your daily bicycle log

Rode/fell head first into a wall yesterday evening. Not fun...

http://krakow.zenfolio.com/img/v7/p256575138-3.jpg

Damn. Did u stay alert or were u out??

Ouch ouch ouch

Were you wearing a lid?

holy crap!

they seem to have been rather good at not shaving more than necessary. what is a pro's opinion gbx?

i mean if you had my dome it would be even more dire

I managed to stay conscious. No I wasn't wearing a helmet. They didn't shave my head at all, just did a wee bit of snipping then fired the staples in.

The story goes:

I hit a power cable for a temporary traffic light at the wrong angle and my front wheel went out from under me, launching me head first right into the cornerstone of a handy nearby wall. Blood was pouring everywhere, soaking into my cap. I struggled along to the nearest bus stop and managed to call myself an ambulance, as nobody stopped (bastards!), without fainting or vomiting. Got taken to the nearby hospital about 8pm. Police took my bike as I didn't have a lock. Wasn't admitted till nearly 11pm after nigh on 3 lonely hours in the waiting room with the temporary ambulance bandage on, and didn't get treated till about 1am, at which point after staples and x-rays they couldn't let me go home alone, so kept me over night.

Fun times. Not.

eek :/ glad you are ok.

not the appropriate time for a helmet diatribe... but.. uhh

I'm currently looking for a good deal on a helmet.

oh that sucks, dude :(

I hope you heal quickly. that must have been scary and awful.

wow you are very lucky my friend. be safe.

Thanks everyone, the concern is appreciated.

I had a wee pootle to the shops today, to make sure that "the fear" wouldn't rear its ugly head. Thankfully not much sign of it.

I've dug my ugly old helmet out of the cupboard as a stop gap until I find something shiny and sexy and new to place on my noggin.

you should start a not-ugly helmets thread

my commuting helmets have all been retired racing helmets-- stickered, worn and ugly. ive run out, need a new one.

Your wish is my command...

Non-ugly Cycling Helmets

thundersnowstorms are cool. i rode home in one couple of days ago, and theyre predicting more tonight. theyre also predicting 5 to 12 inches of snow, which is not so cool.

Back on the bike today. Cautious (as much due to sore shoulders and knees as anything else), but no sign of "The Fear", thankfully.

Snow? Sunshine here in London. I was out in shorts and short-sleeves this morning for the first time this year. It was OK when I was riding (apart from the first five minutes), but I quickly became freezing when I stopped at the halfway point. No exaggeration, I must have seen 100 other cyclists today. 46.5 miles at 17mph.

Re-rode the offending accident route this morning before work. Conquered!

As with NB&S in London, it was sunny but cold here in Glasgow.

That's good to hear, krakow. I got knocked off my bike a couple of years ago and became the most tentative cyclist in the world for a bit - not a good or safe thing to be.

Coming back from work last night - west London to north-east - the traffic was the worst I've ever known it, far worse than weekday rush hour traffic. Was hoping for a nice Sunday evening roll home, but instead it was incredibly stressful. Some drivers really don't like the fact they are stuck in jams while you are floating, or wobbling on a couple of occasions, by.

Getting out in the country next week though, on a geared bike, to revisit a few of the hills of my childhood, including the fearsome Chalkpit Lane (20%). Can't wait.

Managed a 56-miler yesterday, very easy, flat route to Windsor & back, taking it fairly easy with the two mates I rode to Paris with last year. We've all lost our fitness to a certain degree (thanks to winter + broken rib, broken wrist and apathy respectively) so we didn't want to bomb it, hence our ave speed of just under 16mph. Wonderful fun - I also wore a short sleeve single layer for the first time this year (bit nippy when the sun went in) and got such a buzz I can't wait to do it again.

Krakow - ouchy. Glad you're okay and you'll have a way cool scar!

I'm on holiday now so went back out today (in shorts again) while the wife and baby were at IKEA. Rode fifteen miles out of London at high speed then turned back and suddenly felt empty and realised I had a savage headwind to contend with. Ugh. I had an energy gel with me, but that wasn't really enough. The whole way back home was just a slog. Had to binge on food as soon as I got in. 30.5 miles at 16.6mph (but it felt a lot slower than that for the last stretch).

