Crickets?

Discussion in 'Crash Confessions' started by hill^billy, Feb 23, 2016.


As a former Amazon Associate I continue to get screwed trying to stay qualified as an Amazon Affiliate. So I quit!


Want to donate to imtbtrails?

  1. Mikie

    Mikie Admin/iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    NW Arkansas
    Name:
    Mikie Watson
    Current Bike:
    Ibis DV9 / SC Hightower
    Speedplay Frogs are great road bike pedals...
     
    -ROCKY-, Faust29, mike and 2 others like this.
  2. BonsaiNut

    BonsaiNut iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Troutman, NC
    Name:
    Greg P
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz Hightower CC XX1
    It would be interesting to compare statistics between road bike riding and motorcycle riding. Per mile driven, motorcycles are 26-28x more dangerous than automobiles (in terms of likelihood of a fatality).

    In 2016 (the most current year statistics for both are available) there were 840 cycling fatalities and 5286 motorcycle fatalities. One wonders about the total miles ridden... because unless road bike total miles ridden were at least 16% of motorcycle total miles ridden, road bikes would be more dangerous than motorcycles.

    Note that I am assuming all bike casualties are on bikes being ridden on streets - which may not be accurate. There are probably at least some mountain or off-road fatalities, though I have no idea what percentage they are.
     
  3. pperrelle

    pperrelle iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Oracle, AZ
    Name:
    Paul
    Current Bike:
    Ripley V4 & Ripmo V2
    I ride road as well as MTB. While the chance of a fatal accident on the road is higher due to the cars, I don’t see it as an extremely risky activity. The NHTSA reports about 6,000 pedestrian fatalities per year. Granted, there’s more people walking than riding bikes, but just using the total numbers as most are above would suggest that walking down the street is is a risky prospect at best. Also, there’s a strong distinction between “cyclist” and someone just riding a bike. There was a link posted above to some cycling related deaths and it showed that 20% were between 6:00-8:59 PM, 19% had a blood alcohol level above .08, and 66% were not wearing a helmet. This would lead me to believe that the majority of the fatalities are not “cyclists” who are usually wearing a helmet and are experienced and careful in riding with automobiles. So, ride dirt, ride road, just be careful doing both. Tossing on some spandex and hitting the road shouldn’t be seen as a death sentence.
     
  4. BonsaiNut

    BonsaiNut iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Troutman, NC
    Name:
    Greg P
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz Hightower CC XX1
    You should have been with me yesterday morning in Alhambra at 7:30 AM driving to the bonsai show. Homeless dude ride/walking a bike loaded down with bottles and cans right down the middle of a four-lane, 50 mph road. AND he wasn't wearing a helmet.

    All joking aside, I have been in three separate collisions with cars. In not a single case was it my fault. I no longer ride on roads if I can help it. While mountain biking, I have had collisions with rocks... but in not a single case can I remember a rock hitting me.
     
  5. rossage

    rossage iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    East Sacramento
    Name:
    Ross Lawson
    Current Bike:
    Highball
    Hey! I'm not homeless!

    The way people drive in the SGV has turned my road bike into a dust collector in the garage. $4000 spider home... Sad
     
  6. DangerDirtyD

    DangerDirtyD iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    CA
    Name:
    Chicken Nugget
    Current Bike:
    2018 Guerrilla Gravity SMASH
    Twice the fun, I disagree; but where and how I do agree. I go road only to run errands and try to maintain some fitness baseline. It is easier to integrate road cycling into one’s lifestyle than to access an earthen trailhead and ride in a circle for recreation. With all that said, there’s no way road bike riding is even close to as much fun as MTB unless you’re scared of rocks and slopes, which are far less treacherous than a distracted, blind, hasty, and/or angry driver. Anecdotally, road biking on a Class I path is for kids, and roadways closed to vehicles are still mild compared to trails. I also believe road cycling is far funnier than driving, so running errands on a bike is much more enjoyable than driving. It’s all relative. MTB>road cycling>driving>getting mangled by a driver. However, I gotta admit the G-forces of a road bike down a mountain with some buds :whistling: are exhilarating, but that can get scketchy real fast...ok nevermind much of what I said above. Roadies are badass.
     
  7. UPSed

    UPSed iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Simi Valley
    Name:
    Ed
    Current Bike:
    Niner Jet 9 RDO
    Can't argue with that. :whistling:
     
  8. BonsaiNut

    BonsaiNut iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Troutman, NC
    Name:
    Greg P
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz Hightower CC XX1
    And the most badass of all... the bike messengers who work in big cities. I could never do it.

