Habanero
Posts:257
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| 02/05/2022 12:58 PM |
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I was riding on Labor Day last year and there was no traffic on the roads. That is until I made a left turn out in the boondocks, then a car hit my left side going 45 or so. I sustained multiple injuries including fractures to my lumbar spine.
After that, I swore I would get to Spain to ride asap and not ride road in the states anymore. All good and I was ready to leave in December and then... Omicron. It ran rampant everywhere in the EU and here as well. That stopped those plans right quick.
When I got the all clear to ride again in late November I hopped on m trainer and have been Zwifting away and recovering my fitness. I got my Lynskey fixed up with an insurance settlement and it is ready to be outside as soon as things warm up. I got a Garmin Varia rear light which features radar to let you know when cars are behind you.
My question to you all is, have any of you been injured in an accident like I described and returned to the road? What gave you the confidence to get back out there?
I attempted to sue the driver who hit me, but ran into every conceivable roadblock. The country sheriff wrote up a $4it report and immediately said the driver would not be charged with any criminal or civil penalties. His insurance company said I was 100% at fault and that they wouldn't pay anything and the lawyer I hired quit the case after 3 months of work saying he didn't think we could win. All this was extremely frustrating, but I am glad to both be alive and not have any longstanding medical issues.
Any advice much appreciated! |
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zootracer
Posts:835
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| 02/05/2022 02:01 PM |
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| Sorry about your unfortunate crash. I had a bad crash once. Going down, in all places, climbing a steep 20% inclined asphalt driveway at my house, which was a little wet because of previous rain. My tires were slippery, possibly I had run over some wet paint the road crews had painted for a stop sign limit line. I went down hard, fracturing my right hip. I had surgery that night. Surgeon implanted a screw in my right hip and a titanium rod in my right femur. I was off my bike for three months. My first day back I fell again as I was climbing a steep hill (lots of hills in my neck of the woods). I went down again when my chain broke (never use a ti chain). Fortunately nothing happened. My surgeon was appalled. It took about 8 weeks to get back into condition again. Worst part was my butt hurt and I had to change saddles a few times. I cycling went on, but I never regained the fitness I had before. Age made a difference, I was 63 years old at the time (2005). My advice, just get out and ride and try to have fun. Oh, I use one of those dork cycling mirrors that attach to cycling sunglasses. I always know what is behind me. |
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Habanero
Posts:257
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| 02/05/2022 02:05 PM |
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| Yikes Zoot - that sucks! I'm sorry to hear you didn't regain your fitness. I agree with your assessment that the goal needs to be to simply get out and have fun. I'll check out mirrors. Have ever tried the ones that mount as your bar end plugs? If so, how was that compared to the unit that mounts on your glasses? |
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Dale
Posts:1767
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| 02/05/2022 02:21 PM |
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I was taken out by a dog 10+ years ago and it took a long time for me to not be overly cautious whenever I heard a dog bark. I think I'm more aware now but not paranoid.
These cameras are good to document incidents so if you every end up needing video it's right there.
https://cycliq.com |
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zootracer
Posts:835
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| 02/05/2022 03:53 PM |
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Hab, never tried the mirrors that plug into your handlebars. I did try the type that inserts inside of your riding glasses. Did not work. There is a rearlight/camera system. You have a small camera on your handlebars. Expensive.
Dogs. Never taken taken out. Bitten a few times.
Same as Dale. Whenever I hear a dog bark, I try to find out the dogs location. Problem is some dogs don't bark before they attack you. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 02/05/2022 04:48 PM |
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Hab- no idea this happened. When your FB ride posts stopped I just thought the weather on your end turned to crap. Yikes.
I’ve had incidents that were or could have been as severe or worse but I seem to be made out of rubber. At age 20 I was hooked by a car and ended up eating from a straw for a while but was gunning for my bike to come out of repair. More recently my handlebars were hit by the mirror of a speeding car. If driver drifts slightly more to right that’s a life ender. As it stands no idea why I didn’t crash or end up in ravine. My front wheel got knocked askew in fork and handlebar tape got knicked that’s it.
