Rick C Johnson
Bradley,
The only school I know of for crashing is the "school of hard knocks"
(from which I've earned a Masters degree). Take solstice in the fact
that the type of "low side" you experienced is very, very difficult to
catch on a bicycle, especially in the wet. I will share a bit of
experience though since you expressed an interest in the subject.
The low mass of the bike makes things happen very quickly and the lack
of suspension doesn't give you much to work with in that critical
fraction of a second you have to avert the fall. There is no time to
think through the necessary reaction - it must be instinctual and
instantaneous. The exact movement is hard to describe. It's a
combination of a quick flick of the hips to the outside and a
counter-steer to the bars. The logical of the concept is that the hip
flick is keeping the bike upright under you and the counter-steer is
realigning the front wheel with your actual direction of travel. If
you've done it right the front tire will reacquire traction and you will
still be on top of the bike with another chance at making the turn. This
is where suspension helps, it absorbs the heavy movements of you and the
bike gentling the weighting of the front tire therefore improving the
chances of you making a successful catch.
The only real way to learn this is to practice. Put on some heavy
clothes (pants and sleeves that won't roll up, gauntlet style gloves)
and find a dirt lot or big patch of grass. Rail on in there and crank
that front end over (or grab a handful of front brake). Pick yourself up
and repeat until the reaction comes to you. Or the Police see you
behaving abnormally, and you have to leave quickly.
Most times the low side happens too quick and you end up sliding. That's
why motorcyclists wear leather, better to slide on the cow skin than
yours. Bicyclists don't have that luxury, but if you wear a pack,
messenger bag or even just have a lot of stuff in your pockets you can
do your best to slide on that instead. Also use the backs and sides of
your shoes, if they're plastic that works exceptionally well. They all
can save you some skin. It's up to you to decide if it's worth the trade
(gear vs skin).
Unfortunately, if you overdo the move you will put yourself in a worse
position, that is called a "high-side". In that situation you will be
traveling over the top of the bike (making for a longer distance before
you impact the ground) and may even be vaulted higher by the bike.
High-sides (or the closely related "endo") are where most people break
bones, especially the collar bone. This is typically a result of the
reaction of the person trying to keep the onrushing planet at arms
length from their face. By virtue of mass the planet wins every time.
The best thing you can do is bend your elbows, and as your arms absorb
some of your momentum turn your face away, tuck your outside shoulder
and roll into a ball. When the tumbling stops you'll usually be ok,
unless there was some obstacle that interrupted you. A gymnastics class
teaches the basics of tumbling first thing, if you've never experienced
it I suggest it as a good thing to know.
Some of this perhaps sounds nutty but rest assured I've used these
techniques many times on motorcycles to catch slides; in rain, snow, wet
leaves, dirt, sand, gravel and even at speed up near 100mph. I haven't
caught every one of them, but most. The same reactions I developed there
have served me just as well on bicycles. The physics are all the same,
just the velocities and masses are different.
Good luck and good healing,
Rick
bheintz@znet.com wrote:
>Remember the heavy rain yesterday? Just after it stopped I road west on the
>Sellwood bridge and took the hairpin right to head south toward Lake
>Oswego. My front wheel slid out on the hard corner when it hit a small oils
>spot. I skidded to a stop via the skin of my tights and legs as well as the
>leather on my gloves. After crashing with minor road rash, wrist and
>shoulder bumps, I was waiting on the side of the road for the stinging to
>subside hoping I could still do the Sunday cross ride. I started to
>wonder. . .
>
>What would I have done if I fell on a faster section. It would take a lot
>more skin to stop me going twice the speed. Aren't I supposed to roll or
>something to keep from breaking my collerbone. Are the tights I wore a good
>way to keep unshaven legs from grading on the pavement. Was I supposed to
>have shaved my legs? Is there a guide out there for folks like me wondering
>how to crash?
>
>Bradley Heintz
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