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This topic comprises 5 pages: 1 2 3 4 5
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Author
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Topic: Have you ever gotten your memory back after an accident?
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Galen Murphy-Fahlgren
Master Film Handler
Posts: 405
From: Canton, MI, USA
Registered: Oct 2007
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posted 09-06-2009 02:15 AM
Randy, I hope you recover well and quickly. I'm glad to hear that you aren't going to let this accident get you down, and, while I'm a big advocate of helmet wearing, I agree that there are situations where their effectiveness is, well, ineffective.
Truly this is a nightmare scenario for many of us. I come from a family of cyclists. My father, aunt and uncle where highly competitive road and time trial riders in the mid-nineties in state and local amateur divisions. My father was amateur state time trial champion in his age division in '94. He fortunately has not had a serious crash in a race environment, but he has had a few close calls riding on the street. He used to ride to work about 15 miles away weather permitting. Once, riding along at probably 30-35 on the shoulder of a road, some lady in an SUV took it upon herself to clip him in the shoulderblade with her mirror, causing him to go into a ditch and hurting his arm pretty badly. He didn't have to be hospitalized over the incident, but he had pretty bad bruising and limited use of the arm for a couple of weeks. Needless to say, our worthless police didn't do a damn thing about it, even though he got a partial plate and a vehicle description. Our town is not really bike friendly.
The irony of motorists becoming irate with cyclists is that cyclists are in fact extremely accommodating of motorists. Here in Michigan, and in many other states I'm sure, a bicycle is classified as a vehicle, and consequently has full use of the road. In fact, it is technically illegal to ride a bike on a pedestrian sidewalk under the Michigan Vehicle Code. This means that a bike is subject to all laws governing the use of the road, and also is entitled to a full lane. So, I could lawfully ride my bike in the middle of the lane on a two lane street, and it would be unlawful to pass outside a designated passing zone. I say cyclists are accommodating because I've never seen a cyclist do this unnecessarily. I've ridden thousands of miles on the road, and had many close calls, most of which are due to motorists not realizing that they are legally compelled to share the road. I've had a van try to run me off the road for taking the lane when he was a few hundred feet back so that I could get to the left turn lane without waiting for a column of traffic to pass. He was in no way inconvenienced, as I indicated to him with my limited sign language vocabulary after he accelerated to bare down on me, horn blaring. I've had people turn across my path when I had the clear right of way (which I again conveyed my displeasure via sign language). And I've had almost as many near incidents commuting on my motorcycle, almost all the result of car drivers thinking that cars have an exclusive claim to the roads.
I guess my point is that, two wheels or four, we all have to be careful and attentive, and realize that our convenience and the few seconds of our time here and there are not worth someone's life.
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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today
Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99
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posted 09-06-2009 03:39 AM
quote: Galen Murphy-Fahlgren
The irony of motorists becoming irate with cyclists is that cyclists are in fact extremely accommodating of motorists.
You are speaking for the whole. Please do not do that. Not ALL cyclists are accommodating. I have seen plenty that make me need to drive into oncoming traffic to pass them. I have seen plenty who ignore clearly posted signs to get their asses up on the sidewalk and instead ride up the street where there is no bike lane. I have seen a lot of elitist attitudes from cyclists as well, as if they have MORE of a right to be there since they think they are saving the planet by not driving (they're not) and being all fit whereas motorists are lazy and fat. Your statement assumes that ALL cyclists are accommodating to motorists. Far from true.
quote: Randy Stankey
Regardless of where or when you do it, you have to consider it an "assumed-risk" sport. No matter how safely you ride... No matter how careful you are... You are going to have to accept that you WILL have an accident, even if it is only minor.
No kidding. I've never made contact with a car (that I can remember), but plenty with the ground. As a kid I used to BMX quite a bit. Crashed all the time. Got back up and made sure my cranks weren't so bent that they hit the frame on the upswing. If they were, I bent them back and continued. Then I eventually outfitted that bike with 3 piece cranks. Got the wind majorly knocked out of me when attempting a backflip once. I still have that bike. I've only taken 2 or 3 major spills on my mountain bike, but I don't feel I have anywhere near the control of that thing as I did the BMX, even though I am way too big for that bike any more. Going down hills at speed or riding on one wheel makes me very nervous on the mountain bike. Not so on the BMX. I have only ever worn a helmet once.
quote: Bobby Henderson
Yeah, you can get some road rash from longer distance rides, even if you buy a really nice after-market saddle.
