Thursday, September 30, 2010

My First Bike Crash

Now I know how easy it is to break the collar bone when we fall down from the bike, i.e. bike crash. And I now also know how important it is to always wear a helmet while riding a bike.

Because it happened to me last night. My first bike crash.

Wednesday night is our normal weekly riding night. There were seven cyclists altogether last night. Together with another duathlete, he and I came early to training site to do a 6km run prior to riding. The weather was nice, with a very little drizzle at the start.

Done with the slow run, we went for cycling. I paired up with another triathlete who’s doing a last minute training for Desaru, and side by side with him I shifted to my heaviest gear (to do quads power training) and started the cruise. And paddling with heavy gears means cadence is within 65 to 75 rpm, perfect to be in aero position all the way comfortably. On the flat, or while climbing inclinations.

The first loop was ok. On the second loop, I almost hit a fallen tree branch lying on the tarmac, under the tree shadow. The road was actually well lit by the street lights, but there were some dark areas where the lights were blocked by the shady tree branches.

It happened on the third loop. I was still in aero position (i.e. hands are away from the brakes), followed by my friend at the back who was also in aero position. While riding pretty slowly up the incline (I reckon it was around 25kph or less), I suddenly saw the tree branch one meter ahead in the darkness of the shadow and there’s no way I could maneuver my bike away from it.

“Kayu!!!”, I shouted to my friend.

I went straight onto the fallen tree branch on the road. In a split second, I swerved to the left as my front tire lifted up from the ground when it hit the branch. My hands were still holding the aerobars and my left shoulder took the first impact, followed by another impact on the left side of my skull onto the tarmac. At that particular microsecond after the impact, all I could think was “luckily I was wearing a helmet”.

I think I rolled myself on the tarmac to avoid any other hard impact to any other bones. And the next moment when I re-opened my eyes, there I saw my buddy also fell down. He said he didn’t manage to avoid hitting my tires. Luckily there were no vehicles coming close from behind. Or else it will be a different story.

My aerobars were dislocated, with a bit of a scratch at the ends. The right hand side shifters were badly scratched, but still functioning. There was also a bit of dislocation on the back wheel, and no other major damage on my bicycle. My buddy were much luckier, both him and his bike survived the accident with injury free.

I stood up, checked my body, bones and skins. I felt a big pain on my left shoulder, blood were coming out from the big laceration there. There were also some other lacerations on my left knee, right elbow and on my left and right hand fingers.

We then picked up our bikes, and continued riding back to where we parked our cars. My left shoulder was tingling with pain, but I could still paddle. Once arrived at the car park, I quickly threw in my bike inside the car and told my buddy I need to rush to the clinic before it closes. Time was showing 10.30pm when I reached the clinic and luckily the doctor was still there.

The major laceration I had where I first landed on the tarmac.

Getting the ATT jab (Adsorbed tetanus toxoid).
The young doctor asked why I took the picture.
I told him, “Because I’m a blogger” (cewah, poyo)

The nurse helped to clean up the lecerations.
She also asked why I took the picture.
I told her, “Because I want to make you nervous”. Aahahaha.

Fortunately, the only thing that was broken is my water bottle cage.
Not any of my bones, not any of my spirits.
Syukur Alhamdulillah.

Anyway, the morale of the story are:

1) Always wear a helmet when you go riding. No matter how slow or short your cycling session is going to be.

2) If you see obstructions on the road, e.g. fallen tree branch, big stones, potholes, etc., please notify your cycling buddies and if however possible, stop cycling for a while and remove the obstacles away from the road.

3) Always bring along your ID and insurance card if you have. You never know when you will be needing them desperately.

4) Well, this is not really a morale of the story. But it would be good to have at least a phone with a camera along with you, especially if you are a blogger like me who likes to write drama. Ngeh ngeh ngeh.

