvious if the wheel is on the wrong way. Don't know if you can get an electric bike with disk brakes, although I'd hazard a guess that a new electric bike is an expensive way to avoid a rare mistake.

 

I have a front reflector, it's easy to see which way round it needs to be. I was just being stupid. The cure for being stupid, is I fall off my bike, then I don't make the same mistake again. Unless I'm really, really stupid.

 

On the banged-knee issue. I'm currently using a neoprene knee-bandage, which gives some protection, but I just had a great idea, and got out my old skateboard knee-protectors (don't ask) and I'll use those, at least until my hurt knee heals up. It means that if I fall off again, it's less likely to open up the existing wound.

 

An electric bike is just a bike to which is added a motor, battery and some electronics. I could retro-fit disk brakes. I currently have callipers, are disks a big advantage? Remember, I'm not racing the bike, and I'm usually just bumping along a bridleway or towpath.

 

Most of my biking experience was 40 years ago; three Sturmey-Archer gears and I could cycle up Castle Hill without getting too puffed.

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With due deference to your previous recoded geocaching injury from a dog, maybe the bike should be ordered to be under proper control, on a leash perhaps, blame the owners and if it still doesn't see the error or it's ways have it put down. :laughing: :laughing:

 

The dog bite is still mending nicely, and is on the other leg from the one that I just grazed by falling off the bike.

 

What I need on the bike, is a third wheel, and maybe even a fourth! Unfortunately, that would mean I wouldn't be able to get it through many bridleways.

 

Indeed I know the problem of bridleways with four, sometimes three wheels intimately.

If only they would stop those darned horses churning up the surface of bridleways, my life would be so much easier ...

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You (or your knee) might find something like a Specialized Command seatpost helps. You can set three heights in it so that when you're riding you can have it at one height but then drop it for dis/mounting. I think it was originally designed for mountain bike riders who might want one height for power and another for more technical terrain but it might help with your knee problem. Whether it will fit in a folding bike, I have no idea.

 

That sounded good, so I looked it up. £250. Wow.

 

That would help with the dismount, but not the put-the-wheel-on-backwards issue.

 

I'll put that in the category of "Would be nice" and take more care when dismounting.

 

It's not cheap, that's for sure. I guess if you have problems banging your knee when dis/mounting the question is whether it's worth it to save the discomfort.

 

Not sure what to do about the wheel issue. If you had a bike with disk brakes it's immediately obvious if the wheel is on the wrong way. Don't know if you can get an electric bike with disk brakes, although I'd hazard a guess that a new electric bike is an expensive way to avoid a rare mistake.

 

I have a front reflector, it's easy to see which way round it needs to be. I was just being stupid. The cure for being stupid, is I fall off my bike, then I don't make the same mistake again. Unless I'm really, really stupid.

 

On the banged-knee issue. I'm currently using a neoprene knee-bandage, which gives some protection, but I just had a great idea, and got out my old skateboard knee-protectors (don't ask) and I'll use those, at least until my hurt knee heals up. It means that if I fall off again, it's less likely to open up the existing wound.

 

An electric bike is just a bike to which is added a motor, battery and some electronics. I could retro-fit disk brakes. I currently have callipers, are disks a big advantage? Remember, I'm not racing the bike, and I'm usually just bumping along a bridleway or towpath.

 

Most of my biking experience was 40 years ago; three Sturmey-Archer gears and I could cycle up Castle Hill without getting too puffed.

 

Disk brakes mean you can stop fast. You could retro fit disk brakes but it would be a HUGE help if the forks and frame are designed to take them. You'd also need wheels that could take disk brakes, so it's not necessarily a trivial (or cheap) process.

 

After riding my road bike (with rim brakes) for a few days when I got on my mountain bike (with disk brakes) it surprised me just how fast they activated and how fast they stopped. I suspect the road bike might want new brake pads but even so the difference is quite something. The downside is the amount of rubber I must scrape off on the road when I bang the brakes hard.

 

Alternatively if you put quick release skewers on your wheels you might always know that the QR lever always goes to the same side. That's probably cheaper than retrofitting disk brakes.

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(Just to clarify, I don't usually laugh at other people's misfortunes - especially someone I don't know, and had I been there I would have been appropriately concerned and helpful. However, it was the image of the bike suddenly starting to go backwards without warning that amused me!)

 

This was my own thought exactly ... I could clearly see the image of the bike going backwards!

(And nearly spurted my Cappachino all over the laptop)

I would never have replied admitting this though .... till i read your reply. :rolleyes:

 

I too hope you are ok, and thank you for making me laugh out loud. :lol:

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(Just to clarify, I don't usually laugh at other people's misfortunes - especially someone I don't know, and had I been there I would have been appropriately concerned and helpful. However, it was the image of the bike suddenly starting to go backwards without warning that amused me!)

 

This was my own thought exactly ... I could clearly see the image of the bike going backwards!

(And nearly spurted my Cappachino all over the laptop)

I would never have replied admitting this though .... till i read your reply. :rolleyes:

 

I too hope you are ok, and thank you for making me laugh out loud. :lol:

 

Glad I'm not the only one!

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(Just to clarify, I don't usually laugh at other people's misfortunes - especially someone I don't know, and had I been there I would have been appropriately concerned and helpful. However, it was the image of the bike suddenly starting to go backwards without warning that amused me!)

 

This was my own thought exactly ... I could clearly see the image of the bike going backwards!

(And nearly spurted my Cappachino all over the laptop)

I would never have replied admitting this though .... till i read your reply. :rolleyes:

 

I too hope you are ok, and thank you for making me laugh out loud. :lol:

 

Glad I'm not the only one!

