A Spill on the Ice

Well I spoke too soon. I was so happy to see the thawing of snow and ice that I rushed out and began riding while there was still slop and slush and an undercoating of ice still on the trails. I was cautious, for the most part, until that one time when I wasn't.

I chose the 1961 Raleigh Sport for my ride, since its tires are a bit wider than my other bikes, and it's a good stable bike. And I think the upright riding position feels inherently safer and more stable. But it didn't stop me from taking my first fall in many years.

I had been pretty careful about dismounting when I came into shaded areas of the trail that still had snow on them and walking my bike through. But I kept noticing a lot of tire tracks through the snow, and I know that a lot of people keep riding even when there's snow. I'm just not one of them, and I'm sure there's a component of luck as well as skill in doing so. Luck was mostly on my side, as it turns out.

I decided to go on through the snow, but when I did my front wheel skidded into an existing bike track, and that set up a slide in a different direction than I was trying to go. I overcompensated and then I panicked, and then I fell. The ice under the snow accelerated my fall, and before I knew what had happened I felt my helmet smash into the ground next to the trail.

I landed exactly on my head. I do make a conscientious effort to never ride without my helmet, and this was a good reminder of why. My helmet mounted mirror came off. My glasses came off. I stayed on the ground for a few moments, and my first thought was "I wonder if I'm going to get back up." I slowly tried my body out, and everything was fine. No injuries, beyond some scratches and scrapes.

I got up, put on my glasses -- bent frame, but fixable. Checked my mirror, and found that it didn't break, and I mounted it back on my helmet.

The bike had fallen hard on the left side, and I had a bit of a wobbly pedal, but after riding a bit, then putting my weight on it, I was able to get it to work fairly well. I later found that the crank shaft had bent slightly inward, and I was able to bend it back out with a cheater pipe once I got home.

I finished the ride and I was a bit sore for a few days. At 57, I have to wonder how many more times in my life I'll be able to take a hard fall and get back up. I guess the answer is just to make sure I keep getting back up.