Road rash is a nasty wound from falling and scraping along the surface of the road. It is also a kick ass video game for the Sega Genesis and the Panasonic 3DO. As for "saddles", I find that if I ride too much, by boys don't feel right. I have to limit my riding to maybe three times a week max, and I have a really nice seat. I don't know how guys who ride every day can cope. Maybe they just have really small balls? I think Lance Armstrong had one of his balls removed to help with this and also probably to make him lighter, faster and more aerodynamic.
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Galen Murphy-Fahlgren
Master Film Handler
Posts: 405
From: Canton, MI, USA
Registered: Oct 2007
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posted 09-06-2009 09:58 AM
Okay, an overwhelming majority of cyclists try very hard to coexist with motor traffic. I too have seen people on bikes doing very stupid things, like riding on the left shoulder or two riding abreast without taking the lane. Also, there's those videos of the lunatic Critical Mass guy attacking that car. Most people who ride bikes irresponsibly are the same people who drive recklessly, and it is not the serious cyclists like road bikers or mountain bikers. There is a culture around these activities, and it strongly shuns people who act dangerously and project a bad image of the sport.
State laws vary on where you are supposed to ride, and very few states consider a bicycle pedestrian traffic, and rightly so. In Michigan, and I believe California as well, a bike isn't supposed to be on the sidewalk ever. It is legally the same as me riding my motorcycle or driving a car down the sidewalk. I'm not saying that bike riders don't have to do their part to keep the roads safe, but it has to be cooperative. Most motorists, too, try to do the right thing, but the few that don't have a much larger impact than the cyclists who don't: literally. A small car weighs 3000 lbs now, and my bike and I weigh 150 lbs together. Consider the cost involved before you mow someone down with your car because they irritated you.
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Randy Stankey
Film God
Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 09-06-2009 12:14 PM
Hey! Look, everybody! Gory pictures! ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
This is me in the hospital. The picture was taken approx. 24 hours AFTER the accident.
This is me at home. The picture was taken just a short time ago. It is now almost a week (6 days) after the accident.
If I wear dark glasses, it doesn't look too-awful bad!
At least it doesn't scare children and small pets!
(Looks more like the Unabomber! ![[Wink]](wink.gif) )
I wish I had some pictures on the day of the accident.
By the time that first hospital picture was taken, they had given me lots of anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce the swelling and to reduce the chances of complications from the brain concussion. My face looked even WORSE before that!
As for the bike, I'm not 100% sure.
They stored the bike for me at the bike shop. I only made it 50-60 yards away from the front door before getting hit. I visited the store again after I got out of the hospital.
The front wheel was bent. The saddle was bent. The frame and the front forks didn't look bent. There were a few scratches and shit like that but it didn't SEEM to be trashed.
They are keeping the bike at the shop and they will be going over it and fixing it up during the next week or so. They'll be giving me a call when they know more.
When I left, we agreed that the front wheel would be replaced and the saddle would be replaced. Then, they said, they would have one of their guys take it out and ride it around to test it out. If they find anything they will let me know.
So, Emma! If you want to know whether Trek bikes are crashworthy, there you go!
I think the Model 7000 will be just fine for you.
Do girls ride "ladies" bikes anymore?
That whole thing about the top bar is rather silly. Isn't it?
That design change was only made for women in the 1890's so their skirts wouldn't ride up and get caught.
Do women who ride bikes today even give a horse's patootie?
Anyhow... I figure I've been pre-disastered. Eh?
I've gotten all my accidents and injuries out of the way. Now I can go out and ride my bike and not have to worry about it!
Right?! ![[thumbsup]](graemlins/thumbsup.gif)
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Joe Elliott
Master Film Handler
Posts: 497
From: Port Orange, Fl USA
Registered: Oct 2006
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posted 09-06-2009 01:27 PM
My face looked even WORSE before that!
