See anything @ ~5pm last Saturday on/near the 4MR trail just east of 395?

[JustinW]

BikeFolk,

I had an accident last Saturday somewhere @ 5pm-ish on or near the Four Mile Run trail just east of the 395 underpass. This could have happened on the adjacent stretch of S. Four Mile Run Drive; I’m uncertain because I don’t remember anything about or surrounding the event, and I’m posting here to see if any of you might be able to fill in the gaps. I’m hoping one of you was a passer-by who may have inquired or even helped when I had this accident.

Details to share that may be familiar for anyone who passed by – I’m a white male @ 6 feet tall, slim / regular build. White t-shirt, grey riding shorts, orange gloves, blue & white helmet. I fell off of my bike (a silver/red/black Fuji) and sustained a broken elbow, a concussion (hence the lack of recall) and a dose of hurt pride (!). Not sure *what* caused the fall at this time, and that’s one reason for seeking witnesses.

From the Strava record it looks like I was not moving for about 20 minutes and I know from the flyby data that some other cyclists passed by. I don’t know when or how the ambulance factors into this, whether I was treated “on the road” or in the ambulance, etc. Eventually they packed me up and took me to GWU where I was able to sample some of the finer aspects of hospital cuisine. I’ve been focused on recovery from the concussion since then, which is why I’m posting this days afterwards.

The records that the hospital and the dispatch crew have are not too precise as to what happened (indeed, they conflict each other). For a number of reasons I don’t think I was hit – but I really don’t know. So, if you happened to cruise past last Saturday and either saw some guy take a tumble, or if you stopped to help some guy who wiped out and was not doing so well, please PM me with whatever you know.

TIA,

Justin

Topic

[Steve O]

You should be able to use the flyby to contact those cyclists. Also your Strava should be able to give you an exact time and location if those are helpful details. Do you want to post the activity#?

[Dickie]

Justin – I rode through there on Saturday probably at 5:30ish and don’t recall seeing anything unusual at all. If I had seen a rider in distress, confused, or looking lost I would have certainly stopped so I am thinking you had been carted off by then. I hope you are recovering and can fill in the gaps soon. I had a bad accident many years ago and suffered some memory loss, I was never able to piece back the accident but I was able to move past it. Best of luck, heal properly, don’t rush, and feel better. I also suggest posting the ride as Steve mentioned.

[Dickie]

OK, I just looked at my Flyby and I went straight past you…. it looks as if you had been stopped for a good 5 minutes or so. It also looks like DCV passed by right before me and didn’t stop either which is very unusual. Neither of us even paused which makes me wonder if you were hidden from view or not “needing” assistance. I know that stretch well… I wonder if you were moved off the trail onto the small access path behind the bushes. I pretty much stop for everyone so if I saw you I would have asked…. this is very bothersome. If memory serves I do remember seeing a firetruck and ambulance hauling ass, but they seemed to be heading away from my location… towards the Exxon station. Perhaps they were swinging off Glebe and heading back around to you? You mentioned “…or if you stopped to help”, do you recall other cyclists being with you when the ambulance arrived?

[rcannon100]

I have heard of people using their strava tracks to go back and find the exact spot of the accident ~ and sure enough finding a pothole or rock or something in the path. You might go look at the scene and see if anything talks to you.

The transition from the asphalt trail – to the cement underpath – is, I believe, pretty bad. It is essentially a horizontal pot hole. I tend to try to bunny hop it (my bunny hop did not go so well last night)

[JustinW]

Here’s the activity: https://app.strava.com/activities/297668193

I remember *zero* about this ride – I’m missing about 24 hours, give or take, starting about an hour or more *before* this ride took place. Yeah, when I bonk I bonk all the way.

And yes the bridge-to-trail transition sucks there, and I’ve wondered if an errant bunnyhop did me in. I’m not entirely sure I was on the trail at that point vs. on the parallel stretch of road, tho the track looks like I was on the trail for a while.

Maybe one of those mysterious rock structures next to the underpass got me….

[rcannon100]

Do you know how to use Strava Flyby? It will show not only who was near you at the time, but it will also show you your own course.

http://labs.strava.com/flyby/viewer/#297668193

Your course is weird. I would say, something happened to you on the road…. and then somehow you appeared on the trail. But the event appears to have been while you were on the road. What does you bike show you?

You can also see what other strava athletes were there. Maybe you can contact them.

[dcv]

sorry I don’t remember seeing anything unusual

[JustinW]

Yup I looked at the flyby first thing to try to recreate what happened and see who might have seen anything. Puzzling locations of no movement – perhaps starting in the road and later moved (into the ambulance?).

Unfortunately the EMS and dispatch records shed no real light, either.

Thanks anyway for the inputs.

[ShawnoftheDread]

ConsularRider came by right after you stopped.

[JimK]

Many years ago, on a beautiful summer morning, I was riding to work on the Custis and the next thing i knew i woke up in an emergency room in Arlington with blood all over me. I never was able to remember what happened. My helmet was cracked in the front and I had a concussion and many abrasions. Fortunately, no broken bones.

I hope you figure out what happened, but there’s a chance it will remain a mystery forever.

[Anonymous]

My GPS tracks occasionally claim I was on the road when I know perfectly well I was on the trail alongside the road. I guess if the signal is weak or a bit off, the algorithms just glom onto the closest known route? (I don’t really know). That’s kind of what the jags on and off the road look like to me— as if you were actually on the trail the whole time but your GPS got confused.

Hope you are healing well.

[Mikey]

Could your phone/gps have become dislodged and rested at a different spot from where you lay? Perhaps the spot on the track was not exactly where you were, but maybe the EMTs or police picked it up later?

[mstone]

@Amalitza 115339 wrote:

My GPS tracks occasionally claim I was on the road when I know perfectly well I was on the trail alongside the road. I guess if the signal is weak or a bit off, the algorithms just glom onto the closest known route? (I don’t really know). That’s kind of what the jags on and off the road look like to me— as if you were actually on the trail the whole time but your GPS got confused.

Phone GPS simply isn’t accurate enough to reliably determine whether you’re on a road or a parallel trail. It’s amazing how well it works, calculating your position based on a signal from a satellite 12k miles away–but it’s not that good.

[KLizotte]

Perhaps you were in shock after you fell; that is, evaluating your broken arm while standing near the trail while people went by. But, because of the head wound, you passed out and someone called it in.

I thought it might be a hit and run but then how would you have ended up on the trail unless you wandered over there after being hit?

[JustinW]

All fair questions…and has been stated, we may never know unless someone watched as I fell (or some such thing).

Anyway, thanks for the thoughts and the wishes.

[Author]

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