Clipless moment and cycle helmet

[How Old?]

Whilst we were in Spain recently I had a clipless moment in a small Spanish town. The one and only traffic light turned red, I unclipped my left foot as per normal and then promptly fell to my right! Just to the side was a wall which I hit very hard, badly scraping my arm and wrenching my shoulder. I also hit my head (with helmet) quite hard on this wall. My husband came to my rescue as did a lovely Spanish couple who stopped their car to assist. At this moment, I fainted apparently, but it was only for a few moments. The Spanish couple and my husband managed to get me over to a nearby bench where I could recover and within 15 - 20 minutes, I was okay again, just a little wobbly. I had a mild concussion and felt a little nauseous and slightly giddy for the rest of the day but was fine the next day except for a sore arm and shoulder.
I examined my helmet and at first couldn't see anything wrong with it but my husband pointed out a small hole at the point of impact, as though a nail had punctured the helmet. As he said, if I hadn't been wearing my helmet, that would have been my head with a hole in it and I would have been a lot worse off than mild concussion.
I don't really mean to open up the debate again about whether to wear a helmet or not, but this incident has taught my a valuable lesson and I, for one, will always wear a helmet.

 

[numbnuts]

Thank God you were wearing a helmet

 

[MossCommuter]

Thank God you were wearing a helmet

Two for the price of one.

 

[MartinC]

Glad you're OK now. Shame about the concussion and the shoulder injury. Those clipless pedals are really dangerous, they should be banned. What if you'd fallen under a car? I hope you've stopped using them.

 

[ufkacbln]

Of course after a blow as described the helmet will need replacing

Then, again, next time as well.... and the next


Wouldn't it be cheaper and more sensible to look and see why the accident happened, greasing the SPD, loosening the tensioning nut or replacing worn cleats to prevent a recurrence?

 

[Wobblers]

"Mild concussion"?

Concussion is a serious matter medically - I hope you saw a doctor about it. The symptoms you describe could certainly be caused by concussion. Or heat exhaustion, dehydration or simply exerting one self physically in hot weather. Let's hope it's the latter not the former!

As for the hole, well, I've got a hole in my finger after it slipped when I was doing up the bolts on the garage door. A scalp wound is certainly unpleasant, but not life threatening. Happily, helmets are quite effective against such injuries - something to thank your helmet for. The evidence as to their efficacy in preventing more serious injuries is rather less clear cut however.

 

[Ern1e]

I am very glad to read all is ok but just wondering are you left handed ? my good lady is and that is what she did (although not a clipless moment) a few days ago but due to the hot weather. It was quite strange to watch this as it happened left leg down on road then bike and rider over to the right,yes she was weaing a helmet and only suffered scratches and a bruise or two and the most serious a very nasty scratch on the fork (she is not happy about that) but I do belive that had she not been using a helmet her head would have hit the road and well !

 

[Roadrider48]

I am glad you are relatively ok but tend to agree with the other post that you should be medically checked if you think you we're concussed.
Glad the helmet saved your head.

 

[Davidc]

I fell off my bike on black ice a year ago and banged my head hard on the road. I got a nasty bruise. Luckily I was wearing a woolly hat which saved my life. I don't wear the woolly hat at the moment though - it's miles too hot and that would be stupid.

I hope you've replaced the woolly hat. It's not going to be effective any more after a crash like that.

 

[Licramite]

yes I'm just into clipless and have several clipless moments like that, I now unclip both sides well in advance of stopping. - they have their advantages but I think they are quite dangerous in their own way. - especially for the inexperienced.
The helmet I think proved its worth, people bang on about it won't save your life, but I'm happy with it just saving my scalp.
as others have said, people don't take bangs on the head seriously enough, a simple bang on the head can set up a bleed under the skull that can easily be fatal.
had a guy in casualty once jabbed his head on a nail on a building site, the tip had actually gone through his skull, he only came in when the infecton made him seriously ill several days later.

 

[hopless500]

yes I'm just into clipless and have several clipless moments like that, I now unclip both sides well in advance of stopping. - they have their advantages but I think they are quite dangerous in their own way. - especially for the inexperienced.
The helmet I think proved its worth, people bang on about it won't save your life, but I'm happy with it just saving my scalp.
as others have said, people don't take bangs on the head seriously enough, a simple bang on the head can set up a bleed under the skull that can easily be fatal.
had a guy in casualty once jabbed his head on a nail on a building site, the tip had actually gone through his skull, he only came in when the infecton made him seriously ill several days later.

 

[Roadrider48]

yes I'm just into clipless and have several clipless moments like that, I now unclip both sides well in advance of stopping. - they have their advantages but I think they are quite dangerous in their own way. - especially for the inexperienced.
The helmet I think proved its worth, people bang on about it won't save your life, but I'm happy with it just saving my scalp.
as others have said, people don't take bangs on the head seriously enough, a simple bang on the head can set up a bleed under the skull that can easily be fatal.
had a guy in casualty once jabbed his head on a nail on a building site, the tip had actually gone through his skull, he only came in when the infecton made him seriously ill several days later.

Hi Licramite. I ride clipless regularly too, but living in London I find that it isn't that practical, due to all the stop/start hustle and bustle. So I change between peddles depending on the ride. I much prefer clipless though!

 

[Licramite]

I got those toe clips, its just a U shaped thing that goes on the pedal and your toe goes into it,, no side straps. dead cheap and it never traps your foot, its main advantage is it keeps yourr foot in the right position on the pedal and you can pull up to limited extent

 

[ufkacbln]

I hope you've replaced the woolly hat. It's not going to be effective any more after a crash like that.

Depends on the wool?