“Have you ever needed to stop quickly on that?” Shamim asked me today while we took a breather after speeding down the Hagley road.
My answer to his question was simple “Yes, kinda, but I will usually look pretty far ahead to lower the need to stop quickly, or just go around”
Go around, ladies and gentlemen was what I tried to do today but unfortunately to no avail. I could not go around as I was hindered by what seemed to be a wall of cars and curbs.
I crashed. I crashed so bad that the right side of my face went through the rear window of a parked car which ended up with me going to A+E, in an ambulance.
She was traveling at approximately 20mph and I was right behind her… The light blue Volkswagen Polo that is. She stopped ( abruptly I might add ) in the middle of the road to let another car come through thus leaving me with a fraction of a second to find a way out of this sticky situation I had just gotten myself in. First I jam the rear wheel and brake, nope… Too close. Next, swerve to my left as my right side is packed by oncoming cars, Nope… Too fast ( I must have thought I was riding around a velodrome in the slipstream of a speeding motorcycle or something ). Smash!, Crack!, Shatter! I now find myself inside the rear window of a parked, stationary Audi A3 and it hurts. My head hurts like fu**ing hell, I feel like I just got a smack off the hardest geezer in the world.
“Oh my god are you ok, do you need an ambulance?” are the first words that I remember after impact, “No, No I am fine seriously” I replied, Then I managed to catch my reflection in the rear passenger side door of the A3. The right side of my face was running with blood like Niagra and I looked liked I had just been murdered.
The police and an ambulance had been called and the kind gentleman from the barbers or the carpet shop ( I can’t remember ) had hooked me up with a cloth out of his first aid kit to slow the bleeding, but before I could sit down and let the shock ensue I had to get back off home. I had left not only my phone, so no means of letting Amy know but I had also left my camera. Do you think I could smash a car window in with my face and not get a single picture? Forget it. The fine readers of Spinwell need to see this.
So I fu**ed up people and my apologies for the few profanities in this post but I am sure you can feel my pain. Yes I messed up real good,
I was going way too fast and way too close to the car in front with no ‘exit’ srategy and no ‘real’ brakes.
Pros and Cons debate on brakeless riding on the streets anyone?
I don’t know, I may have to have a mental tussle with myself on this one.
I am now home and resting, the hospital fixed me up nice… I have a huge swelling on my head, a stinking headache and 4 slashes on my face and ear… Oh and a healthy paranoia of having to pay the guy who’s window I smashed. Wounder! ( Literally )
The Dolan, my trusty steed, my ride, my whip, my bike, is cool, cool like ice. The only thing it has now, that it didn’t have before is the blood smeared white Velocity Deep V.
Tags: accident, road safety
February 15, 2009 at 9:25 pm |
[...] “Oh my god are you ok, do you need an ambulance?” are the first words that I remember af… I fucking crashed hard today people. [...]
February 16, 2009 at 2:09 am |
Oh my god,
this is totally my fault. I must have pysched you out with my meddling words.
Brakelessness is fine, just not when going really fast behind cars on ladypool road.
Heal up soon Crashman, im sure your misses will have you in a helmet next time you go out on your bike.
February 16, 2009 at 2:45 am |
Good fucking god !
That’s one solid head you have got there, mine would have caved in if it met that window, I see you did some metal work as well !
February 16, 2009 at 6:17 am |
blood-stained is the new faux-mahogany in the deep-v heirarchy, i hear.
bad luck though man, i was thinking how fast you were bowling around on our little spin and was pretty impressed by your skid-’stops’. glad i didn’t voice my thoughts though, as now i’d feel as guilty as shamim.
on a safety note – if your fork is carbon, get it replaced. it may have taken the brunt of the impact and could snap the next time you ride over a cigarette nub.
get well!
February 16, 2009 at 3:51 pm |
wow man?insane dude.
hey you are still breathing live to ride another day and your wheel can be replace.
brake’s or no brake’s it still would have happen so the main thing is ride slower on narrow roads with no recovery space.
helmet if you feel the need for speed????
take & ride care.
peas
February 16, 2009 at 5:51 pm |
TUT TUT you had to go one better than me didn’t you now?
only way I can out do you now is if i chop my head off!
jokes, get better soon mate x x
February 16, 2009 at 5:59 pm |
Pleb
February 16, 2009 at 8:15 pm |
lucky lad
February 17, 2009 at 1:12 am |
Thank god you OK son!!!
February 17, 2009 at 1:08 pm |
[...] February 17, 2009 by Fixup Read about it here [...]
March 22, 2009 at 8:14 pm |
[...] to race… so much so that when I do manage to get to an event we could end up with another “too fast and too close” episode. Christ! I hope not. I need to calm my ass [...]
March 5, 2012 at 11:13 am |
Don’t know what you’re banging on about, you look fine.
Helmets and brakes rool!