The Chainlink

Since I'm laid up bored with my injuies, I thought I'd seek some crowd wisdom figuring out a crash.  Here are the details I know.

Monday night about 6:40, I was riding the North Branch trail northbound at the Oakton overpass. It had rained a few hours before, but the trail was not very damp. I had just finished the climb over Oakton, and was beginning the descent. I was going about 18, when I felt the bike begin to shimmy, maybe indicating a skid. Next thing I know, my back is on the ground (backpack taking the brunt, or so I thought) and my Bern helmeted head bounces off the pavement.  I quickly stand up, noticing my right wrist is sore.

I pick up my bike to see if it's rideable, and the rear rim is bent so badly, it's jammed against the seatstay. 

In the following days, I learn that I've fractured my right wrist and elbow, I have a bruise on my right back just below the backpack, and I have slightly pulled muscles on the left front ab & left side of my neck. Also, I was wearing gloves, and I have a bruise on my right palm, but no sign of abrasion on the glove. Where I hit my helmet, there is also no sight of anything other than a direct impact.

From what it looks like, I was whipped down at great speed while no longer traveling forward. In addition, my potato chipped rear wheel shows signs of great stress.

I have read about highsiders on motorcycles, but haven't been able to explain how I was seemingly whipped backwards, not forwards. Does anyone out there have any light or questions that could help solve this mystery?

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A friend also had a bit of a mystery crash too a few years back.  It was a bit damp, and he wiped out between by some train tracks, broke his collarbone.  Experienced rider, was training for PBP and luckily had a friend with him to call an ambulance.  

They went back a few weeks later to see if they could piece together what happened.  I can't remember more details. 

Except for the part where I remember a) landing on my back, b) then my head bouncing after, and then c) the pulled ab/neck muscles that hurt when I do a crunch (or sit up from lying down).  Those all indicate that I went backwards at speed.  

And since I remember distinctly hitting my head, it's not real likely that it was a blackout from the head hit.  I remember from that point onwards.  So no, no signs of head trauma at all.  The Bern helmet performed beautifully.

And here's a picture of my wheel, that has no signs of impact that 3 of us can find.

http://www.madopal.com/images/chippedWheel1.jpg

BTW, from the latest from the doctors...the arm injury is completely torsional, meaning, I can move my arm back & forth normally, it's only wrist rotation that hurts.  My latest theory is then that I highsided as would be expected.  When the bike caught & whipped, the handlebars torqued incredibly fast while my right hand was on/somehow stuck by the handlebars.  That force effectively judo-ed me to fly back away from the source of the pain...my right arm & the handlebars.

That's the best theory I've come up with at this point to explain the damage to the bike & the injuries I've got. Plus, it explains why I don't remember anything in between...that force was instant.  For an example of a bike skid doing that, check out this vid of a motorcycle highside.  Notice that the bike skids one way then violently whips 180 degrees in reaction to the driver over counter steering.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlMbFlPzS24


marcus said:

You weren't necessarily whipped backwaards.  Shimmy is rotation in the horizontal plane around the vehicle's center of mass.  This would easily explain your bike flipping around underneath you and thus ending up in front of you.

see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_dynamics_(aircraft) for an illustration.

BTW, thanks all for the discussion.  Helps pass the time as I heal up here.  I just found out I don't need surgery on my elbow, so that's a plus.  Now I'm just trying to figure out if I want to go get a recumbent trike so I can possibly do Bike the Drive, and I hope to heal up fast enough for Bike to Work day on June 15th.  I've got all the shirts since 2005. :)

And the final piece.  If my hand was caught on the hoods as it rotated, I had a defacto rotational wristlock.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wristlock#Rotational_wristlock

"Once the radius and ulna have been brought to their extreme positions, further twisting motion will put severe torque on the wrist. In martial arts, standing rotational wristlocks are often accompanied by the opponent instinctively willingly throwing him or herself to escape or alleviate the lock."

Let that be a lesson to anyone who was taught the "hold on to the handlebars" school of crashes.

Happy you are recovering!  It was nice to meet you in person Saturday at the Glencoe Grand Prix.

Thanks, Julie!  Great meeting you as well.  I graduated to a smaller wrist brace today, so I'm hoping to try my first ride on two wheels maybe on Friday.  I need to get ready to get back on so I can make it down for the Bike to Work rally.

And thanks to everyone for all the investigating.  Made my healing time go much more quickly.

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