42 comments:

rusfarizal rusli said...

huh..!!!nasib baik takder kecederaan yg teruk..syukur alhamdullilah..luka kau kat bahu tu sama dengan aku...bahu kiter serupa..heheheh..

EnAikAY said...

Serupa tapi tak sama bro.
Kau power, aku tak. :)

rusfarizal rusli said...

salah tu nik..aku patah kau tak..:D

EnAikAY said...

That's what i meant! hihihi.

Diket said...

Phew! That was close. First I thought that another Trailblazer team will be losing a team-mate :D

Malang tak berbau kan? Ada hikmah semua ni berlaku. You take care there bro. Sabtu ni aku akan tepuk bahu kau kuat-kuat masa berjumpa. Ngeh ngeh ngeh.

Unknown said...

Aduih! Aku tahu rasa kulit terkoyak macam tu...Malang tak berbau, tapi syukur kau ok.
Rest well bro, nanti jumpa kat frim.

EnAikAY said...

Shakhir,
Alaa, if i can't do Trailblazer, i'm sure you can easily find my replacement . "Sekali petik, sepuluh datang tau".

Kau tepuk bahu aku, aku kidnap Ian and his Coney Dogs.. biar padan muka kau.

EnAikAY said...

Zaki,
Perasaan paling syok (read: azab) ialah time mandi.

Diket said...

Saja nak share. Nak put kat blog sendiri malas :)

I once crashed at Hartamas route downhill from Plaza Damas towards Petronas. There was this cable trench excavated across the road, 1 foot wide. Enough to make me flew over the handlebar. I had concussion. The next I knew, I was in an ambulance, lightheaded and lots of bruises. Helmet was my saviour la. Phew!

sckhoo said...

collar bone intact, shoulder blade still in one piece. Lucky.

Glad you are ok.

kookykash said...

Sengaja bagi orang heart attack ka?

EnAikAY said...

Shakhir,
Gosh.. i missed the chance to hit your shoulder. Why u didn't tell me earlier?
Anyway, yup.. never underestimate what the light (but expensive) bike helmet can do to your skull.
Thanks for sharing bro.

Khoo,
Thanks bro. :)

EnAikAY said...

Kash,
I didn't mean it. All i could think after coming out from the clinic was "Yessss, i got another story to put up on my boring blog".

Yimster said...

Yeouch, i feel your pain bro. Luckily the damage isnt too bad. Thank your lucky stars but all the same should get an xray to be doubly sure. Yes, ride wity gears all the time for safety purpose. Bike banyak, nyawa satu je

EnAikAY said...

Yim,
Thanks for your concern bro.
Now, the pain at my left shoulder is building up. It might be the muscular trauma pain.
But, if it doesn't subside after tomorrow, i'll go for an x-ray, as recommended by a doctor friend of mine.
By now,

June Malik said...

ouchh .. glad u are ok nik, no joke boleh serious injury! ni yang buat nak break my jinx take a back seat lagi hehe .. diket, yours pun wicked lah .. glad u both are ok .. and nik go for xray if takde improvement, ni kak june kata bukan doktor hihi

ziff71 said...

ayoyo, banyak seram baca pasal bike crash. Mmg x boleh lupa baca doa naik kenderaan. Mmg hardcore ler lu kene injection mahu snap picture jugak hehe

reitak said...

have a speedy recovery!! I have my share of crashes too and oh yes, the helmet is essential!

Gerb said...

Syukur takde yg teruk.

Adoi..bahu tu sungguh ngeri. Sama la.Tapi saya eksiden jatuh motor. Ade parut kekal smpi sekarang.Tapi makin tahun makin kecik parut tu. Nanti rajin2 letak vitamin E untuk mendapatkan bahu yg seksi semula ya :)

Thanks for the tips.I always left my id in my car while running. Dah la selalu lari sorang2.Bahaya betul pempuan ni.

Take care ye

Deo said...

Nik,
Baru je quote you in my latest blog entry last night.