We know, we see your Film-Tech picture.
Just kidding, sorry, couldn't resist.
As someone who used to bike over 100 miles a day just for fun, and then ride to work and back too, I would have to agree with you that getting in an accident is 1 in 10000. Get back up on that bike and have some fun.
My brother and I rode from Colorado Springs, Colorado, to St. Joseph, Missouri with nothing but what we could carry on our bikes. On that trip, we had semi-trucks that would pass us, and even when they would pass with lots of room, the wake they created would nearly suck you underneath the trailer.
I do also ride a motorcycle, and I ride not only assuming the other drivers can't see me, but as if they are out to get me. I didn't used to ride my bicycle that way, but I know it came from riding by bike. Besides the drivers who didn't see you, there are drivers that will be dicks and try to pass you as closely as they can, even on a multi-lane road, with absolutely no traffic.
Get back on it, but be paranoid. Sometimes they are out to get you.
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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."
Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001
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posted 09-06-2009 02:25 PM
To me the debate over who has the right of way on a city street (be it a car, bicycle or even pedestrian) is kind of pointless. You're not going to care who is at fault if you're killed in a bicycle-vehicle collision.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 716 bicyclists were killed in accidents in the United States during 2008. 52,000 were injured. 5,290 motorcyclists were killed in accidents in the US last year.
I take as few chances as possible and never take it for granted a car driver or pedestrian will see me approaching. The only city streets I use are ones in residential areas. If a sidewalk is available I'm going to use it. The police have never told me to get by bicycle off the sidewalk.
It is a little strange how the nearby park has a dedicated bike path with all sorts of bicycle-oriented traffic signs, yet the pedestrians act like they own the path. It's really annoying when you get a family reunion sized group of slow walkers completely blocking the path. They won't clear one of the two bike path lanes. And there's always some little two year old among the group likely to run at your bicycle without warning.
There's lots of animosity going both directions between bicyclists and car drivers. My father has a really nasty attitude toward bicyclists on the road, and both my parents have fairly expensive mountain bikes like mine. My parents live outside of Colorado Springs. Colorado Springs is also home to the US Olympic Team. So you'll see quite a few serious bicyclists training there and choosing the most stupid, hazardous routes to do their training. For example, US-24 is a mostly 2-lane road between Limon, CO and Colorado Springs. That road has so much traffic, truck traffic in particular, that it really should be an Interstate highway from I-25 to I-70. Lots of fatal car accidents happen there. At least a few of those head on collisions occur due to a motorist trying to get around some wanna be Olympic athlete on a bicycle. If I had to drive in Colorado Springs all the time I might have just as much of an angry attitude toward bicyclists. Get off the damned high speed 2 lane highway and on to a safer path, dumbass!
Regarding "road rash," yeah I should have used the term "saddle sores." Nevertheless they can be a real bitch. The thing I really hate is if I get an ingrown hair or some sort of boil from the rash. That can hurt like hell.
On the subject of protecting your balls or prostate from the saddle, you have to put more of your weight on the pedals instead of the saddle. I stand on the pedals quite a lot when I ride. I especially do that when going over bumpy terrain, street curbs and through uneven intersections.
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Galen Murphy-Fahlgren
Master Film Handler
Posts: 405
From: Canton, MI, USA
Registered: Oct 2007
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posted 09-06-2009 02:28 PM
Looking good in that last picture, Randy. And remember: it could've been worse. Imagine if you'd been riding a penny-farthing instead of a safety bike!
Good advice, Joe. We must make up for other people's inattentiveness by being twice as cautious.
Bobby, the best way to avoid saddle sores is to get the hardest saddle you can find that fits right, and powder your balls. People think softer saddles are better, but they in fact cause more rubbing and trap heat, thus making you sweat, so, double whammy.
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Randy Stankey
Film God
Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 09-06-2009 02:55 PM
If I was riding a penny-farthing I might have been launched completely OVER the car, landing on the other side! I would have but a few scratches on my elbows!
