# Best/worst bike crash stories



## tradygirl (May 21, 2007)

I'm feeling lucky after probably one of the most memorable MTB crashes of my life yesterday, and I started thinking that there are most likely some great crash stories out there begging to be shared. What were your scariest/funniest/most embarrassing crashes? 

Scariest - catching a pedal at about 20mph and face planting into a rock in St George. It was a long ride, so no full face, but thank goodness I was wearing elbow/leg armor. The damage: three stitches in my upper lip, a broken radius at the elbow and a broken ulna at the wrist. No surgery, but a hell of a recovery.

Funniest/most embarrassing - commuting to work one morning this summer. I stopped at a notoriously long red light with no cars stopped going either direction. I'm a stickler for not running traffic lights on my bike, so I unclipped my right foot and toed myself over to the pedestrian button to get the light to turn green. However, there was a plastic bus bench in front of the pole with the button. In an act of extreme laziness, instead of unclipping and getting off my bike, I moved my unclipped right foot up onto the bench so I could reach the button without getting off my bike. I hit the button and then pushed off the bench with my foot in order to pedal back into the street. Metal toe cleats + hard plastic = zero traction. My foot slips and of course I fall to my left. As my left leg is completely uncoordinated and cannot unclip, I fall like a dead tree into the gutter. By this time, the light had turned green and a car had arrived at the red light on the cross-street, the driver staring at me dumbly. I jumped up and barely made the light, only realizing my seat was twisted almost completely sideways once I tried to sit. Ugh.


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## CycleMainiac (Jan 12, 2004)

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=526854


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## Impy (Jan 6, 2004)

CycleMainiac said:


> http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=526854


I don't know how I missed that one on the original posting but OMG that is hysterical!!!!


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## RidersofDslum (Jun 8, 2007)

The most embarassing:

I endoed in my salad at safeway a few years ago. I was holding a bag of groceries with a pre-made salad in it and rode off the curb. I must of came off way to slow and my wheel went side ways and I went over. I landed on my salad and it was like a lettuce explosion. Lettuce was everywere and sticking to me.

The trail accident:

I went around a switchback unsucessefully. My bike went out from under me. My bike fell down the bank and I had to crawl down there and retrieve it.

Recent Commuting disaster:

I always take this dirt path down this hill next to a busy road. There's this tiny ditch that I love to jump over it. I decided I would go faster and jump the **** out of it. I only went 3 inches over it and the speed caused me to fishtail in the loose gravel sand combination. I lost control and ate it hard. My bike did a tumble and went like 5 feet and landed in the turning lane. Luckley no one was turning. My elbow was busted open and the accident broke my rear brake. Blood all over me. I caught the bus and people were asking me about the obvious. 

Lucky to have never broken anything other than minor bike parts.


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## jaclynj (Jun 11, 2007)

The most embarassing:

I overshot a turn while downhilling and jumper off my bike to avoid a crash...well I caught my shorts on the seat and ripped the butt completely out of them. I had to ride the rest of the way down the mountain to with my butt hanging out of my shorts. Oh, it was opening day and the park was very busy.

The worst:

I crashed face first off of a jump at Kicking Horse. Luckily I have my full face and body armour on since there was a big scrape right where my jaw is and gashes down my spine protector from my big ring. I also go some big bruises on both palms. My pride got hurt too since it was at the beginning of the trail and a goup of guys witnessed the bail and ensuing temper tantrum....and foul languauge/hand signals to the rest of my group!


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## lynseyf (May 1, 2007)

I haven't had any really bad crashes but a couple of weeks ago I did a superman over the handlebars after going off a drop off that was bigger than I thought. I just had a light t shirt on and landed quite hard on gravel and rocks and completely ripped my t-shirt. The worst bit was on my left boob where I ripped a huge strip right off my shirt so I had to ride the rest of the trail with my left boob hanging out.


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## IttyBittyBetty (Aug 11, 2005)

*Now I wear my armor.....*

September 2007; it was the first day of GITA (Gaspin' in the Aspens), a 3 day long mountain biking festival in New Mexico. I went with my friend DurtGurl from AZ. On Friday we were riding the Battleship/Jemez trails. I decided NOT to wear my leg armor; left it in the car. That was a BAD decision.

We were descending a very technical rocky section. I followed Durtgurl to a rooty/rocky uphill that appeared to have an immediate down hill on the other side. Most of the guys in front of us got off to walk, but not us! I followed Durtgurl up and over. She executed the descent nicely, but I somehow didn't get my weight back far enough. Over the bars I went; Durtgurl said it sounded like a 250 pound man hitting the ground when I landed (I am 115). I hit hard! I hit rocks!

Durtgurl yelled - "Jen are you OK", and I said - "I don't think so.....". At first I thought I may have broken my arm, because that's where I felt pain at first. But then I swung my legs in front of me and saw what I had really done; a three inch gash below my knee. I had lacerated my shin on my right leg all the way down to the bone. It was pretty ghastly. Durtgurl, New Mex Joe, notanob and a dose of percocet helped me walk out. Many stitches and weeks off the bike. I still have diminished feeling in my leg due to severing the nerves. Click here if you want to see the gruesome pictures.

BTW - this is the SECOND time I have busted open a leg with Durtgurl! The first was back in Ohio in 2000 when I landed hard on my left knee. The skin just popped open, revealing my knee cap. 22 stiches later.....


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## htpride (Mar 30, 2009)

I was landing a jump; front wheel landed on a rock...rock turned...took me and the bike with it. I broke my clavicle; 40% the skin on my back was gone; some damage to some ligaments/muscles along the spine; and two vertabreas (sp?) were...well lets say they were no longer in the right position. I was alone...so I walk out with my bike to my truck. Next problem...how to load my bike into the truck box with one arm. I had it half in when a jogger going by noticed me covered in blood and finished loading it. He drove me to the hospital...good thing...my truck is standard. Good times...nearly as good as the torn ACLs. LOL.


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