Thanks again guys.

Unfortunately now my right arm & shoulder are giving me absolute agony. I'm worried that something is broken, so it looks like I'll be heading back to casualty tomorrow morning, hoping that Tuesday morning is a good quiet time to go.

No shoulder fracture or breakage, staples out... it's looking good. If my kneee sorts itself then we're golden.

steady on, good to hear

Lovely day out in the sunshine yesterday until the last climb, where E's rear mech sheared off at the bolt. Stupid italian rubbish. Luckily her gears aren't indexed so I can replace the mech with something a little more robust.

Cycled down from London to the leafy Kent, Surrey, Sussex border with my brother yesterday. Both on fixed wheel bikes, because my road bike is still hors d'action.

Died on my arse. Fine down through London to Herne Hill where my brother lives, fine from Herne Hill through Streatham and Purley Way, making very good time indeed. Hit a couple of hills outside Croydon, as a prelude to getting up on the North Downs, and it was like I'd ridden into a wall. I'd only ridden fixed in central London before and my legs had nothing in them.

My brother cycled back down (the bastard) to see whether I'd gotten off but I ground it out. After that, every incline was agony. Riding along the top of the Downs in thick, thick cloud, incredibly low visibilty, greasy roads, sucking my brother's wheel, snot dribbling down my face. Lovely.

Coming down the other side was just as bad, on the brake, sliding round hairpins, skidding for all I was worth, then my legs flying round at farcical speeds.

Felt great for it afterwards though. Had the best sleep I've had in ages.

From brother's to destination was about 1hr 15, 24 miles, 19.2mph pretty good going considering.

i like when you brits use miles ;)

Wait - did I do a mistake? No, I think that's right. Oh God, I feel like a dupe - we use miles, right? I think I'd better get back to the pub.

saw a funny newsblurb the other day about how some state (AZ?) finally got funding through the stimulus package to pay for the removal of metric highway signs on some stretch road. back to miles at last. i think it was all somehow jimmy carter's fault

I was pleasantly surprised that in MD grocery stores the per unit prices are in metric.

Cutty, we all use miles over here! You're confusing us with Europe.

Bout time we made the switch.

Back to pounds shilling and pence and a mathematically cogent system? Quite right. Mind you, my sense of distance is so screwed I have to measure out cricket pitches into the distance to work out how far away things are in yards.

Surely that's only good for estimating in chains.

Which last comment by association has had me fiddling obsessively with my chain (not a euphemism along the lines of pulling my wire) trying to work out whether it needs tightening or not.

If your chain measures 1 chain, it is time for a new chain.

what i am saying is, i like when you use miles because no one else does in europe, u dig?

speaking of miles, my odometer reads 11,210 miles since last april

how long is the earth at the equator?

what i am saying is, i like when you use miles because no one else does in europe, u dig?

― cutty, Wednesday, April 15, 2009 12:32 PM

Got you. Napoleon's fault, or at least the result of his absence on our shores, I believe.

25,000 miles xp

shit i haven't even travelled halfway around the world yet. next year, then.

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO NOON
MDT SATURDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DENVER HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM
WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO
NOON MDT SATURDAY.

ACCUMULATIONS FROM 10 TO 24 INCHES CAN BE EXPECTED BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON...WITH
THE HEAVIEST AMOUNTS ACROSS THE WESTERN SECTIONS OF BOULDER AND
DENVER AS WELL AS LOCATIONS SOUTH OF DENVER.

well this sucks esp as im south of denver

oh sweet berthoud will be ripping??

been lazy cuz i been watching school from home, but i ripped off a really short lap around lake of the isles this morning as a study break (it's like 3 miles), and that was nice

log of the guy i saw biking down the street:

today i rode on the sidewalk while carrying a canoe paddle. i stopped at the bar.

I could have done with a canoe paddle this morning. Filthy weather.

Could have done with a bar as well in fact.