As it was, I had just gotten off work. Everything was done for the day and I left early. I had some extra time to head by the bike shop on the way home. I whizzed by the bank to be sure my paycheck had been deposited as planned then headed to the store.
It was approximately 4:30 to 5:00 PM. The weather was sunny and clear. The temperatre, I estimate, was between 65º and 75º F.
I was wearing a pair of khaki trousers and a bright red polo shirt with short sleeves.
The bicycle was white with brown accent/trim colors. Even though it was broad daylight, the bike had all the required reflectors, etc.
The only thing that would have made me more visible would have been to put flashing beacons on top of my head!
This just occurred to me... Just a spitball idea. Not really serious. Just an idea...
How about I handle legal matters this way:
1) If the person was talking on a cell phone or putting on makeup or something stupid like that, I'll call the sleaziest lawyer I can find and let them take that person to the cleaners.
2) If it is at all believable that this was an "honest" accident, I'll tell my insurance agent to handle it.
(P.S. - The insurance agent is also a long-time friend of the family. )
So, here I am, sitting in my little "post-concussive fog." That seems like a right-fine idea to me, right now.
Maybe I'll come back and read this in a few hours and think it was the most hair-brained idea I ever had. ![[Shrug]](graemlins/shrug.gif)
What do you guys think?
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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today
Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99
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posted 09-06-2009 03:16 PM
How the hell to people even get on and off bikes like the one Galen posted? Why were they designed the way they are? Regardless, I want to see someone do some extreme tricks on one of those! It's practically a unicycle. Hmmm.....
quote: Bobby Henderson
I take as few chances as possible and never take it for granted a car driver or pedestrian will see me approaching.
I agree and this is what I do as well. I assume that nobody is even conscious of people on bikes, especially at intersections. This doesn't mean that motorists are off the hook as far as responsibility, but it just doubles the caution and makes me feel more secure if I assume they aren't paying attention. I know Randy couldn't have seen his accident coming, though.
quote: Bobby Henderson
It is a little strange how the nearby park has a dedicated bike path with all sorts of bicycle-oriented traffic signs, yet the pedestrians act like they own the path.
My dream is for paths dedicated to bikes and nothing else. A whole network of 'em. But usually on park paths, as I'm approaching pedestrians with their backs toward me, I will shout "On your left!" or "On your right!" depending on what side I am approaching. I slow down and pass. I have gotten plenty of "thank you's" from pedestrians for making them aware of my presence in advance. I've also had other bicyclists do that to me when they are passing me on my bike because they do not believe in going under 30mph. I quickly look back before I move out of the way because I don't want them to have to yell "No! Your OTHER right!"
quote: Bobby Henderson
On the subject of protecting your balls or prostate from the saddle, you have to put more of your weight on the pedals instead of the saddle. I stand on the pedals quite a lot when I ride.
Same here. In fact unless I am going fairly slow or an just cruising, I like to stand. That's how I rode my BMX when I was a kid (the seat on that is actually plastic to reduce weight so I didn't use it much). When going up hills I usually stand as well instead of shifting into a low gear. When my gears are at the lowest settings, I am peddling way too fast and only moving inches and that makes it hard to keep balance. I'm not even sure why the gears go that low as it is quite useless.
If bicycles are considered vehicles just like cars and motorcycles, etc, why don't bicycles require insurance?
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Galen Murphy-Fahlgren
Master Film Handler
Posts: 405
From: Canton, MI, USA
Registered: Oct 2007
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posted 09-06-2009 05:39 PM
Joe, I can't explain the peculiarity of the law, but it could be in part because cyclists have a pretty hard time doing the kind of damage that a car or motorcycle can do. Not that a cyclist can't do damage to pedestrians, themselves, or property, but I can inflict just about as much damage running along at 12-15 miles an hour as I can going 30 on my bike. Here is a good link to the laws regarding vehicular cycling in Colorado. This is pretty standard across most states, even a little restrictive of bikes, comparatively. I notice Colorado requires bikes to use shoulders where safely practicable, whereas Michigan gives cyclists the lane whenever they desire, barring limited access highways or places where they fail to meet the minimum posted speed limit.
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