Pedal for Scotland and why you should always wear a helmet.
Discussion
Evening guys, I have just got home after leaving at 8 am to compete in the Pedal for Scotland 52 mile ride for charity.
After one puncture, I carried on and was 40 miles into my ride before a woman on a cycle decided to pull out clean infront of me without a shoulder check, on to the wrong side of the road, with me doing excess of 35mph on a country road, and her doing only 10mph, and I hit her side on with a loud thump, and it went blank from there. I was out cold for 30 minutes and concussed for nearly 2 hours. The doctor told me that my Bell Alchera helmet saved my life. The back of the helmet is actually split in two, and i'm just glad it was not my skull.
My 2010 Boardman MTB pro is also a write off, as is all my gore cycling gear, inc gloves, top, overshoes and shorts.
I don't suppose anyone did the cycle today, and can put me in contact with the lady in question? I really do not know how to proceed with this, as at the end of the day im over £1000 down, spent all day in hospital, and having to take time off work.
It had also made me think twice about going fast on my motorbike, as at the end of the day, that was only 35mph, not 70. and I would imagine it would be a alot worse.
Cheers guys.
After one puncture, I carried on and was 40 miles into my ride before a woman on a cycle decided to pull out clean infront of me without a shoulder check, on to the wrong side of the road, with me doing excess of 35mph on a country road, and her doing only 10mph, and I hit her side on with a loud thump, and it went blank from there. I was out cold for 30 minutes and concussed for nearly 2 hours. The doctor told me that my Bell Alchera helmet saved my life. The back of the helmet is actually split in two, and i'm just glad it was not my skull.
My 2010 Boardman MTB pro is also a write off, as is all my gore cycling gear, inc gloves, top, overshoes and shorts.
I don't suppose anyone did the cycle today, and can put me in contact with the lady in question? I really do not know how to proceed with this, as at the end of the day im over £1000 down, spent all day in hospital, and having to take time off work.
It had also made me think twice about going fast on my motorbike, as at the end of the day, that was only 35mph, not 70. and I would imagine it would be a alot worse.
Cheers guys.
Saw quite a lot of this type of thing on the L2B earlier in the year, people stopping dead without looking behind and pulling out of rest stops without looking.
Glad you're ok 35mph is quite a speed to hit the deck so I think you were very lucky not to lose a whole lot of skin too.
Charity ride organisers always have a get out clause in their t&c about not being liable for injury or death and don't normally have any sort of insurance, I'd be surprised if the lady you hit had any insurance either.
Glad you're ok 35mph is quite a speed to hit the deck so I think you were very lucky not to lose a whole lot of skin too.
Charity ride organisers always have a get out clause in their t&c about not being liable for injury or death and don't normally have any sort of insurance, I'd be surprised if the lady you hit had any insurance either.
Afternoon,
I was overtaking, and the woman to my left and she pulled across me to go past someone infront of her without a shoulder check. Accidents do happen and I'm glad my injuries are not worse.
I have lost a fair bit of skin down my right arm, shoulder,and my side. My neck and head is throbbing today after taking medication, and had to be helped out of bed.
I have no idea how badly the woman was injured, all I can remember was clattering into her, and then being in an ambulance.
I am going to call the organisers and see how she is.
I guess im going to have to go out and buy a new bike
) after yesterdays accident, it has put me off going on 2 wheels for a while. But I'm sure ill be back out in no time.
I was overtaking, and the woman to my left and she pulled across me to go past someone infront of her without a shoulder check. Accidents do happen and I'm glad my injuries are not worse.
I have lost a fair bit of skin down my right arm, shoulder,and my side. My neck and head is throbbing today after taking medication, and had to be helped out of bed.
I have no idea how badly the woman was injured, all I can remember was clattering into her, and then being in an ambulance.
I am going to call the organisers and see how she is.
I guess im going to have to go out and buy a new bike
) after yesterdays accident, it has put me off going on 2 wheels for a while. But I'm sure ill be back out in no time.Sorry to hear about your accident. I wasn't involved in the ride itself, but I did see a large number of the riders, and a number of those involved seemed a bit oblivious to others and what was happening around them. There were also a few riders who (despite having a whole coned off lane of the road to themselves) were cycling outside of the cones, and onto the wrong side of the road towards oncoming traffic and then having to 'duck' back into the throng of riders.
350zStee said:
It had also made me think twice about going fast on my motorbike, as at the end of the day, that was only 35mph, not 70. and I would imagine it would be a alot worse.
