it's not "IF" you go down, it's "WHEN..."

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bairdco

a guy who makes cool bikes
Aug 18, 2009
6,537
264
63
living the dream in southern california
that's how the saying goes, right?

just had my first crash. i was running some errands and getting in some riding time, since it's supposed to rain for a few days.

i was coming up to a left turn arrow pretty fast so i could make the light, probably doing about 25mph or so.

hit an oily spot in the intersection and layed it down, basically flat-tracking on my knee for about 10 feet. (if i woulda had gloves and a knee pad, i probably coulda saved it :))

never let go of the bike, didn't even stall it, just slid around on the ground with it for another 15 feet or so, then picked it up and jumped on and rode away.

looked in my mirror to see how many people were laughing at me, but i couldn't tell, 'cause my mirror wasn't there anymore.

ended up with a skinned knee, skinned knuckles, broken mirror, and some minor scrapes on my pedal and ammo box. i'm actually kinda stoked on the way my bike handled it. i'm also pretty happy it didn't slide on my offset Mikuni carb. it sticks out enough, and that was my first thought, but it didn't even touch it. my knee was probably in the way.:)

when i got to the next stoplight and the cars that witnessed it pulled up, i was the one laughing. i guess all those years of crashing bikes and skateboards paid off. to paraphrase, it's like crashing a bicycle, you never forget how...
 

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Goat Herder

Gutter Rider
Apr 28, 2008
6,237
20
38
N.M.
Man good thing it was not at 40 plus miles an hour! Glade to hear ya OK Brodder!

Save some of that bike for the Death Race lol. Yul need some for tomorrow.:p
 

2door

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 15, 2008
16,302
175
63
Littleton, Colorado
Does this call for a name change? Maybe "Slide" or "Crunch" ?

Glad it was only superficial damage, Baird. It reminds me of my first (and only, I hope) crash. I was showing off a bike for a neighbor and his dinner guest and did the classic biker mistake of turning on the low pedal. Me and the Jag went down. Broke my mirror off and scraped my knuckles where I didn't let go of the handlebars and my chin where it hit the street. The damage to my pride hurt more than the lost skin.
Take it easy my friend. We're not getting any younger.
Tom
 

BarelyAWake

New Member
Jul 21, 2009
7,194
21
0
Maine
It aint yers till ya bleed onit ;)

Still - good ta hear it was relatively minor and I bet the cagers weren't laughing so much as sayin' "Holy crap! That guy is nuts!"

Well... they prolly say that anyway :D
 

bairdco

a guy who makes cool bikes
Aug 18, 2009
6,537
264
63
living the dream in southern california
thanks guys.

yup, i guess it coulda been worse. at least there were no cars right behind me. i think that's my biggest fear. not the crash itself, but having some jacka$$ tailgator run me over when i'm sliding down the street.

also, it didn't really put any kind of scare into me. it's more like, "ok, i got that over with..." type of crash.

hopefully there won't be any worse ones...
 

NunyaBidness

Active Member
Jun 29, 2008
1,062
2
38
memphis tn
Ayep, I've crashed a few times and in different ways each time. A couple of key things to ponder. If you can ride away, do, you will NOT hurt as bad as if you had NOT ridden away. Try to remember EXACTLY what happened to cause this crash and the things you might have done differently to come out of it better or avoid a crash all together.

Glad you're alright and I hope this does not hold up any new pics of bikes you're building, I sure like looking at your builds.
 

darkhawk22

New Member
Aug 17, 2010
733
8
0
Acworth, GA
Had a small knee injury the other day as well. I wiped pullin into my own driveway, geez. Tire and rim followed the straight line along the face of the driveway instead of rolling over at an angle, slam over I went, luckily not that fast.
 

WildAlaskan

New Member
Sep 30, 2010
578
0
0
alaska
oh man that reminds me of the time i was trying to impress this girl in a minivan by doing something stupid

well lets skip ahead i got the road wobbles at about 20 or so and me and my bike went down i didnt get skidded up cause i slid on the ice and i was wearing snow pants but i messed up my collar bone it hurt for a while and taking deep breaths was painful. but i did get up almost as fast as i fell. i didnt let go of my bike either maybe thats why i impacted my shoulder so hard

the worst part was the girl was unimpressed when i caught up to her she asked me did i crash and i said yeah she started laughing cause i got up so fast. she looked in her mirror i was there then gone then back up again i can just picture how it must have looked . she could have been impressed how fast i got up and rode off as if it didnt happen. but whatever it wasnt a complete fail