Lance Armstrong once said, "If you worried about falling off the bike, you'd never get on.".
But whatever he says, it still scary though! Yang aku tak puas hati tu, kau gi check your bike condition first baru check luka di badan! Aduuuhhhh....

Get well soon, lah.

Jaja Shah said...

lagi sorang mau kena heart attack ni

udah2 le tu, rest ler. simpan kasut & bike tu dulu. pergi open house banyak, hihi :D

EnAikAY said...

Juney,
Ma'am, yes ma'am!
P/s: Jap, nak telan antibiotik dulu.

Ziff,
Oh ye, aku lupa baca doa naik kenderaan la. biasa2nya mmg aku baca walaupun nak kayuh beskal.
Thanks for reminding.

Thank you Reita,
And thanks for dropping by.

EnAikAY said...

Miza,
Oooo.. vitamin E eh? Saya ingatkan kalau nak seksi kena makan vitamin S.

Deo,
Ni dah kes sesat blog yg dahsyat ni.
GPS kau rosak ke?

Dancing Jaja,
Petang ni last day training (harap2 tak hujan ptg nnti). Esok dah boleh rest atas bas time nak balik KL.
Happy carboloading to u! :)

RaYzeef said...

Nik take good care mate...ijam and myself want u in good shape when we lumpur your team in Genting trailblazer..hi hi

bahu masih ok lagi ke utk tulis newton race report yg ko hutang kami ni? kalau tidak suruh deo je tuliskan, dia dah buat blog ko mcm blog sendiri..he he (deo - again don't eat too much lemang mate)

EnAikAY said...

Ray,
Only if you catch up with us lah...
(cewah, tiba2 rasa mcm terlebih hormon riak pulak ni).
P/s: Instinct aku mengatakan, report newton akan berkumandang minggu depan lah.

Deo said...

GPS aku dah set ke FRIM, nak resmi kasut baru tu yg benda-benda lain tersesat barat. Hahahah.... Nik, tlg delete please komen yg tersesat tu.

Ray, this is the effect of 25km Newton, kau lari 12km je tak rasa, bro! Hahahah

IJAM said...

jgn takut ray, kita boleh kalahkan team 'bahu patah' tu anytime.
aku bawak baldi yg ada lumpur bila masuk trail tu, jumpa je diorang kita lumur satu badan...
bila kat sungai tu, kita kocak2kan air bagi diorang rasa tempias...kah, kah, kah...
Nik, tu mesti MC 2, 3 hari tu, boleh la buat report psl newton...
bahu scratch sikit je, apa barang, kau belum tengok parut bawah bibir aku masa jatuh motor dulu...hidup2 aku kena jahit...aduh...

EnAikAY said...

Pergh Deo semangat kasut baru.
elok kau tido kat FRIM je la malam besok.. hihi.

Ijam,
Nnti kita tengok team "bahu patah" ke team "badut pengsan" yang kena telan selut dulu.
Oit.. mmg la jahit time hidup2. kalau dah mati... nak jahit buat apa lagi?
P/s: aku celebrate 1 hari MC arini kat ofis je la. Keje banyak ni bro.

dett said...

mula baca entry lu meremang bulu ketiak wa bai..syukur semua selamat

rider otai kata "kalu bawak beskal tak jatuh tak gerek la beb..lepas jatuh baru dapat lesen penuh"

tahun lepas wa jatuh..collarbone patah tiga dude..bertapa 6 minggu

Get well soon bro..

EnAikAY said...

Dett,
Next time, cukur dulu bulu ketiak sblm baca blog.
P/s: bila lu nak update blog lu ni? Kalau lu malas tulis bahasa melayu, lu tulis bahasa jawi pun takpe. kalau lagi malas, tulis je bahasa isyarat...

