Most Ridiculous Crash
Discussion
I was out cycling round the New Forest with Mrs S. All very nice riding on gravel tracks and roads. We were on our way home when a squirrel ran out from the side of the road a stuck its head through the spokes of my front wheel stopping me instantly. Fortunately I was only doing 20mph according to Strava but it pitched me over the bars smashing my collarbone into 5 pieces, breaking a couple of ribs and puncturing a lung. I thought collarbones were supposed to be easy but I’ve been in hospital since Thursday and not sure when I’m getting out. I suspect they’ll open me up and fit a plate next week but we’ll see. Tufty the squirrel definitely came off worse and will think twice about doing it again. Or he would if he still had a head.
Ouch, sounds like your collar bone will definitely be getting some metal work which is probably for the best recovery time wise. Collar bones generally are easy, I've done mine before and I just got sent home with some codeine and a sling but broken 5 places.... yeah.
Did you bang your head too? I had a few nights in hospital 2 years ago with a concussion and they didn't want to let me go, I felt absolutely fine and so it felt like I was being kept against my will.
Did you bang your head too? I had a few nights in hospital 2 years ago with a concussion and they didn't want to let me go, I felt absolutely fine and so it felt like I was being kept against my will.
Meh I came down Meads hill doing about 40 and hit a fox and didn't come off or kill the fox. The worst crash I had I was going along a road at about 30 and I looked at a dropped kerb and thought I'd use the far slopey kerb as a ramp. I hit the kerb at speed without seeing the sign post. My handlebar and shoulder hit the metal post and I clattered to the floor in a pile of sickly pain. Or it might have been the time I borrowed my friends GT (rollercam brake, showing my age). I was heading for a kerb and tried turning bunny the bike, not used to how far back the c of g was. The back wheel hit the kerb at speed and bounced hard, rotating around the front wheel and pitching me off the front. My feet were strapped in (remember clips'n'straps) and I forgot to let go of the handlebars to put my hands out in front, so landed sliding along on my face. On concrete slabs, with a corner sticking up. Concussed, two teeth brike, and a raggedy hole in my top lip. Lost a couple of mugfuls of blood, had to go to hospital and got my lip glued. It really really hurt.
Edited as I needlessly quoted the op.
Edited by Super Sonic on Sunday 9th June 17:57
I was out on my bike the other night when a squirrel ran across the road in front of me causing me to swerve, but luckily without the same result that the OP had. I thought at the time ‘b
d kamikaze squirrel, you can’t trust them!’ I’ve also had similar with badgers, which I think would be even worse if you hit one. OP hope you get out of hospital soon.
d kamikaze squirrel, you can’t trust them!’ I’ve also had similar with badgers, which I think would be even worse if you hit one. OP hope you get out of hospital soon.Crikey, sorry to hear that, thats really really unlucky! 
Get well soon.
I have hit quite a bit of wildlife, none have had me off the bike. My bike or body has come into contact with squirrels, rats, pheasants, partridges and had a close shave with a few deer. Oh and yesterday, a swan took out my front wheel (it was being chased by a dog) but luckily I'd slowed down to walking speed.
Get well soon.I have hit quite a bit of wildlife, none have had me off the bike. My bike or body has come into contact with squirrels, rats, pheasants, partridges and had a close shave with a few deer. Oh and yesterday, a swan took out my front wheel (it was being chased by a dog) but luckily I'd slowed down to walking speed.
^^^^ had a similar thing happen to me back in the late 1990s, except it was a small rabbit! Decapitated it too, I never broke any bones, but lost most of the skin from right shoulder as it was on a rough tarmac B road. The couldn't stitch anything as I had no skin left to be stitched. I had to have big iodine patches fitted to the wound, that had to be changed regularly until the skin eventually grew back.
Bizarre thing was, I had baseball hat on and not a helmet. The hat actually saved me face, because as my head slid along the tarmac, the visor of the hat came down and it rubbed along the ground wearing all the material from it. Dr's at the hospital said that had I been wearing a helmet, then, I may have need skin grafts for my face
Hope you recover quick and get back home. Also hope the bike is ok
Bizarre thing was, I had baseball hat on and not a helmet. The hat actually saved me face, because as my head slid along the tarmac, the visor of the hat came down and it rubbed along the ground wearing all the material from it. Dr's at the hospital said that had I been wearing a helmet, then, I may have need skin grafts for my face
Hope you recover quick and get back home. Also hope the bike is ok
Ouch! Hope you mend well, sounds painful.
Coming back to “only doing 20mph” in the New Forest - is this an eBike?
Pretty flat round there….if I’m doing 15mph on the flat, I’m flat out
Had a pal in front of me once fail to turn a corner down a country lane….smashed into a 5-bar gate at some speed, using face as a brake. Still no idea why they hadn’t braked properly (& nor did they). Nasty.
Again, hope you mend fast and well
Coming back to “only doing 20mph” in the New Forest - is this an eBike?
Pretty flat round there….if I’m doing 15mph on the flat, I’m flat out
Had a pal in front of me once fail to turn a corner down a country lane….smashed into a 5-bar gate at some speed, using face as a brake. Still no idea why they hadn’t braked properly (& nor did they). Nasty.
Again, hope you mend fast and well
interstellar said:
Any update op?
They didn’t operate to fit a plate just to wash out the wound where the bone came through. I’m home now with a big bag of pain relief which is doing it’s job unless I cough, then the broken ribs are excruciatingly painful. The lung puncture was only a scratch which is not giving any trouble. I got my bike back yesterday which doesn’t seem to have suffered any damage apart from a patch of squirrel juice and some fluff. bobbo89 said:
Bone came through? So a compound fracture?
I didn’t look but there was some blood which I assume was mine not Tufty’s. I don’t think the bone came through far as there is only one stitch. The CT scan showed the collarbone was in a lot of pieces. One rib was broken but aligned the other was mis aligned but as it was the 2nd and 3rd they don’t do anything. Sorry to hear of your injuries. Wishing you a speedy recovery.
I had a similar incident cycling to school in the 80s. I was a pretty decent TT rider then.
Tufty’s ancestor ran into my front wheel, was swiftly decapitated by rapid rotation, and it spurted blood all over me and my bike. School friends I was travelling with at the time had to inform my year master that I’d be late as I had to go home, clean up, and clean my bike before returning to school. It was a gruesome sight for a 15 year old.
(Not too far from the New Forest at the time, either…..)
I had a similar incident cycling to school in the 80s. I was a pretty decent TT rider then.
Tufty’s ancestor ran into my front wheel, was swiftly decapitated by rapid rotation, and it spurted blood all over me and my bike. School friends I was travelling with at the time had to inform my year master that I’d be late as I had to go home, clean up, and clean my bike before returning to school. It was a gruesome sight for a 15 year old.
(Not too far from the New Forest at the time, either…..)
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