So who passed me this morning on the MVT?

[KelOnWheels]

@ShawnoftheDread 29251 wrote:

At least you were wearing your Bell and not your Nutcase.

And I had just been saying this week how I didn’t really like the fit of the Bell and I didn’t think I could trust it in a crash… sorry, brave little helmet!

[KelOnWheels]

Off to buy a new helmet for the ride home & try not to smash my face into any large planetary objects!

[KelOnWheels]

Hmm. THAT might be a problem. [ATTACH]1580[/ATTACH]

Or the fact that my back wheel is suddenly sitting at an angle in the dropouts and won’t turn, that could also be a problem. I think I can fix that tho.

Or not.

[KelOnWheels]

At BicycleSpace getting my rear dropouts bent back into shape & rear axle seen to. [ATTACH]1581[/ATTACH]

[KelOnWheels]

I may also be acquiring V-brakes.

[eminva]

I hope he checked the frame carefully, too, to make sure there’s not some damage?

Good luck and heal fast, Kel.

Liz

[Dirt]

Glad to hear you’re okay Kel! Condolences on the helmet and jersey too. It is insult added to mess up favorite bits of kit.

Catch up with you soon.

[KelOnWheels]

Thanks guys!

Paul at BicycleSpace checked out everything really well for me – rear hangers were bent so he got those back into shape and also tightened up the rear hub. He says my rear axle looks to be a touch bent but not enough to worry about. Headset is fine.

We got talking about brake pads and I was going to have him put KoolStop pads on while he had my bike on the stand since he mentioned putting new caliper pads on is rather fiddly. I mentioned the problem I’d had getting fenders to fit so he was going to lengthen up the cable yoke. Then he noticed that the replacement brifters I have are actually for V-brakes, not calipers, so we changed plans and put on Acera V-brakes and nice new brake cables and housing. This should give me much better stopping power! Plus now I can put fenders on easy peasy.

They didn’t have an inexpensive helmet to fit my big noggin so I’m riding home on Metro now.

[rcannon100]

Mount the cracked helmet up on the wall – it is a badge of honor!!!

(And glad you are okay)

[KLizotte]

Ouchy! I fell along the same bit of pavement while avoiding an errant child some time ago. I went splat because I mistook how deep the edge of the sidewalk really was (it was obscured by grass) and approached it at too much of an angle. The wheel jerked left while I continued along the original flight path right over the handlebars on to that god awful pebbly sidewalk. I walked away with a gouged out hand and some bruises but that was about it.

I think your head pic is a great example of why cyclists should wear helmets. Even you couldn’t pull off a dimpled temple with flair. It’s also an example of why pebbly sidewalks/roads should be banned!

You probably got the black eye from your sunglasses hitting your checkbone. If you suddenly have any problems seeing or feel any sharp pain, go to urgent care or someplace with an x-ray machine asap. That is what I was told when I went to urgent care when I banged myself up in July. Fortunately I just had a black eye that took about 7-8 days to heal. It should also be pointed out that riders should try to wear glasses with shatterproof glass/plastic and flexible frames if at all possible for this very reason.

Wash all your wounds out for the next few days with hydrogen peroxide to ward off infection and if you haven’t gotten your tetanus shot updated in the past ten years now would be a good time. Something else I learned in urgent care. Hydrocollidial bandages are great for healing road rash BTW; you don’t want the wounds to scab over.

So sorry to hear about your crash. Glad to hear you are monitoring your head. Unfortunately you will feel beat up tomorrow; kinda like you fell down a flight of stairs, at least that is how I felt after my July splat but it only lasted a couple of days.

I think the bike shops are missing out on a major revenue stream: bandages and first aid kits in their stores. They would probably have to keep them hidden though since that may put off new riders. Sure would be handy though.

Speedy recovery.

[KelOnWheels]

@KLizotte 29287 wrote:

I went splat because I mistook how deep the edge of the sidewalk really was (it was obscured by grass) and approached it at too much of an angle. The wheel jerked left while I continued along the original flight path right over the handlebars on to that god awful pebbly sidewalk.

I think your head pic is a great example of why cyclists should wear helmets. Even you couldn’t pull off a dimpled temple with flair. It’s also an example of why pebbly sidewalks/roads should be banned.

I think that’s exactly what happened – I underestimated the pavement height and came out of the grass at too shallow an angle. Apparently I launched to the right – I don’t really remember what happened right before hitting pavement.

My chin is scraped too so I think my face hit the ground, my sunglass lenses are scratched on that side.

I wanted to get to the drugstore & get bandages for my shoulder and some arnica gel, but it didn’t happen tonight. Good thinking on tetanus, I know it’s been over 10 years since I had that.

I’m sure I will feel AWESOME in the morning

On the plus side, an amazing lunch place opened up today at 7th & D – Protein Bar DC Their breakfast looks good too!

[KelOnWheels]

GORGEOUS morning! A nice number of people out on the trails this morning.

Shoulder/arm is sore & stiff but that’s the worst of it. Other bruises are bruisy. :p

New V-brakes are AWESOME. They are a million percent better than my old brakes and I no longer have a banshee strapped to my front wheel.

Pulled up to the corner near #fridaycoffeeclub this morning, didn’t see any bikes out front, and thought, “What?! I dragged myself to Friday Coffee Club and NO ONE CAME?!” Turned out everyone was sitting outside today!

I saw vvill and ShawnoftheDead and Dirt with his shiny Pinarello and lots of other people and I had a tasty latte and then I had to go to work. :p

I was very cautious around pavement edges today. They have tasted my blood. They will want more!

[KelOnWheels]

Love my brakes, love my brakes, love love love love love love love my brakes.

My boss brought me arnica gel. Still need gooey bandage for shoulder.

Is it time to ride bike yet?

[consularrider]

@KelOnWheels 29347 wrote:

Love my brakes, love my brakes, love love love love love love love my brakes.

My boss brought me arnica gel. Still need gooey bandage for shoulder.

Is it time to ride bike yet?

We need an “it’s five o’clock somewhere” commuter jerseys.

[Arlingtonrider]

Ouch! I didn’t see these posts until just now. I hope you’re feeling better soon, Kel. Really sorry that happened to you.

I’ll be so glad when the construction is done! That whole area is a mess to ride through right now, both directions. The detour presents its own set of dangers, and even without the construction, that area isn’t great with the narrow sidewalk, lamppost, and bad pavement.

[Author]

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