There’s no way you can eliminate the possibility of an unanticipated fall, but you can gain skills that help increase the probability of a less traumatic outcome. It’s stupidly simple - if you learn how to fall without getting hurt, you will be less likely to get hurt when you do fall.
Ironically, given the tone of your post, I think Ice Hockey is one of the best “learn how to fall” sports there is.
But hey, scoff all you want - clearly your chipped tooth and stitches technique is working well for you.
haha a chipped tooth is nothing and stitches are boring. I’ve done a lot worse.
My point is there is a frequency difference in hockey. You fall quite a few times during a game… i seem to do it more often then others but thats another story. Anyways for only falling maybe once every few years spending time to learn how to fall i personally think isn’t worth the time.
Another difference in hockey is you know when you are going to fall or get hit and fall. The ESPN highlight roll hits are about the same as falling off a bike there is no reaction time you’re down before you know what happened. Lucky i’ve never had many of those cause they feel like a trian wreck.
All those recommendations are probably right on the money…
but actually what i really do is… wrap my arms and thighs around my top tube and down tube to prevent my Cervelo paint job from getting chips/dents!
And my guess is your Zipps are encased in bubblewrap. I have a parachute that explodes off the back of my ride whenever I’m heading down.
As a fellow hockey player I can say that the “once every few years” fall on a bike is certainly worth the time learning how to fall as the odds are there is a chance to do some serious damage. In hockey very few falls have a chance of injury, much less serious damage.
Heck, I have played ice hockey for about 35 years - I know all about falling in this sport, trust me!
What you are missing is that, unlike yourself, many of the people who throw their legs over a bicyle have never fallen down at speed in their lives, or haven’t done so in - literally - decades.
These people, more likely than not, are going to get hurt when they fall down on their bikes. They should do themselves a favor and feel what falling is like in a controlled environment before they are forced to do it “in the wild.”
“Another difference in hockey is you know when you are going to fall or get hit and fall. The ESPN highlight roll hits are about the same as falling off a bike there is no reaction time you’re down before you know what happened. Lucky i’ve never had many of those cause they feel like a trian wreck”
too funny. I’ve been completely unconscious on the ice at least 3 times that I can remember, add that to at least a dozen shoulder dislocations, and a dislocated knee, and the guy’s tib/fib *I *broke with a hip check into the boards… 5’8" and 165 doesn’t work out well in Junior hockey - but you *do *learn how to fall down!
there are two great answers here…the tuck & roll…and fredly’s judo/gymnastics class suggestion. learning to fall is something you learn in any martial art - i did various styles, mostly karate, for 12 years in my youth…i played rugby for years often as one of the smallest on the field (fullback/centre) and got smashed all the time and i’ve had several falls (albeit low speed) from my bike and have never, EVER, had anything worse than a few bruises or scratches. there is definitely a technique to falling and some of the answers above nail it…
As a fellow hockey player I can say that the “once every few years” fall on a bike is certainly worth the time learning how to fall as the odds are there is a chance to do some serious damage. In hockey very few falls have a chance of injury, much less serious damage.
I was a youth hockey coach for years and we’d practice what was called “small games.” The idea was to introduce as much chaos as possible for these kids learning to handle a puck and skate. It forced them to stay alert and to keep their heads up. It also taught them to fall which is a natural part of hockey; hence the $500 worth of padding they wear.
I think the hockey/cycling analogy is a poor one because crashing on a bike is not inevitable or even a natural part of the sport. The cycling skills you need to learn involve balance, handling, and power. If crash preparation was a required biking skill I don’t think anyone would want to ride. Also, you’d be wearing so much padding that cycling wouldn’t be fun.
HAHA i guess thats true… i am quite the king of falling when it comes to hockey.
Yeah i partially tore my pcl in high school, then broke my collarbone and discloacated it almost into the vein in my neck. That one hurt worse then anything i have ever had in my life. Yeah i was 165, 6’0 so i was a lankey kid i just had my speed save me most of them time if i was gonna hit someone or they were gonna hit me.
My dad got a kick out of that when i had my first hockey practice ever when i moved back to iowa and made travel. We did 15 mins of falling downsliding and getting back up as fast as we could.
As a fellow hockey player I can say that the “once every few years” fall on a bike is certainly worth the time learning how to fall as the odds are there is a chance to do some serious damage. In hockey very few falls have a chance of injury, much less serious damage.
I was a youth hockey coach for years and we’d practice what was called “small games.” The idea was to introduce as much chaos as possible for these kids learning to handle a puck and skate. It forced them to stay alert and to keep their heads up. It also taught them to fall which is a natural part of hockey; hence the $500 worth of padding they wear.
And for all you STers who have never witnessed this go to a youth practice and watch two kids run into each other full speed without knowing it funniest shit you’ll ever see.
Believe it or not, your body naturally knows how to fall. If possible, your head is going to be the last thing to hit the road. When I was growing up nobody wore helmets and I can’t think of a single bike related fatality or serious injury. Did we fall and get hurt? Yes. Am I saying helmets aren’t necessary? No.
For those advocating proper fall lessons: exactly how much training time should I spend on my technique?
If anything you should spend time on your handling skills to avoid crashes that are within your control. I sure wish that’s how the MF I was drafting behind spent his training time.
I dislocated my elbow by putting my hand out when I fell mountain biking. Funny thing is that I probably put my hand out because when I first got clipless pedals I fell on my shoulder, the way I was trained to fall when I used to play rugby. I somehow hit the top of my pelvis on the curb and severely bruised it.
The elbow was worse, so I’ve gone back to trying to fall rugby-tackle style.
from my experience it is tuck and roll. for some reason i have always done this and never stuck my hand out during a crash. erik saunders hit it on the head. (side note: one of the best personalities in cycling today, funny guy)
i road raced for several years so have plenty experience in crashing. it is going to happen if you spend any amount of time on the bike racing.
I cover my face with my arms— Think of the position your hands and arms are in when you do a situp. Then I try to relax and roll with it. I don’t think tucking and rolling works very well, as you are trying to force things and can end up exposing your collar bone and neck in the roll. Just relax and let yourself go and hope you bounce and slide a long way— road rash cures faster than breaks.
I’ll second what some of the others have said in that depending on the situation and how fast you are going, you may not have time to react and attempt either the tuck-and-roll or putting an arm out. When I had my crash a few months ago, it happened so quickly that I was on the pavement before I realized what had happened. Since I had no time to react, I landed square on my shoulder and broke my collarbone in three places plus broke two ribs and also had a collapsed lung.
and stitches are boring. I’ve done a lot worse.