Crash, bang, wallop – falling is all part of the game

Crashing, unfortunately, is part of cycling. Generally they are innocuous and the pain they cause is more likely to be wounded pride than actual physical harm.

I had a recent tumble like this in Gran Canaria. Pulling up to a cafe stop, I slowed to a track stand while I spoke to a friend already stopped. I admit there was an element of showing off in front of the group of 30 or more cyclists already on the veranda, sipping on their latte macchiatos.

My conversation finished, I pulled off to lay my bike against the fence and get my coffee, only to pay for my selfaggrandising behaviour.

My front wheel lodged in a pot-hole at the side of the pavement and over the bars I went. My elbow hit the ground first and blood starting pouring out of it, I also thought I’d broken my wrist as the pain shooting through my hand was immense, but what hurt the most was the fact that everyone had been watching me.

I couldn’t bear to hang around any longer, and with the calls from my friends of: “Are you sure you’re OK?” ringing in my ears I shot off up the next col, shouting back “Fine. I’ll see you at the hotel.”

I was indeed OK and my injuries were superficial, but I got a serious ribbing for my error for the rest of my week’s stay.

Another similar occasion, this time on a mountain bike, led to me being hospitalised with a broken wrist.

Again I was riding in front of others and as I dropped down a steep stepdown, over the bars I went.

As I heard the bone crack my first thought was “get up and pretend it never happened” but the wave of nausea that hit me was enough to make me sit back down again – although I did insist on pushing my own bike down to the nearby emergency clinic.

I’ve also had the misfortune to attend to many riders who have had similar experiences, from broken collar bones to more serious injuries like bad concussions and a double hip fracture.

Each time the rider was more concerned about the state of their bike and the inconvenience they were causing me than the injuries they had sustained.

Recently a rider was knocked off his bike by a car turning in front of him. He was rushed to hospital in an ambulance with a suspected broken shoulder and, after I had dealt with the Swiss police, I went to the hospital to see how things were going.

As soon as I walked in he was apologetic, embarrassed and upset that he had been a bother. The next question he asked was: “Is my bike OK?”.

Fortunately it was – and so was he: his shoulder had some severe bruising but not enough to stop him from riding the next day, albeit in considerable discomfort and pain.

Falling off your bike is part of cycling – and often the worst injury is to your pride.