    I agree, though the ease of access is what gets me. On days that I can't get out to the dirt, I can be on Aliso Creek Trail in about 5 minutes. My favorite out and back to Cook's Corner is just about one hour for 15.6 miles and 900 feet... as fast as I can push my poor mtn bike. So paved miles without cars is still better (to me) than no miles at all. Closest dirt is a 20 minute drive... so that's a minimum of 40 minutes that I have to have available just for trail access. Some days it isn't possible.
     
  9. UPSed

    UPSed iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Simi Valley
    Name:
    Ed
    Current Bike:
    Niner Jet 9 RDO
  10. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Western US
    Name:
    Mike O
    Current Bike:
    HT, FS
    I don't condone violence, but that was fking beautiful.
     
  11. Danimal

    Danimal iMTB Addict

    Location:
    Mission Viejo
    Name:
    Dan
    Current Bike:
    Epic Evo
    Last Sunday was Riding up a residential street named ridgeline just off Santiago canyon to get some extra climbing in. Nice wide fairly low traveled road.

    All of a sudden get honking behind me.
    WTF?
    Guy flies by us at high speed flipping us off. Like what the heck?
    Late model tan Toyota truck, personalized plate starting in MAX driven by white guy. He appears to be heavy set or stocky build.

    Where's the hate come from? Really pissed me off and the words that came out of my mouth!
    Only obvious danger after some mtb was on the road with a low life form.
    I road ride, but prefer mtb for obvious reasons .
     
  12. mike

    mike iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Western US
    Name:
    Mike O
    Current Bike:
    HT, FS
    No shortage of lowlifes in cars, Dan. It's always a buzzkill. Sorry to hear it happened to you.

    I imagine most of us have had stuff thrown at us or been harassed in some way by motorists. I have several times...

    Once I chased some dickheads into a parking lot after they buzzed me intentionally. They kept out of my reach, so I pulled the padlock out of my handlebar bag and fired it at the back of their car, just missing the window. They peeled after that. I doubt I would pursue anyone these days, but I had those boys wigged, hehe...
     
  13. UPSed

    UPSed iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Simi Valley
    Name:
    Ed
    Current Bike:
    Niner Jet 9 RDO
    I do most of my MTB rides from home which requires 4-10 miles of pavement to the trailhead depending on which way I go. It's sad how much I get buzzed or cut off in just that short amount of time. But I always think do they just not see me or do they just not care?
     
  14. BonsaiNut

    BonsaiNut iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Troutman, NC
    Name:
    Greg P
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz Hightower CC XX1
    One of the times I was hit by a car, the woman wasn't paying attention / didn't see me. I got tossed over her hood but somehow miraculously landed on my feet running. My bike was trashed. The weird thing was that she was more upset than I was. She was crying and shaking... apologizing a million times. I actually felt sorry for HER.
     
  15. -ROCKY-

    -ROCKY- Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Lakewood, CA
    Name:
    Rocky
    So what happened after? Part ways there and that's it? Wouldn't her insurance cover that?
     
    Mikie, mike, Faust29 and 2 others like this.
  16. BonsaiNut

    BonsaiNut iMTB Rockstah

    Location:
    Troutman, NC
    Name:
    Greg P
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz Hightower CC XX1
    Oh she took care of the bike without a question. In fact, after we traded info I got a ride home and she took the bike and drove it to the bike store to get it repaired. I never saw the bill :) She was just amazed I didn't need to go to the hospital. Never felt so much as a bruise.

    One time I got hit by a car at college when a dad was dropping his daughter off for freshman year. He was doing an illegal u-turn and pulled into the bike path to do it. He had to wait for traffic to clear, so I rode past the side of the car... until he suddenly started to back up, turning his steering wheel as he did so. The front wheel of my bike got pinned between his front left wheel and his left fender... and he was dragging me backwards. He didn't see me because he was looking over his shoulder to back up. That was a scary one... I thought he was going to run me over because he was starting to crush the front of my bike. All good though... I was pounding on the hood of his car and his daughter started screaming and he eventually stopped. He fixed the damage AND I got a date with his daughter :)
     
    SnakeCharmer, Luis, Mikie and 9 others like this.
  17. UPSed

    UPSed iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Simi Valley
    Name:
    Ed
    Current Bike:
    Niner Jet 9 RDO
    You were lucky. That happened to me once and I followed the lady into the parking lot and told her she just hit me. Of course she denied it then I showed her the black mark my grip had left on the side of her car. She told me that was already there. Fortunately another lady follow me into the parking lot to make sure I was okay. She was actually freaked out herself asking if I was okay. She told me she saw everything if I needed a witness. Of course the lady who hit me changed her tune real quick. Too late. After giving her a few minutes of guilt I told her no harm done but please in the future be more careful of cyclists on the road.
     
