Scary bike crash...
Discussion
Cyclist leaves the road to join a canal towpath, but rides straight over the top of a lock and falls 20 feet to the canal below... http://www.gethampshire.co.uk/news/local-news/cycl...
...potentially fatal, given that it was 7.20pm (ie: dark o'clock) and he injured himself crashing into the lock wall on the far side of the canal.
Self rescued, and assisted by passers by prior to the arrival of fire crews to rescue him. Taken to hospital. Sounds like a lucky escape to me, given that I know the lock in question, and the thought of going into the cold, murky water of the canal in the dark, and from that height is scary stuff.
Also, and I'm only speculating here, but it reads like he wasn't actually joining the tow path, but had swung off too early, on the wrong side of the canal. Link to GoogleMaps Streetview here... https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.2582031,-0.73874... ...where it is possible to slip left off the road at a shallow angle and ride straight into the drink. Maybe he was intending to use the footbridge for the lock? Either way, he can't have been heading North East up Government Road, because the entry angles are wrong for access to the 20 foot drop in my humble opinion. I've ridden that section of the canal dozens, possibly even a hundred times, and I'd say the layout of the path relative to the lock and the road is plenty safe enough. A freak accident. Scary though, finding yourself flying through the air in the dark, straight into a big old 18th Century wall of bricks.
...potentially fatal, given that it was 7.20pm (ie: dark o'clock) and he injured himself crashing into the lock wall on the far side of the canal.
Self rescued, and assisted by passers by prior to the arrival of fire crews to rescue him. Taken to hospital. Sounds like a lucky escape to me, given that I know the lock in question, and the thought of going into the cold, murky water of the canal in the dark, and from that height is scary stuff.
Also, and I'm only speculating here, but it reads like he wasn't actually joining the tow path, but had swung off too early, on the wrong side of the canal. Link to GoogleMaps Streetview here... https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.2582031,-0.73874... ...where it is possible to slip left off the road at a shallow angle and ride straight into the drink. Maybe he was intending to use the footbridge for the lock? Either way, he can't have been heading North East up Government Road, because the entry angles are wrong for access to the 20 foot drop in my humble opinion. I've ridden that section of the canal dozens, possibly even a hundred times, and I'd say the layout of the path relative to the lock and the road is plenty safe enough. A freak accident. Scary though, finding yourself flying through the air in the dark, straight into a big old 18th Century wall of bricks.
Edited by yellowjack on Thursday 16th February 00:30
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