Well, it finally happened. On August 13, 2023, I experienced my first real crash in over 40 years of riding the Avatar!
My few previous mishaps involved the bike at nearly standstill speed. (See my account of going through the Big Savage Tunnel on my “GAP” trip of 2021.) Two other times I “went over” happened many years ago, when I was dumb enough to play around with tightening my toe-straps. I forgot to loosen the straps when coming to a stop light or sign and I fell over going 0 mph! Duh! Embarrassing. (I have always used wider pedals with toe straps and regular sneakers rather than clip-type pedals, as I never have considered myself an athlete or tried to be one.) My feet can come out easily if desired, but the straps at least help position and prevent side or forward movement.
On the above date I was out on my usual daily 12+ mile ride within our neighborhood and on my last lap around the 1.4-mile loop. No cars, dogs, or people – just me! At the bottom of a long gradual grade, as it leveled out, I started to put more pressure on the right pedal. What I did not realize was that my right foot was half out of/ off the pedal. The reason is, I have developed considerable neuropathy in both feet over the past few years.
Things happened fast and before I could react, my right foot came out entirely, and my sneaker heel caught the asphalt. That caused the right leg to kick up and out to the side, causing a quick and unrecoverable balance issue. Down I went at about 15-20 mph on my right side, much like sliding into third base!
The good news was, I was only about ¾ mile from home. Sensing I was bleeding badly I did not want to take the time to examine myself; I wanted to get home as quickly as possible. Of course the chain had slipped off the chain-rings to the inside. Two hurried tries before it stayed on! I quickly mounted and hoped the bike was ridable. It was, but I could tell the steering was very loose.
Arriving home, I walked into the house and stood facing my wife, shedding blood as I said, “Well I finally did it”! It did catch her attention. We performed perfunctory cleaning and bandaging to stop the blood flow as best we could, and off to the ER we went.
My right forearm took the brunt of the damage, ripping several square inches of skin off. The right leg also sustained two nasty gouges and the right pinkie finger required two stitches. In cleaning the forearm the ER nurse intermittently poured over a quart of saline solution over the wounds. Wow– that was more painful than the initial accident!
Fortunately, my head never came near the road surface. (And yes, I was wearing a helmet, as always).
Oh, and the bike sustained damage as well. The custom-machined block under the seat was cracked badly but held well enough to steer the bike home.