    Mikie, Cyclotourist, mtnbikej and 7 others like this.
  18. mountaingirl sara

    mountaingirl sara iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    So Cal
    Name:
    Sara
    Current Bike:
    Ibis Ripley
    @BonsaiNut @UPSed yikes you guys! I’ve been buzzed twice, and that was almost enough to make me want to say no more road reading!:confused: If I’d been hit or clipped I’d tap out!
     
    Mikie, Cyclotourist, mtnbikej and 6 others like this.
  19. UPSed

    UPSed iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Simi Valley
    Name:
    Ed
    Current Bike:
    Niner Jet 9 RDO
    Haha! I knew there was a reason I didn't read! :Roflmao:Roflmao:Roflmao:gag:
     
    BonsaiNut, Mikie, mtnbikej and 7 others like this.
  20. mountaingirl sara

    mountaingirl sara iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    So Cal
    Name:
    Sara
    Current Bike:
    Ibis Ripley
    Freaking spellcheck :facepalm:
     
    Mikie, mtnbikej, mike and 5 others like this.
  21. -ROCKY-

    -ROCKY- Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Lakewood, CA
    Name:
    Rocky

    Wow! Glad it worked out. Hopefully that lady is more careful. That second one does sound scary!!! :eek: But it sounds like it wasn't ALL bad... :rolleyes: Glad you're alright!!! :thumbsup:
     
  22. Runs with Scissors

    Runs with Scissors iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    West Anaheim
    Name:
    Mark Whitaker
    Current Bike:
    Giant XTC with pedals
    The one time I got hit was completely my fault. :bang:

    The time I almost got hit was also completely my fault.:whistling:
     
    -ROCKY-, Mikie, mtnbikej and 3 others like this.
  23. DangerDirtyD

    DangerDirtyD iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    CA
    Name:
    Chicken Nugget
    Current Bike:
    2018 Guerrilla Gravity SMASH
    -ROCKY-, Mikie, mike and 1 other person like this.
  24. Marty657

    Marty657 Member

    Location:
    Upland
    Name:
    Marty
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz TB2C
    Prayers sent and more on the way.
     
  25. mountaingirl sara

    mountaingirl sara iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    So Cal
    Name:
    Sara
    Current Bike:
    Ibis Ripley
    Thank you Marty!:)
     
    mike, -ROCKY- and Mikie like this.
  26. -ROCKY-

    -ROCKY- Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Lakewood, CA
    Name:
    Rocky
    Got my first 2 crashes done yesterday. No biggie, but it sure has a long time since I've been on the ground looking for my glasses. Probably should secure those. :confused:
     
  27. Faust29

    Faust29 Moderator

    Location:
    irgendwo
    Name:
    B. Bunny
    Current Bike:
    I gots some bikes.
    D'Oh!

    Well... What kind of crash? Slow motion flop? Over the bars? OTB with a Superman finish? The flopping turtle? Or was it the dreaded Mousetrap? :D
     
  28. Runs with Scissors

    Runs with Scissors iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    West Anaheim
    Name:
    Mark Whitaker
    Current Bike:
    Giant XTC with pedals
    But were there witnesses??
     
  29. Voodoo Tom

    Voodoo Tom MTB Addict

    Location:
    Castaic
    Name:
    Tom Kokkinakis
    Current Bike:
    Mango one, black one, Ti one
    Is the bike OK?
     
  30. -ROCKY-

    -ROCKY- Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Lakewood, CA
    Name:
    Rocky
    The first was my stupid fault. (Like all my crashes won't be my fault :laugh:) Day before yesterday I found a somewhat small staircase to try. I tried it, and cleaned it. I was happy. Yesterday I see it. Overconfident I tried again. There's a hard left at the bottom, a hard bush on the right. Ended up with bush rash, but no fall. :D The second I knew was coming, I wanted to practice manuals, so I went to the park and practiced on the grass. I pulled a little too hard, gave it too much gas, missed the brake, idk. Kind of hard fall, but it was like falling on foam. :D
     


As a former Amazon Associate I continue to get screwed trying to stay qualified as an Amazon Affiliate. So I quit!


Want to donate to imtbtrails?