And me! :lol:

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i must admit it was before i started caching i was out for a plesent cycle ride with my wife and 2 sons and i thaught i would show the how to ride down the side of an enbankment (i wasn't showing off honestly) and had a good speed going untill i got to the bottom and noticed a 4foot wide 6foot deep gully and yes i made the mistake of slamming my front breaks on catapulting me over the handlebars onto my back infront of several members of the public after an unconvincing attempt to regame my dignaty sent most of them into fits of laughter (well atleast i made someone smile)luckly no injurys on my behalf just very embarrissed. :blink::anibad::anibad::anibad::anibad:

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I must say that when you said you fell off twice, I wondered whether dogs had been involved. Glad you're ok, but shouldn't you carry the odd pack of slugs on which to let your left knee fall if you're going to take this up as a regular occupation?

 

<_<

 

No dogs were involved, I self-harmed without any assistance from animals, just me and my bike.

 

I went out again yesterday, around Bluewater and Gravesend, on the bike. You know those knee-pads that people wear when they get down on their knees to scrub the floor? I wore one of those on my left knee. It didn't help in the slightest, so I took it off before doing the last cache, at which point I found myself on very uneven ground, round the back of an old willow, and needing to kneel down on my left knee.

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i must admit it was before i started caching i was out for a plesent cycle ride with my wife and 2 sons and i thaught i would show the how to ride down the side of an enbankment (i wasn't showing off honestly) and had a good speed going untill i got to the bottom and noticed a 4foot wide 6foot deep gully and yes i made the mistake of slamming my front breaks on catapulting me over the handlebars onto my back infront of several members of the public after an unconvincing attempt to regame my dignaty sent most of them into fits of laughter (well atleast i made someone smile)luckly no injurys on my behalf just very embarrissed. :blink::anibad::anibad::anibad::anibad:

 

Falling off a bike is never dignified, and can't be made to look dignified. As one who has fallen off many times, I can assure you of this.

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Oops!

Seems like a rather fundamental design flaw that putting the wheel on wrong makes it go backwards. If that's the case, it should be 'handed'. Also, I thought electric bikes drove the back wheel, so why would putting the front wheel on wrong change the polarity of the motor?

 

But an amusing story all the same. I'm sure all of us who cycle a bit will have similar stories of knowing what's about to happen and being able to do sod all about it! :laughing: At least there wasn't a pack of wild dogs around to add to your troubles.

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Falling off a bike is never dignified, and can't be made to look dignified. As one who has fallen off many times, I can assure you of this.

 

I guess if you fall in a fast-flowing river it carries you away before anyone can identify who it was who just spectacularly lost their last shreds of dignity...

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Oops!

Seems like a rather fundamental design flaw that putting the wheel on wrong makes it go backwards. If that's the case, it should be 'handed'. Also, I thought electric bikes drove the back wheel, so why would putting the front wheel on wrong change the polarity of the motor?

 

But an amusing story all the same. I'm sure all of us who cycle a bit will have similar stories of knowing what's about to happen and being able to do sod all about it! :laughing: At least there wasn't a pack of wild dogs around to add to your troubles.

 

To be more precise - when I unfold the bike, I don't put the wheel on, I attach the handlebars and the vertical bar they're attached to, to the frame that holds the wheel. And I had those back to front, which meant, when I held the handlebars as per usual, the wheel was back to front.

 

My bike is a conversion, and it's easier to convert the front wheel, without the gears etc, than the back. But other bikes I've seen also drive the front wheel.

 

Yes, all I needed was a pack of hyenas to sit around and laugh at me.

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Falling off a bike is never dignified, and can't be made to look dignified. As one who has fallen off many times, I can assure you of this.

 

I guess if you fall in a fast-flowing river it carries you away before anyone can identify who it was who just spectacularly lost their last shreds of dignity...

 

I nearly fell off into a canal once. I went down the slope next to a lock, and at the bottom, the bike just skidded out from under me. SimplyPaul was riding behind me, and he said I did a perfect tuck-and-roll (about two feet from the edge), bounced up, got back on the bike and continued on. So I suppose a quantum of dignity was preserved in that case.

 

Like I said, I'm hugely experienced in falling off bikes.

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I nearly fell off into a canal once. I went down the slope next to a lock, and at the bottom, the bike just skidded out from under me. SimplyPaul was riding behind me, and he said I did a perfect tuck-and-roll (about two feet from the edge), bounced up, got back on the bike and continued on. So I suppose a quantum of dignity was preserved in that case.

 

The time I turned up to help at rowing practice I was asked to cycle along the tow path and supervise one of the junior crews going out. I tried to explain that I couldn't really ride a bike and there was a good chance of me cycling into the water (and if there were a spare horse anywhere, I could manage on that instead) but they didn't believe me. Until, that is we set off and instead of setting off down the road to the bridge, I cycled straight into the side of the club house and fell off. Then they believed me.

Edited by Fianccetto
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I nearly fell off into a canal once. I went down the slope next to a lock, and at the bottom, the bike just skidded out from under me. SimplyPaul was riding behind me, and he said I did a perfect tuck-and-roll (about two feet from the edge), bounced up, got back on the bike and continued on. So I suppose a quantum of dignity was preserved in that case.

 

Like I said, I'm hugely experienced in falling off bikes.

 

Wow, I only ever managed to fall off once on a big sheet of ice I didn't see before I squeezed the brakes. In fairness that was the kind of fall that hurt my ego more than my body or my bike.

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