Crash on the W&OD Sunday 7/17, Herndon area

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  • July 18, 2016 at 6:20 pm #918407
    NickBull
    Participant

    Just as I was getting close to a slightly-slower CF racing bike, the rider sat up and was reaching under his saddle with one hand. Then he reached down with his other hand so that now he was holding on to the underside of his saddle with both hands. I started to brake, while wondering what the heck he was doing. His bike suddenly veered right, then left, and bang he was down with a face-plant, coming to an almost-instantaneous full stop with his bike sideways almost all of the way across both lanes of the trail. There was just enough room to get around to his left without crashing. When I stopped and looked back, he was like a rag doll and not moving. By the time I got back to him, the rider who had been behind me was talking to the crashed rider, and trying to disentangle his bike to get it out of the oncoming lane. The crash-ee said he was OK, just scraped up, didn’t need 911, but he had a gash on his chin that was pretty bad and had left a pool of blood on the blacktop. Ambulance got there in about seven minutes.

    Be careful out there!

    Nick

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  • July 18, 2016 at 6:23 pm #1055438
    Tim Kelley
    Participant

    @NickBull 143256 wrote:

    Then he reached down with his other hand so that now he was holding on to the underside of his saddle with both hands. I started to brake, while wondering what the heck he was doing.

    So what was he doing??

    July 18, 2016 at 6:36 pm #1055441
    ian74
    Participant

    Instantly made me think of this. Maybe his finger got stuck under his seat, then he reached under with his other hand to get it unstuck and then that one got stuck too.

    Like this (but in bike form, scroll to 1:56)

    [video=youtube_share;DfkT3ngH08s]https://youtu.be/DfkT3ngH08s?t=1m57s[/video]

    July 25, 2016 at 8:49 pm #1055681
    NickBull
    Participant

    @ian74 143260 wrote:

    Instantly made me think of this. Maybe his finger got stuck under his seat, then he reached under with his other hand to get it unstuck and then that one got stuck too.

    Like this (but in bike form, scroll to 1:56)

    …

    I never did figure out what he was doing. Right after the crash, the guy behind me asked the crash-ee what had happened and the crash-ee said “I hit the brakes too hard.” I pointed out to him that he hadn’t hit the brakes at all, his hands were under the saddle. I didn’t ask why … figuring he wasn’t a very reliable witness!

    I think Planes, Trains and Automobiles is one of the funniest movies ever made. I’d forgotten that scene.

    Nick

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