Anyway, Spain isn’t the answer. Bunch of pros got hit by car while training recently. This stuff happens everywhere. They have better driver liability rules though in case something happens. Same for my first accident above. 100 percent covered and more.
Local organizer of ride4water is going through same deliberations as you. He was riding an FSR, a car coming other way cut inside of bend in road with poor visibility due to trees hitting him, bike broke in two, concussion bunch of broken bones. So much for gravel being safe. He submitted GoPro evidence that showed convincingly that driver was 100% at fault. Evidence got completely ignored so much for that. Insurance deemed it 50/50. He’ll have a hard time getting better there’s no lines or markers on an FSR to unambiguously indicate when you’re no longer on right hand side.
Anyway get back out there. One of my ride buddies has a left side handlebar mirror. It seems to work very well for him to check on traffic from behind or to just see if he’s dropping me. Dogs, haha, many incidents but no crashes or bites. We did avoid an entire area in Ontario though due to repeat encounters with a vicious German shepherd. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 02/05/2022 06:25 PM |
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| Hmm. Wanted to refresh my mind on three pros hit by car in December. Just over a week ago another pro (Irish female) got hit in Spain and almost died. Of course they have better jamon. |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2886
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| 02/05/2022 08:31 PM |
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| Hit a deer at speed last summer. ICU, many fractures and other injuries, months of recovery still in progress. opting for tame stuff for now. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 02/05/2022 09:35 PM |
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Yikes LSD heal up.
When I was at UCSC a guy hit a deer. A driver found him
On road unconscious. Deer was dead. |
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Habanero
Posts:257
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| 02/06/2022 10:44 AM |
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| Thanks, OC for this - good info, and yes I now realize that being in Spain isn't going to necessarily improve my safety.
Regarding FB - I got off there because it was turning into more of a cesspool by the minute and I don't need it if I can connect with the people I want to on other platforms like this. |
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Habanero
Posts:257
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| 02/06/2022 10:49 AM |
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| Damn LSD - sorry to hear this. I hope you recover in full! |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 02/06/2022 11:46 AM |
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Interesting Hab, my FB is mellow and filled w posts about cycling skiing and food. The AI isn’t very smart and can be manipulated for positive experiences.
The one annoying item is repeat adverts for the highly overpriced Mercedes ebike. |
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79pmooney
Posts:3189
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| 02/06/2022 12:06 PM |
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Slightly off topic but it was just yesterday and it was a very expensive E-bike? E-cycle? A very quiet motorcycle. Shape roughly of a rice rocket but tamer. Light blue and white. Aggressive sounding tires and motor/drivetrain sounds to match. So quite audible but relative to even the quietest motorcycles - quiet! Good looking ride! I'd love to see it closer. I was riding in the opposite direction so my look was brief.
So - motorcycle nomenclature - time to get this right. Those gas hogs aren't motorcycles. They are enginecycles. What I saw yesterday was a true motorcycle. (Well I guess the gas hog folk can claim that if they have an electric fuel pump, they do indeed have a motorcycle. A 1000 pound, 10 watt motorcycle. |
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eurochien
Posts:163
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| 02/06/2022 02:18 PM |
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| I'm always enraged to hear/read that cyclists injured on the road by motorists are pretty much always getting shafted. It's like you already have a strike against you if you're on a bike, as opposed to a similar situation, but with 2 motorized vehicles (motorcycles faring marginally better than bicycles). Years ago, someone on my cycling team out on a training ride on a Sunday late afternoon in September had a car coming from the opposite direction make a left turn in front of her. The driver said that she "never saw" the cyclist ("the setting sun was in her eyes", and she got away with it. My teammate did not, she sustained a spinal injury and became a paraplegic. There are so many stories like that, with insurance always trying (successfully) to weasel out of paying anything, cops writing crap reports etc. (unless it's drunk driving, in which case you may have some hope). Just gross. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 02/06/2022 03:29 PM |
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My impression is that a lot of motorists are also getting shafted by insurance. That is how insurance operates they’ll do anything not to have to pay out. Gross indeed. Cyclists and pedestrians aren’t necessarily faring worse than motorists but in a just situation as vulnerable road users they should be fairing way better. That part is sorely missing.
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