Came off my bike!!

[ZrByte]

As some of you may remember I own a scooter, its my only form of transport and ive had it just over a year.
Yesterday on my way home form work I came off it for the first time ever, luckily for me I was still in the carpark at my place of work so I was going about 10mph (Maybe slower).
There is a sharp bend that leads to a small Zebra crossing wich then leads onto a small set of lights and then out of the car park, as I was taking this bend I felt my front wheel feel a bit loose and unstable (I just assumed it was a bump in the surface of the car park), whatever it was my back wheel went through it as I leaned into the turn and the whole bike just slipped out from underneath me wich sent me flying over the zebra crossing and I rolled a few feet away.
I was completeley shellshocked, I just didnt expect it at all. I just remember my legs where in total agony and I was punching the floor to try and relieve the pain, next thing I heard someone shout "Are you ok?" to be honest I was shocked, most people round where I live probably wouldnt even stop, never mind show some concern. I looked up when I heard the person shout to me and the first thing I saw was my Bike lying opposite me with the engine still running, I then looked in the other direction and saw a man and a woman rushing over to me (They where the ones who shouted earlier).
she Ran over to me and asked if I was ok and was I injoured, he also asked if I was ok and then picked up my bike for me, I remember the only thing I could think of at the time was how embarrassing it was for me having nearly done a summersault infront of a bunch of complete strangers and some people I know, Once everybody knew I was ok we all had a good laugh about it (Including myself).
Im just glad at the end of it I came away form it pretty well, just a couple of little scrapes and bruises, and my knee is so stiff it feels like its been taking Viagra ( ), I also found it quite uplifting to know that some people still care.
riding home though I have never ridden my bike so slow and so carefully, every single bump in the road made me tense up, I have actually made a point of going for a ride today to try and get over it but I dont feel safe at all (Im allready feeling safer than I did right after the incedent yesterday though, so im sure this will pass in time).

The bike came off pretty good aswel, counted 1 tiny scratch and my left mirror needs tightening as it almost spins around now its gone that loose, and a tiny crack in my front left inicator housing (didnt even notice that until an hour ago its so small).

Anyway, im not really sharing this story for simpathy or anything, just wondering if anybody has had anything similar happen? and if they had a kindof stage fright with regards to gettng back on the bike afterwards?

[Bex]

glad you and the bike are ok

my cousin used to ride a motorbike, and i remember he had an accident on a motorway (or dual carriageway) and was very very lucky that he walked away from it...although if memory serves the bike was in bad shape

[paulyoung666]

been there my mate, i was exiting a garage one day and the front end washed out on me , turned out it was all the slimy soapy crap from the carwash , picked the bike up and rode off , if i can advise you of 1 thing , get back on the ' horse ' as soon as you can

[Xaccers]

i have spun 2 cars off the road, one rolled and left me with 2 broken ribs.
both times i was about 30mph under the speed limit.
4 years later i still feel uneasy about left hand bends, unless i take my left hand off the wheel for some reason

ex once had a new vectra delivered nose first down the alley beside her house.
she reversed out slowly and a speeding coach came along and took off her back end. her bf at the time gave her no sympathy and she's never driven since. she has a panic attack if she gets in the diver's seat

[Nikko]

Sorry to hear you had an 'off' ZrByte

2 good old proverbs for you - 'take a hair from the back of the dog that bit you'

You have done the right thing - get straight back on and give it a go

Confidence will return, but 'pride comes before a fall' so be careful out there!

At least there seems to be no big damage either to you or the bike - sounds like you may have hit a patch of diesel or something - not much you can do M8

Keep upright & keep on the black bits was the old racer's motto

[ZrByte]

Originally Posted by bexy

glad you and the bike are ok

my cousin used to ride a motorbike, and i remember he had an accident on a motorway (or dual carriageway) and was very very lucky that he walked away from it...although if memory serves the bike was in bad shape

Thanks Bexy, Thats one of the reasons im so glad I was still in the carpark, I think I was going too slow to do any real damage (Thankfully).

Originally Posted by PaulYoung666

been there my mate, i was exiting a garage one day and the front end washed out on me , turned out it was all the slimy soapy crap from the carwash , picked the bike up and rode off , if i can advise you of 1 thing , get back on the ' horse ' as soon as you can

Thanks Paul, One the people who came to help me yesterday think it may have been a patch of Diesel on the road (Makes sense to me, when I slipped it felt Like I had gone over ice). As for getting back on the horse, I had to get straight on the bike yesterday, and I have been for a half hour bike ride today (even though I can hardly walk i can ride the bike fine lol ), Its getting easier again, I just cant shake the nervous feeling I get whenever I take a corner (Especially a left since that was the way I was turning when it happened).

Originally Posted by xaccers

i have spun 2 cars off the road, one rolled and left me with 2 broken ribs.
both times i was about 30mph under the speed limit.
4 years later i still feel uneasy about left hand bends, unless i take my left hand off the wheel for some reason

Glad to see your ok again after that, I know people who have had only minor accidents in cars and have never been able to drive again.
Its odd the way the human brain handles nervousness, Im having trouble with my left hand turns aswel (As I said above) and ive found it helps if I put my foot out, not to let it touch the floor (Thats very dangerous) just to put it out a bit (got told not to do this when I was doing my training) but it really seems to help calm me down a bit.

ex once had a new vectra delivered nose first down the alley beside her house.
she reversed out slowly and a speeding coach came along and took off her back end. her bf at the time gave her no sympathy and she's never driven since. she has a panic attack if she gets in the diver's seat

Thats terrible, I wonder why he was so unsympathetic.