Che said...

alhamdulillah.. penah jugak rasa situasi jatuh masa tgh race.siap pegang handlebar so that beskal tak slide jauh dari aku. tp suar aku koyak kat punggung :P

ape pun get well soon.. eh, bukan sabtu ni dah nak berlari lagi ka?

err, steriod takde injet lagi ka? kalu tak kite bg tau GT punye organizer (kalu dia menang podium) :P hehe.. banyak btol drama GT this year. ngan injury la, mystery partner la :P

EnAikAY said...

Daud,
Pergh.. kalau jatuh time race lagi macho bro.. photographer ramai.
Kalau gambar rider seluar koyak kat punggung keluar magazine, mmg malang tak berbau dua kali la tu.

jiha-run-for-life said...

mesti skrg ni ada style terbaru time mandi..ngeh ngeh ngeh..
semlm pun aku last minit elak kayu tu..luckily not in aero position..

Kevin Siah said...

Haiyo! Like jinx only, get well soon!

Khairul Anuar said...

Bro, sorry about the accident. Looks bad, but if u r still able to snap photos, I think u can handle it. Tak payah mandi la. Haha.
Rest well okay. Tak sempat nak chit chat kat newton ari tu.
Get well soon!

IJAM said...

hah ray, kita dah tahu kelemahan team bahu patah....nik tak boleh masuk sungai lumpur tu, nanti dia rasa pedih kat bahu dia yg cedera tu...ha, ha...lepas tu dia kena rehat kat tepi buat muka tahan sakit, masa ni la kita boleh potong dia, sblm tu humban dia kat sungai tu balik, bagi dia rasa pedih 2 kali...muahaha....

Julin Julai said...

I know I'm being a smartypants but that's no laceration wound, that's an abrasion wound. You wouldn't want a laceration wound. sakit woo..mau tak mandi 2-3 hari, tayamum je.

zulhassan said...

Sian ko.Ni yg aku ngeri baca, tengok. Sebab takut jatuh macam nilah yang buat aku tak berani nak kayuh laju ni( nak cover line)

Banyak berehat ya. Ingat kita bersukan ni suka-suki je kan..kan?

EnAikAY said...

Jiha,
Inilah baru betul2 yg dinamakan "tido tak lena, makan tak kenyang, mandi tak pernah"... hehehehe.

Thanks Kevin.
At least we can share the same baby-shouting.. :)

KA,
Ahaaa.. u r starting to know me better aight!
P/s: How to meet at newton if u ran ahead of me from start from finish. Berdesup tuu..

Ijam dgn Ray betul2 cari nahas ni.
Ok Shakhir, besok kat FRIM kita buat mesyuarat tergempar kat tepi pokok ketapang. Aku dah jemput Ironman dgn Transformers datang bagi khidmat nasihat utk battle plan kita.

"U mess with my bahu, u mess with me!"

Julin,
Eh, u pakai grey pants ke smartypants? hihi.
Ooo.. ada beza eh b/w laceration n abrasion?
(itula, dulu sapa suruh tido dlm kelas biology)
Apa2pun, saya belum pernah miss mandi ye tuan2 n puan2, twice a day lagi.

Zul,
Computer aku detect blog kau ada malware lah. tak berani aku nak masuk.

tsar said...

yay no 40! :D
sori le. tertinggal kapalterbang, ketapi, bas, lori... termasuklah basikal. :D

man, seriau aku tgk. tapi alhamdulillah other than luka2 kecik, no other major ones. tak ada water bottle cage, leh lagi pakai camelbak


smartypants, greypants... ke spongebob squarepants? hehehe.

EnAikAY said...

Zarin,
Update as of now, sakit2 sengal bahu dah kurang. Pedih2 kulit time mandi dah boleh diabaikan.
By the end of the month, we'll see badut2 berenang dlm air lumpur kat Genting. Sama2 kita saksikan nanti.

RaYzeef said...

wah risau sungguh Team OKU Bahu Patah ni dengan Team Badut..he he.

We made an alliance with another mystery team to lumpur U nik..hi hi