Your "best" biking accident

[93Hatch]

I was biking with a friend once (I was probably 14 and he was maybe 12) and we were riding down the road around a blind left hand turn. I was on the right side and he was on the left side. I told him he better get to the other side of the road, but he didn't listen. Around the corner came a yellow VW bug, and he hit flew right into the windshield, then flew into the air beside the car! The windshield was cracked and you could see his some of his hairs stuck in it. He said that he was ok, and that he was fine to walk home. But the girl insisted that she drive him home (only about 2 blocks away). And I had to walk my bike while carrying his to the house.

[93Hatch]

Most of my bikes when I was gowing up didn't have brakes (having been wrenched on for years by kids) and I perfected other methods for stopping. The powerslide, sticking a foot in between the front fork and tire, etc. But I was the expert at the controlled endo. I would get going (not too fast) and jam my foot on the front tire and then as I was going over the handlebars I would launch off the front tire and land on my feet. Amazing that me or my friends were never seriously hurt with all the stupid things we did on bikes! And to think this was before anyone wore a helmet.

[gfdengine204]

Well, if we are making sport of this.......

When I was about 6, I was riding my bike, racing a neighbor-kid. I looked over my left shoulder to see where Sam was, and when I turned my head back front, well.....there suddenly was the GIANT yellow side of a Ryder truck, parked on the side of the street. No time to do anything bt hit it. My mom and dad were sitting on the porch, and saw this happen. I don't remember getting home, I was told I walked, and my dad went to got my bike.

I come to, and open my eyes, and I can't see. Blinded. Now scared outta my mind. I pass back out. Of course, no one took me to the hospital. Nah, just rub some dirt on it, you'll be ok.....LOL

I wake up later, open my eyes, and the first thing I see is Walter Jacobsen, a reported on CBS Channel 2 in Chicago. (Yes, this was a LONG time ago). I suffered no ill effects as far as I can tell. Though my wife might disagree.

[mtbiker278]

I've done the over the handlebars "superman" manuver a number of times for a variety of reasons. Logs, tree roots, wild-life, other people, bad drops, etc.

However my most spectuacular wreck was going over a steep gravel pile while my dad was following me not to far behind. I might have been about 15 at the time. Needless to say my dad saw me lift off the gravel pile gain about 5-6ft of air. Unfortunately my back wheel decided to rise upon take-off dropping the front wheel into a nose-dive. At the speed I was going there was no "rolling" over the handlebars. This time I simply landed in a heap, bike and all. The ground was covered in grael which made the landing less than ideal. I pretty much need a gauze pad that was about 1ft square. I was black and blue for about 3 weeks. Definitely bruised some ribs, sprained a wrist, huge scrape, and a "taco'd" front wheel.

Moral of the story: Teenagers don't believe in Darwin...

[MT bucket]

I was carrying a jacket on my commute home around 15 years ago and dropped it in my front wheel of my road racing bike at 20 mph. Went over the bars and drilled into the road! snapped my right clavacle, thats it, good thing I had my helmet on! no damage to the bike at all! was able to walk home.

[donee]

Hi All,

Well, I have not been biking lately. But from my foggy memory, when I was in High School, I was riding my bike home from Football practice. It was getting dark, as this was later in the fall, and practice had gone longer than usual. There is was a hill, I coasted down, and usually go onto the street, then around another corner. This day though, the gas staton at the bottom of the hill was closed (yea I know the 1970's were a different world), so I thought I would just coast through their lot into the neighboring lot and cut the S curve I needed to make. Welp, I forgot the gas station had a 9 inch tall square cross-section curb between their lot and the neighboring one. I hit it about 15 mph. Not being prepared for this at all, I just went flying over the handle bars. Luckilly I had enough presence of mind to tuck and roll. The front tire of the bike was still inflated, but had about a 3 inch dent in it. I was able to push that out to a 1 inch dent, and ride the 5 more miles home, slowly and sorely. If this would happen to me today, I would be in the hospital for 2 weeks.

[BailOut]

These are some great stories, all. I dislike bumping old threads but I just have to share...

While I didn't get anything more than a scraped knee on a bicycle as a child I didn't ride for more than 20 years afterwards. I decided to pick it back up last May (2008) and I have had some doozies since then.

1) My first time actually on a mountain bike trail, the Thomas Creek Trail in Reno, NV. My legs turned to mush after the first big hill climb so I rested and then my friend and I came back down. To get back to the parking area once has to cross a slack, foot-wide, 10-feet long and 3 feet high wooden bridge over the creek. I was none too stable overall and didn't line up well and my front wheel went off the side of the bridge when I was 2/3 the way across it at about 10 MPH. The tire planted in the mud and I went over the bars, hitting my left chest on the stem and bruising 2 ribs in the process. This was soon after the ribs I broke snowboarding in February had healed so I was none too happy about it, and they hurt for 3 weeks!