Originally Posted by nikko

Sorry to hear you had an 'off' ZrByte

2 good old proverbs for you - 'take a hair from the back of the dog that bit you'

You have done the right thing - get straight back on and give it a go

Confidence will return, but 'pride comes before a fall' so be careful out there!

At least there seems to be no big damage either to you or the bike - sounds like you may have hit a patch of diesel or something - not much you can do M8

Keep upright & keep on the black bits was the old racer's motto

lol, thanks nikko, I'll remember that (Especially that last bit )

I had a bike when I was 17 before I got a car - and I remember once in some light rain that I was approaching some lights going slightly downhill (at about 20mph). The lights changed to red so I applied the brakes - however, instead of stopping the bike wheels just seemed to lock and I carried on !. Next thing I know, the bike is going one way and I am going the other, and we both skid to a halt at the lights.

I remember just sitting up in the road looking at the bike and feeling very stupid.

A passer by came over to me to see if I was ok and helped me pick the bike up. The only damage was a smashed indicator and some very dented pride. Looking back there were some telltale signs of a bit of oil on the road which I must have hit. I got back on and drove home.

[TheBlueRaja]

Sorry to hear that, its must have been a right shock to the system.

I had a blow out on the M40 on Thursday whilst driving, ahem, slightly faster than i should have been (below 100 though).

The back right tyre on my VW Golf Estate just went BANG, and i thought at the time that it was one of the cans of Lager i had in the boot exploding, it was only about 10 seconds later when i heard the sound of a flat tyre (after turning down me tunes) that i realsied what had happened. A VERY slow, long turn and decelration later i got myself into the inside lane and put on the warning lights.

You hear so many scare stories about blow outs that i think i got very lucky.

Kudos to my car for holding it together.

[paulyoung666]

Originally Posted by theblueraja

Sorry to hear that, its must have been a right shock to the system.

I had a blow out on the M40 on Thursday whilst driving, ahem, slightly faster than i should have been (below 100 though).

The back right tyre on my VW Golf Estate just went BANG, and i thought at the time that it was one of the cans of Lager i had in the boot exploding, it was only about 10 seconds later when i heard the sound of a flat tyre (after turning down me tunes) that i realsied what had happened. A VERY slow, long turn and decelration later i got myself into the inside lane and put on the warning lights.

You hear so many scare stories about blow outs that i think i got very lucky.

Kudos to my car for holding it together.

would have been a dammed sight worse if it had been a front tyre , glad you survived it though

[ian@huth]

About three years ago my daughter was driving up from Essex to see us. She had only been on the M25 for a few miles and was doing around 65mph in the centre lane with a very big German artic in the nearside lane. Just as her rear wheels were level with the artics front wheels the German driver decided to pull out into the centre lane and hit her back end, rolling the car and pushing it along the motorway. The car was a write off. The M25 was very busy at the time and she was very lucky to get out of it alive. Her main injuries were to her back which were sorted out over time by her chiropracter. The biggest problem though was the effects on her mentally. She used to love driving but now only drives when it is essential. If she has no option but to drive on a motorway she will not pass any large commercial vehicle unless the road is quite clear and she can leave the centre lane free and pass it in the outside lane.

last winter I rode to work on my pushbike, one morning when it had been snowing. The main roads were ok, but I had to go down a side-street where the snow had been compacted, so it had become a sheet of ice. I was doing ok, until I came to a section where the road was cambered more than usual - almost instantly both wheels decided they wanted to go down the slope, instead of forwards & I landed in a heap in the road.

- now there was a car not too far behind me & I can remember lying there in the road watching it, almost in slow motion, desperately trying to stop on the ice, skidding all over the place, so they didn't hit me. Luckily they succeeded.

- the lady who got out of the car was just concerned that I was ok & even said that she would have crashed into another car, rather than run me over - so yes ZrByte, there are some people who care, I was immensely touched by her concern, when she could have just ranted at me.

- my main fear on a push-rod is people opening their car door as I go past, I've had a couple of close calls with that

[paulyoung666]

Originally Posted by homealone

last winter I rode to work on my pushbike, one morning when it had been snowing. The main roads were ok, but I had to go down a side-street where the snow had been compacted, so it had become a sheet of ice. I was doing ok, until I came to a section where the road was cambered more than usual - almost instantly both wheels decided they wanted to go down the slope, instead of forwards & I landed in a heap in the road.

- now there was a car not too far behind me & I can remember lying there in the road watching it, almost in slow motion, desperately trying to stop on the ice, skidding all over the place, so they didn't hit me. Luckily they succeeded.

- the lady who got out of the car was just concerned that I was ok & even said that she would have crashed into another car, rather than run me over - so yes ZrByte, there are some people who care, I was immensely touched by her concern, when she could have just ranted at me.

- my main fear on a push-rod is people opening their car door as I go past, I've had a couple of close calls with that

, now i know why i dont bother with push irons anymore

[Marge]

I have found after my accident that I'm definately not the confident driver I was. I get really agitated when driving especially on busy roads but strangely feel safer on motorways yet I make myself drive as I think avoiding them will make things worse. I dread hearing the sirens of ambulances etc as it will more often than not reduce me to tears as it brings back all the memories. You've just got to make yourself keep doing it and your nerve and confidence will come back, good luck !!

[Nikko]

Originally Posted by paulyoung666

, now i know why i dont bother with push irons anymore

Very true!

Also my pushbike used to suffer from excessive fuel consumption - only used to get 3 miles to the gallon (Director's Bitter 5.3 abv)

[TheBlueRaja]

Someone should rename this thread as "Evil Kinevil's got nothing on me" or something equally ominous.