Well, I guess it was inevitable. Just got first road bike (Cervelo P2C) have put about 325 miles in 2.5 weeks. I was doing drills yesterday and my gears were not shifting properly. So I look down at my chain, swerve to the right, into soft sand, hit the brakes, and over the bars. Best thing though, landed on a patch of Ivy. It was really fun given the results.
By the way, I saw a post here given the same case. Cervelo P2C not shifting properly. Found out that I stretched out the cables, actually busted front derailuer cable…which is common. I think it was Zone2 who was having the problem. Can’t remember.
I was gonna say you cant post without pics of a crash but then i didnt know to where that poison ivy had spread too. Had to poke fun since I can roll in the stuff and not have a reaction. Ah, gotta love growing up in the country.
PS My old boss cant wear clothes if they have been washed 20 times and are a year old if they have come into contact with ivy so watch out when you out that spandex back on
Sorry about the crash, bud. My first crash was in rainy, hilly conditions, riding with folks much much better than me - and won me a coupla broken ribs. Crashing is inevitable, and always results in a “shoulda” kind of response - get back on the bike and enjoy it.
My first crash was not so dramatic, I was doing a track stand at a light trying to impress a car full of hotties… and I fell over.
Still have some emotional scars from that one.
Good for a first one and hopefully that is your worst. Not sure the exact quote or source, but “There are two types of riders (tri, mountain, road), those who have crashed and those who will.” I recently tried to adjust my loose headset during a mountain bike race (10 minutes before breaking my back) and wasn’t too surprised when my bars/tires swung the opposite way and I fell over. No damage, just a quick lesson.
To prevent redneck caused crashes ensure you ride with a American flag on your jersey since they will hit/get close to somebody with spandex and shaved legs, but never mess with Old Glory.
Barefoot
I had been warming up for about 20 minutes and then I decided to change things up a bit. When I hit the jump I tried to pedal in the air. Bad idea. Not sure what happened in the air but when I came down I landed on my face and upper chest in a scorpion like position. Luckily I was not wearing a helmet or a shirt so I didn’t damage any clothing or leave chunks of my helmet on the sidewalk.
I got up and wasn’t feeling any pain until I looked down and saw the blood. I immediately started up to cry and ran inside. Mom fixed me up with some polysporin, bandages and a cookie. I had lost a fair bit of skin on my chest and face.
I was out riding later in the afternoon after my first lesson in HTFU. I didn’t try pedaling in the air.
" Hey about the Cervelo shifting…may be it is as easy as you cable being stretched. "
…which is natural for a new bike, yes? I’ve never had a “new” bike, but I see lots of stores offer a free tune-up after 30 days to make adjustments due to cable stretching, etc. Same goes for new guitar strings…gotta strech 'em out when you first put them on.
To the OP: I had my first crash yesterday too. I went out for a quick warm-up ride before Big Creek Tri, rode across a “Y” in the road that turned out to be gravel and not pavement, and quickly found myself on my back with my wheels straight up in the air. In front of many other riders, cars, etc.
To add insult to injury, the position I ended up in caused the entire contents of of my Profile Design Aerobottle to be deposited onto my face and chest.
Needless to say, the physical pain was much less than the public humiliation. I bloodied up my elbow pretty good, and today I have some nice bruises showing up on my hip and quad, but I was able to race and I don’t think the crash hurt my performance (or my bike). If anything, I figured things could only go up from there…
And, on the plus side, I did get some cool blood-enhanced tri photos (forthcoming).
mm
"I ain’t go TIME to bleed. " – Jesse The Body, “Predator”
My first crash was several years ago at a stop light in front of a local watering hole. I was just getting used to clipons, 0 mph, fell right over, big cheer from the bar patrons. Last crash was yesterday, lost concentration(smelling the roses) went off the pavement, onto rut, into the dirt, got up, dusted off, (desolate road so no onlookers) and rode on. I think that will be the last time I crash.