Does anyone remember there first crash?

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Saluki

World class procrastinator
Family ride with Dad, my cousins Simon and Sarah and another cousin Glenn. Simon, the little s*** had a stick from the hedgerow and shoved it through my front wheel spokes when Dad was in front and not looking. I got a broken wrist, couple of cracked ribs from hitting the handlebars and knocked out a couple of teeth. Happily they were milk teeth as I was very young.

Dad was furious as I'd 'ruined the ride' and we all went home and I was sent straight to bed with no tea. I was packed off to A&E the next morning as I was complaining about my arm aching. I remember it so clearly.
 

Saluki

World class procrastinator
The bike had a speedo that worked by clicking a small angle of metal within the spokes. At the bottom the speedo was at max (30 or so) and I came off, again there was gravel. This was nastier (although still not hospital worthy) a passing car driver took me home and my dad scooted the 4 or 5 miles with both bikes. To this day he says I just lost control and crashed, I hold as it was a dead straight piece of road the speedo stuck in my front spokes locked the wheel up. As I never remember accidents (I don't get slo mo effects and earth/sky/earth/sky, my brain just wipes the bit from 3 seconds or so before the crash to when I'm thinking again) I'll never truly know.

I had one of these speedo things. I reckon that you are right about it sticking in your spokes. They were lethal. I had a mileometer/speedo thing that did much the same. Maybe I should have oiled it more.
 

BigAl68

Über Member
Location
Bath
Plenty of spills as a child but the first real crash was when I was about 11. Practising cycling hands free up and down my road and getting far too cocky for my own good as I was doing slalom. Got far too over to the left, bike starts to fall, grab handlebars and get the bike back only to career straight into the neighbours car. Bloody nose, bloody knees and a very angry Mr illingworth at number 3... Not sure what the outcome was with him but my mum took the bike off me for what seemed like months. When I got it back the buckled wheel was fixed so she obviously wasn't too angry
 

pawl

Legendary Member
Does anyone remember when they first fell off their bike?

Just remembering back in the day I was 13 and had a bike race with my mates (about 7 of us). I had a Argos BMX bike. We were all sprinting down a shared path my handlebar became loose and flopped forward I lost control and ploughed into my mate who was cycling beside me. We were both tangled up in our bikes I was in so much pain I laughed while rolling on the floor. I will never forget that moment in my life.
Not a crash as such.Going up hill towards Crich from Ambergate riding fixed stalled on the climb and keeled over.It wouldn't have been painful if it wasn't for the dumbbell spanner in my rear pocket which I landed on.PAINFULL.
 

Hacienda71

Mancunian in self imposed exile in leafy Cheshire
1974 aged 3. Hit a brick going down a ramp/road, somersaulted over the bars. Cracked the back of my head on the concrete. Had a lump the size of an egg. Taken home by my brothers, mother was not happy.
 
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Soup890

Crazy
Location
leeds
1974 aged 3. Hit a brick going down a ramp/road, somersaulted over the bars. Cracked the back of my head on the concrete. Had a lump the size of an egg. Taken home by my brothers, mother was not happy.
Jheeze that's sounds painful just reading it
 

400bhp

Guru
Most of my crashes have involved @400bhp in some way, I certainly will never forget any of them :whistle:

:reading:
 

compo

Veteran
Location
Harlow
Early 1950's, My first bike, handed down through the family. Too big for me. Saddle virtually on the cross bar (top tubes weren't invented till many years later), and wooden blocks on the pedals so I could reach them. I must have been younger than 8 years old at the time as I was living with my aunt and uncle in Doxey, Stafford. Riding home from Seighford aerodrome to Doxey, down a hill and almost round a bend before losing it and doing a lovely face plant in the road. I didn't realise my face was covered in blood until I walked indoors and saw the look of horror on my aunties face. I can't recall my injuries but I guess they weren't too bad as I rode home after the crash, I just recall all the blood around my face and being banned forever from the bike, said ban lasting about 1 day!
 
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w00hoo_kent

One of the 64K
I had one of these speedo things. I reckon that you are right about it sticking in your spokes. They were lethal. I had a mileometer/speedo thing that did much the same. Maybe I should have oiled it more.
Yup, this was a big black square thing. A needle for speed and an odometer. Looked like it would be more at home in a Morris Marina. Would have been 1979/80.
 

Vapin' Joe

Formerly known as Smokin Joe
I don't remember my first crash while I was riding myself, but I vividly remember the first time I was involved in one aged about four or five. My dad owned a petrol/repair garage on the outskirts of Cork and one of the mechanics was giving me a lift round the forecourt perched on the carrier of an old sit-up-and beg. I caught my left foot in the spokes of the back wheel and I can still remember the pain I felt. That foot is still turned in a bit to this day causing my to wear down the side of the heel on my shoe very rapidly. These days I'd have been whipped off to hospital for physio but back then you just had it run under a tap and got on with it.
 

cd365

Guru
Location
Coventry, uk
One of my earliest memories, age 4, 5 or maybe 6. The neighbour across the road, 5 years older than me was teaching me to ride without stabilisers. We were in an almost empty road, maybe 100 yards long. Only thing in it was a Luton type van (this was early 70s). I was doing great, then I started to head towards the van, panicked, took my hands off my the handlebars, covered my face and crashed into the back of the van lol
 

kipster

Guru
Location
Hampshire
Proper crashes= not sure on order, there is the one when I went too fast through a corner and ended up going through a fence, the owners of fence were very kind and didn't want money, but I did give them some of my pocket money. The one that hurt was a van entering a roundabout and hitting me side on, broke the forks of the bike, I was 17 and just bounced but I do remember giving the driver a mouthful.

Silly crash was pulling a wheelie on a Chopper and the front wheel coming off, forks dug into grass, me flung off bike.
 
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