Has anyone taken any good falls on a bike?
 

All of my crashes have been on a mountain bike and have been fairly mild.

This week I had 2 patients come in for injuries sustained in crashes - one an elbow fracture and the other a shoulder injury. Both fell on an outstretched arm. Over the past 2 years I can identify probably 10 or 11 others with the same mechanism of injury.

We always talk about tucking your arm and shoulder in when going down. Is this possible to overcome the urge to reach out and brace yourself for the fall?

Nothing major for me
 

all mine are from mountain bike too. Just minor puncture wounds from bouncing off rocks. The granite over here is sharp :(

For me rolling in a crash in second nature, but I think it is hard to learn for those that don't do it. It has to be an instictive thing or you are going to only half way do it and really hurt yourself. I saw a woman in after the Everest climb that had gone off the road and kissed the ground. I would much rather have a bruised and scraped shoulder than teeth broken in half like she had. Of couse that wasn't as bad as the woman I heard about that went off the road and down 40ft of steep hill breaking her pelvis in the process. OUCH.

Last month's Bicycling magazine had an article about how to properly fall. It was pretty interesting and I'm not sure I'd be able to resist the urge to brace with my outstretched arms. According to the article when your bike goes down you should tuck and roll to your side (and stay clipped in) as you roll tacross your back you should click out and push the bike away while you keep rolling. I hadn't heard the advice to stay clipped in before.

I broke my elbow when my front quickrelease popped off, when I was 14.

This was the end of August. The amazing thing was that I didn't miss a single game of that fall basketball season (injury requires insertion of pin, then surgical removal of pin, then rehab).

I did this Century in northern california called tour of the unknown coast. great ride but the road were horrendous, especially the downhills. They tried to mark the larger pot holes with spray paint, but when you're going 40-50mph alot of good that will do.

I came upon a couple of gnarly accidents. One guy face planted around a corner and had a lump the size of a baseball right above his left eye.

The other guy hit one of these pot holes and went flying off the side of the road. When I got there, the paramedics were just arriving and the helicopter was on its way. Fractured pelvis, femur and humerus.

As for me, I've got to work on Monday. I'm riding the brakes all the way down.

had several accidents but came out okay
 

I've been hit by cars twice, and have gone down in the pack.

In one, I was tboned, flew over the car after staying in the bars. It sheared the frame in half, blew the helmet apart, lots of road rash but no broken bones.

In another, touched a wheel, rolled and stayed clipped in. Road rash, no breaks.

My body looks like walking road rash sometimes.

With that said, I suppose this might be the right crowd to ask about road rash. I have yet to take a spill on the road (me knocking on wood), but last week during my softball game I slide for the second time on this artificial turf stuff that is so popular. Absolutely brutal. My leg was hamburger and took about 3 weeks after the first slide before it was comfortable to take a shower or touch it.

Any pointers for managing road rash? And no, I do not currently have and do not plan to shave my legs any time soon.

Don't get any
 

neosporin and some painkiller.

You need to help it heal, get air to it, and keep it clean.

When I was 12...
 

I was riding my Schwinn Swing Bike down a hill on 106th S. in Sandy. It was late at night and we were practically flying down that hill.

At the bottom of the hill, I never saw that the manhole cover was off until it was too late. I sailed over the handle bars and pretty much did a face plant on the road - which would explain why I look like I do today. ;)

I ws more upset that the swing bike was ruined. It was, by far, the coolest bike I've ever owned.

T-boned by a car.
 

This was my most spectaular crash. Lots of road rash, broken wrist. Confrontation with driver while bleeding from numerous abrasions.

Lots of falls on the mountain bike. can't seem to keep the dang thing up when bombing dowhill.

As a kid, on my new gold 5 speed schwinn with ape hanger handle bars, thinking it would be oh so cool to ride up and over this huge pile of sand that a truck had just dumped at our neighbors house. Then thinking it would be really cool to do it at the very high speed that my new gold 5 speed Schwinn allows me to do achieve. Front wheel lodges firmly into the base of the sand pile. Bike stops IMMEDIATELY while my pre-pubescent mass hurtles forward at alarming velocity. Tender nether regions come into contact with headset bolt at the bottom of the ape hangers. This introduces me, in a twisted context, to the term 'blueball' for the first itme. Really dark, purpley blue. I could not sit down, run, walk fast, stand up quickly or cross my legs for a week.