W&W London Bridge Pointless Prize Log

[dbb]

That is just the lovely putty color of the systems furniture cabinets. Not saying that a converted rest room wouldn’t potentially be an upgrade.

[wheelswings]

Thanks to all who’ve been contributing to the London Bridge log. I must admit that I read this thread with fascination. Although “liking” would feel sadistic, I yearn to press an empathy button with each entry. And sometimes what you say is, frankly, painfully funny.

Believe me, I’ve been there too. Thanks for all the sharing and revelation. I know that we bicycle commuters can be a tough-as-nails lot. Freeze a few fingers, bleed some, all good, so long as we reach our destination. The London Bridge thread suggests that occasionally we can be vulnerable too. And that some of you may have future careers in stand-up (or fall-down) comedy.

At times we might even learn from our crashes. In January, for example, I cut a commercial driveway lip at too narrow an angle. There was a car behind me and one beside me, so I thought I’d be safest entering the driveway near-parallel to the edge instead of veering out into traffic. Of course my tire slid on the lip and my skin slid on the concrete. I will never ever do that one again.

In any case, thank you for sharing. I hope there’s nothing more to report on this London Bridge/ “I’m goin’ down” thread. But if there is, please keep those reports coming. Be safe. Hugs to each of you. w&w

[consularrider]

I get to add one more fall for a total of six. I was out fatbiking on Trukhaniv Island on trails that were a mixture of packed or loose sand, dirt, frozen or moist mud, and grass. In one particularly messy stretch, I took a poor line and let my rear wheel slide in mud that was on frozen mud. Ouch, I’ll have a good bruise on my right thigh soon.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]11010[/ATTACH]

[JonRobot]

well shit. got hit by a car today but at least I get to add one to my tally. nothing broken on me or the bike, so that’s nice

[kwarkentien]

@JonRobot 136672 wrote:

well shit. got hit by a car today but at least I get to add one to my tally. nothing broen on or the bike, so that’s nice

So sorry about this. Glad you got away relatively unscathed but this is still such bad news.

[consularrider]

@JonRobot 136672 wrote:

well shit. got hit by a car today but at least I get to add one to my tally. nothing broen on or the bike, so that’s nice

That’s one way to get on the leader board we’d rather not see.

[Boomer Cycles]

Third time is the charm.

I fell again while forming a pack of riders as lead marshal for the Vasa ride on the final ascent out of Beech Drive. I was tracking while talking and managed to ignore a high curb, hit it, and went down. I did however display text book tuck-n-roll technique, and remained clipped into my Speedplay Zero pedals (and thus saved the carbon fiber bike by sending it up as I went down). But not before landing on my right knee and getting some road rash.

There were three embarrasing moments with this fall:

1) Multiple witnesses. And I was the guy in the WABA safety vest with MARSHAL stamped on the chest (laying down on my back for all to read the block lettering).

2) Flailing like a turtle on its back. I couldn’t clip out out of the bike while on my back, which is an overlooked skill that I obviously need to practice more often. One cyclist tried to help by grabbing the bike, to which I was still connected, so I screamed “NO,” since I didn’t want to get dragged back into the street still connected to the bike…

3) 911 distress call. My fall, and scream, caught the attention of an orthopaedic nurse who happened to be jogging by, who thought it was an ER moment. But once I saw that her knees were more banged up than mine, I declined assistance.

After instructing folks to twist my feet so that I could clip out from the pedals and disconnect from the bike, I got back on it and finished the ride. After the ride, I rode to CVS and bought Advil.

Check out my 1.6 mi Ride on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/516322362

[consularrider]

I’ve updated the original post with what I believe are everyone’s’ declared number of falls. Please double check.

[Steve O]

@consularrider 137176 wrote:

I’ve updated the original post with what I believe are everyone’s’ declared number of falls. Please double check.

You can consolidate my two entries.

[Boomer Cycles]

Ditto for me, for a total of 3 falls.

[rcannon100]

@consularrider 135275 wrote:

I get to add one more fall for a total of six. I was out fatbiking on Trukhaniv Island …

[ATTACH=CONFIG]11010[/ATTACH]

Uuuuuuummmmmmm Can I get a ruling on this????!!!!! I mean…. if you are out riding a fatbike…. arent you pretty much asking to fall down. It’s like counting falls during a CX race. It’s like counting missing teeth while playing hockey. It’s like counting flopping during a soccer game. Just doesnt seem like this should count.

Maybe we could get the London Bridge Pointless Prize sponsor to give us a ruling on whether fat-bike falls count????

[hozn]

Yeah, off-road falls probably shouldn’t count. I mean, it’s half expected, right? If I had a dollar for every time I have wiped out on the MTB, I could probably buy myself some body armor and a new helmet.

[Steve O]

I suggest this be self-officiated. If you think it’s a fall that deserves recognition within the Freezing Saddles framework, then it counts. If you fall every week doing your usual MTB ride, then decide for yourself if it should count.

If you took your fatbike out for groceries or on your commute and went down in the snowstorm, then I would say yes. If you took your fatbike into the woods with the intention of going crazy on it, then probably not.

---

That said, I had a 3rd fall a few weeks ago:

At the south end of the MBT, where you make the u-turn on the switchback down to M street, my front wheel slid out on a gravel patch; slow speed. I got my foot out in time to keep from totally falling over, but the bike slid down. I fault winter for the fact that the sand/gravel was there even though weather was not a factor.

[sammyiam]

I had one fall in which I yelled “SHOOT” as I flailed out on black ice in Brookland. Banged head, requiring new helmet

[wheelswings]

@Steve O 137201 wrote:

I suggest this be self-officiated.

Hmm… I think this makes sense. I’m not ready to rule out fat-biking on snow and ice just ‘cause the rider knows they are operating with a (high) likelihood of crashing. In the gymnastics world (more familiar turf for me), wouldn’t that be equivalent to saying that layout-stepouts (like this one at Saturday’s competition) should not count ‘cause the gymnast knows that sometimes she is going to miss the beam?

From the pictures of mud, ice and snow that consularrider has been posting, I would think that those bruises must ache like any other — even without the psychic pain we share in Boomer’s very poignant Pulitzer-deserving report of fall #3.

In any case, I plan to award more than one winner.

Here is my current list of London Bridge falls. Updates and corrections welcome.
consularrider: 6
kitty: 4
Subby: 4
SteveO: 3
Boomer2U: 3
DCV: 3
Dickie: 3
Jon Robot: 3
Lynn Salvo: 3
vvill: 2
DrP: 2
LeprosyStudyGroup: 2
JonRobot: 2
Vicegrip: 2
Mikey: 1
J Wetzel: 1
Teresa A: 1
Amalitza: 1
jlevine: 1
BTC_DC: 1
jonathankrall: 1
hozn: 1
Lordofthemark: 1
sammyiam: 1
Shawnofthedread: 1
wheels&wings: 1

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