2) Last September it was time for my first "epic" mountain bike trail (and therefore a great opportunity for my first spectacular wreck) so my buddy and I decided to hit the "Hole in the Ground" trail near Castle and Andesite Peaks and Sand Ridge, just above Boreal and Soda Springs, California. It was by far the longest and most technical trail I'd done to that point. In one section of mixed dirt and rock garden that was surrounded by rocks on both sides I was in the lead and we were doing about 20 MPH on a slight downhill. As the trail crested a small hump a bush grew out of the rocks from the right, forcing me to the left side. I did not know enough at the time to read the trail properly and so the washed out area on my left did not clue me that I should be braking hard and turning right. I came off that hump and went airborne, aimed squarely at the rock field that had been to my left, watching the trail float away to my right. There was nothing I could do. I landed with the front wheel heavy on a rock and I heard that sickening sound that spokes make when they flex and reverberate, and I was pitched right over the bars as my back tire bounced, too. I flew a few feet and landed on the rocks, banging an elbow and getting all kinds pf scrapes in the process. My helmet bounced my head off of something just as my shoulder wedged on a different rock. Just then the 35-pound bicycle landed on me, creating a jagged line of greasy scrapes up my left thigh as the chain went along my leg and over my butt. I was more shaken up than hurt though I was indeed banged up. Just to add insult to injury, about 2 miles down the trail, with another 5.5 miles still to go, I braced myself off of the wall in a small and loose rock canyon, but my right pinky got stuck in a crevice and as my momentum carried me forward it broke. The remaining ride out was simply not fun.

3) Here's my most stupid one to date. My wife and I were scoping out a place for me to host a bike ride on the path along the Truckee River in Reno for the Big Brothers Big Sisters. We eventually found a great area but the planned ending park was not labeled. I saw a fellow sitting at a picnic table there and thought to ride over to ask him about it. I was on my mountain bike as my wife was on the road bike so I boldly thought that the exposed railroad tracks in my way would be no issue. I popped my front tire over the first track but then my back wheel hung up on it as I didn't have enough speed. I quickly pumped a half rotation on the pedals but all this did was pull my rear tire out to the left. In desperation I pumped another half turn but there was nowhere for the tire to go so the torque simply went into the frame and I drove myself right into the ground between the tracks, still clipped in. I was pretzeled enough to have to use my hands to unclip the first foot while my wife laughed at me, the fellow on the bench stared and another couple rode by asking if I needed help.

[Taliesin]

Only one good story for me.

8 or 9 years old. Richards Gebaur AFB Missouri. Just a kid's bike.

There was a curb at the edge of a driveway that sloped nicely into a ramp. We would often start at the top of the hill and hit this thing and see what we could see.

My best shot at it was my last one. I was a little scared after seeing the backyard of the 2 story house!!

The bike and I seperated at the top, the bike landed in front of me, I hit the ground rolling and managed to "hop" myself over the bike while still rolling. Nothing hurt or anything, but I sure did learn to think before I did anything like that again.

[Maxx]

Ok, all I can say is that this story is true. Unbelievable, but true.

I was about 18, riding a GT Timberline mountain bike. Used to bike ALL the time back then. I was cruising around town and was dipping down this little grassy hill behind a law office. The grass was dewwy as it was late at night, so I grabbed the rear brake to let the tail slide out a little. I overcorrected the handlebars coming out of the slide and the front wheel went all 90 degrees on me. Of course I went over the bars. Of course my feet stayed in the toe clips. But here's the rub: I ducked into the spill and instead of face planting in the dewwy grass, I rolled, with the bike, and popped my left foot out of the toe clip in time to pop it back up one the wheels and CONTINUED RIDING. Never stopped. Of course no one else was there to back up this ridiculous story, but I swear that it's true. I summersaulted a bicycle...

Years later, living on the third floor of a New Britain walk up, some little punk stole that bike from that back hallway. My bad for not locking it up, but come on! I have since replaced it with an aluminum frame Cannondale that I bought from a tag sale for $5 (broken rear derailer, rusty chain).

[drimportracing]

Hit from behind by a Chevy Yukon while riding in Wilmington, NC. I was on my 18 speed doing my weekend 40 mile to and from Rocky Mount to Wilmington bike trip. I was 26 or 27 and in much better shape prior to that day.

Lady in the Yukon was doing 40mph according to witnesses when she hit me with the trucks passenger side windshield pillar in the left elbow and back of the head. She said that she hit me instead of the car beside her because there was a baby in that car. I suspect she was unaware of me as she admitted to being on a cell phone during the accident.

I went to a chiropractor for over a year, I would get vertigo every time I looked down even slightly for the first two months, I still have pain if I do certain activities 13 years later and I haven't rode a bicycle since that day.