Firstly, glad you're 'okay'! And I hope that the lady wasn't too badly injured herself.With regards to your musings above, I ended up breaking my back in a motorbike crash at 20 mph and had over £2,000 worth of kit on. Remarkable how similar our incidents were except I was feeding through traffic when some moron decided to pull out and jump the queue without checking his mirrors. A combination of factors including sliding into an oncoming car, hitting a particularly raised kurb etc left me in a similar state to you.
I cannot tell you how hard it is to do 35 mph+ on a road bike without any protective gear after that! You'll get back on but it always sits in the back of your mind.
I have not had the chance to contact the organisers today to find out how the other parties are as i've been stuck in bed all day with terrible neck and head pains. I genuinely hope she is OK.
I did notice quite a few people going on the wrong side past the cones to get by groups of cyclists. One of the main issues on yesterdays cycle, was people thinking its OK to cycle 5 abreast holding up cars, and possibly faster cyclists behind them. Also noticed there was quite a few novice cyclists/people getting tired near the 40 mile marker with their front ends wobbling eractically side to side almost clashing with other cyclists. There was loads of people going down a steep country hill and a fast pace, hitting a few speed bumps, and coming off their bikes, and hitting slower bikes infront of them. There was quite a few ambulances on site.
The Stiglet, i'm sorry to hear about your fall from your motorbike, are you OK and back on your bike now? I'm terribly cautious on my motorbike as i'm a new rider, and don't fancy coming off it as things would definitely be broken. Without a doubt I will be wary doing high speeds on the cycle, especially with other cyclists around. Yesterday gave me a terrible fright, and I have been told by the doctor to stay off work for a while. Today i've been suffering from terrible neck pains, and when I nod my head forward, I get hurrendous pains on my forehead.
Kermit Power, I have no recollection after hitting the cyclist, so I couldn't say wether she hung around after the accident.
I'll get some pictures of my cycle helmet up soon.
Stephen
I did notice quite a few people going on the wrong side past the cones to get by groups of cyclists. One of the main issues on yesterdays cycle, was people thinking its OK to cycle 5 abreast holding up cars, and possibly faster cyclists behind them. Also noticed there was quite a few novice cyclists/people getting tired near the 40 mile marker with their front ends wobbling eractically side to side almost clashing with other cyclists. There was loads of people going down a steep country hill and a fast pace, hitting a few speed bumps, and coming off their bikes, and hitting slower bikes infront of them. There was quite a few ambulances on site.
The Stiglet, i'm sorry to hear about your fall from your motorbike, are you OK and back on your bike now? I'm terribly cautious on my motorbike as i'm a new rider, and don't fancy coming off it as things would definitely be broken. Without a doubt I will be wary doing high speeds on the cycle, especially with other cyclists around. Yesterday gave me a terrible fright, and I have been told by the doctor to stay off work for a while. Today i've been suffering from terrible neck pains, and when I nod my head forward, I get hurrendous pains on my forehead.
Kermit Power, I have no recollection after hitting the cyclist, so I couldn't say wether she hung around after the accident.
I'll get some pictures of my cycle helmet up soon.
Stephen
350zStee said:
The Stiglet, i'm sorry to hear about your fall from your motorbike, are you OK and back on your bike now? I'm terribly cautious on my motorbike as i'm a new rider, and don't fancy coming off it as things would definitely be broken. Without a doubt I will be wary doing high speeds on the cycle, especially with other cyclists around. Yesterday gave me a terrible fright, and I have been told by the doctor to stay off work for a while. Today i've been suffering from terrible neck pains, and when I nod my head forward, I get hurrendous pains on my forehead.
Thanks mate 
Been some time now, 5 years this December. I don't ride motorbikes anymore, feels more edgy wearing lycra!As for your injuries, I think you were a very lucky chap not to come off worse but a note of caution, 30 mins unconscious is a very long time. I'm surprised that the hospital didn't keep you in observation for longer - did they do MRI scans of the brain? Do you have any short term memory loss? Took me about 7 weeks to really get back to normal, brain was all over the place. The hospital wasn't too concerned about this but then I was kind of strapped to the bed so didn't really have the chance of leaving!
I fell off my bike last year and wasn't wearing a helmet. Luckily I landed on nothing but grass but I still knocked myself out, broke my collar bone and damaged my back. Someone also stole my bike when I was in hospital. I remember nothing at all of the accident and only very patchy bits of being in the hospital the next day.
I now wear a helmet!
Hope you recover OK.
I now wear a helmet!
Hope you recover OK.
Large groups of mixed ability cyclists are a complete nightmare. I always wear a helmet for such rides (but dunno why not the rest of the time?!)
A couple of points:
35Mph is a hell of a lick. Personally, I'd be surprised if you were doing much more than 20Mph. Even maintaining 20Mph on my road bike was an effort when I was fit. 35 Mph on a mountain bike unless you'd just come down a big hill? I'd also question the need for that speed when passing groups of slower cyclists.... Obviously, I don't know the full facts, but I'd wonder if it was entirely appropriate to be outpacing other, less experienced cyclists by that amount in close proximity.
Secondly, how do you know she's not a barrister who's now missing valuable work because of being hit by a nutter cyclist? Her bike couls have been made of unobtainum, and she might be trying to get your details to take YOU to the cleaners... Have a good look at what insurance etc was provided on this charity bike ride. Most likely, none, but you never know. And if she is uninsured, how do you propose to regain your losses from her? I understand that no-one likes to be left out of pocket, but you've not suffered any major injury (hopefully) and wonder what you really stand to gain from taking someone else for a thousand pounds. The poor woman is probably also in pain, shock, quite possibly injured and quite possibly without HER bicycle.
Just my 2 cents, probably entirely unwelcome, but there are two sides to every story.
Glad you're mostly ok anyway, could have been much worse from the sounds of it.
A couple of points:
35Mph is a hell of a lick. Personally, I'd be surprised if you were doing much more than 20Mph. Even maintaining 20Mph on my road bike was an effort when I was fit. 35 Mph on a mountain bike unless you'd just come down a big hill? I'd also question the need for that speed when passing groups of slower cyclists.... Obviously, I don't know the full facts, but I'd wonder if it was entirely appropriate to be outpacing other, less experienced cyclists by that amount in close proximity.
Secondly, how do you know she's not a barrister who's now missing valuable work because of being hit by a nutter cyclist? Her bike couls have been made of unobtainum, and she might be trying to get your details to take YOU to the cleaners... Have a good look at what insurance etc was provided on this charity bike ride. Most likely, none, but you never know. And if she is uninsured, how do you propose to regain your losses from her? I understand that no-one likes to be left out of pocket, but you've not suffered any major injury (hopefully) and wonder what you really stand to gain from taking someone else for a thousand pounds. The poor woman is probably also in pain, shock, quite possibly injured and quite possibly without HER bicycle.
Just my 2 cents, probably entirely unwelcome, but there are two sides to every story.
Glad you're mostly ok anyway, could have been much worse from the sounds of it.
350zStee said:
I did notice quite a few people going on the wrong side past the cones to get by groups of cyclists. One of the main issues on yesterdays cycle, was people thinking its OK to cycle 5 abreast holding up cars, and possibly faster cyclists behind them. Also noticed there was quite a few novice cyclists/people getting tired near the 40 mile marker with their front ends wobbling eractically side to side almost clashing with other cyclists. There was loads of people going down a steep country hill and a fast pace, hitting a few speed bumps, and coming off their bikes, and hitting slower bikes infront of them. There was quite a few ambulances on site.
This being the case, including you observing 'quite a few novice cyclists', was it entirely appropriate to go hammering past them at, as you put it, in excess of 35mph? Genuinely hope you recover quickly and fully and are back in the saddle as soon as possible, but given the events you describe above could it not be argued that you're as least as responsible as the other party for your accident, if not more so?First of all I hope you make a speedy recovery and I'm sorry you were hurt.
I have some sympathy with WeirdNeville's point however as I was on the receiving end recently of something a little bit similar.
A guy tried to pass me as I was slowing down to go wide around a little girl on a bloody canal towpath, I knew he was there but didn't think he'd be stupid enough to try the manoeuvre. As it was, he managed to brake (just) and muttered "nearly".
He was being a fool and going far too fast for the conditions, I got the impression he was trying to race which was bloody inappropriate to say the least.
I'll add that I wasn't holding him back, once on the road he dropped off.
Lastly 35 is very quick indeed, good going. I can only do that on my mountain bike down big hills.
I have some sympathy with WeirdNeville's point however as I was on the receiving end recently of something a little bit similar.
A guy tried to pass me as I was slowing down to go wide around a little girl on a bloody canal towpath, I knew he was there but didn't think he'd be stupid enough to try the manoeuvre. As it was, he managed to brake (just) and muttered "nearly".
He was being a fool and going far too fast for the conditions, I got the impression he was trying to race which was bloody inappropriate to say the least.
I'll add that I wasn't holding him back, once on the road he dropped off.
Lastly 35 is very quick indeed, good going. I can only do that on my mountain bike down big hills.
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