I tested a motorcycle crash for you !

[Fred]

Well sort of...

This is meant as an ATGATT (All The Gear, All The Time) reminder for all of us, because yes, I did it... And only with 1,000 Kms on the bike meter...

Don't worry, I'm perfectly fine, very lucky, and riding much more focused now. No pictures of the crash, sorry, I was focusing on understanding which way I flew...

Last Thursday morning I rode from Sheshan to Xitang by the countryside roads. On one tiny concrete road I came upon a small but steep bridge (you couldn't see the road surface just after the bridge).
For several kilometers I was thinking about getting a picture of the area, often checking around to find a good landscape. When I arrived on top of the bridge, I looked left to see the landscape. Little did I knew then that there was a deep hole (10-15cm) just after the bridge.... When I looked forward again and saw the hole 1 meter from my front wheel, at 40 km/h t'was too late mate...

So I did my best impersonation of ET (phone home...) and flew... My head never touched the ground (don't know how I did but absolutely no marks on the helmet...).
Long story short : my equipment saved my bacon ! I was fully geared, my mesh jacket (Dainese Barcellona) withstood the sliding very well. I limped for 2 days after that, don't know how and where I hit my right leg, but I know for sur that without the reinforced riding boots I would currently sport a nice cast.

Now everything is fine physically, the garage had to bend back in shape the bike frame (managed to bent it...), only one blinker to change, scrapped the leather of the back rest and the plastic on the left side.

Yesterday I took the bike for a 170km trip to check if everything was ok, and to finish my Thursday trip. No way I was going not to finish this one ! The trip was perfect, the bike also and the rider is proud to say he's riding far better than before the crash, much more in control and adapting the speed to what he can see.

You live, you learn.

So please gals and guys, wear your gear all the time ! No "I dont' plan to crash" BS... It can happen in a split-second, so wear the gear !

Note to self : do not EVER do that again...

[Steve_R]

Glad to hear you're alright and that you were wearing the gear!

On a related note, it is always advised to go slowly on the bridge advances. Obviously this applies for the smaller and narrow bridges, but even for the new bridges this is a good tactic.

The problem is that when they make the new bridges on the new roads, they don't seal the metal lip part of the bridge very well with asphalt. As a result, up and down you go, and it's a major bump.

The brand new roads in Songjiang are absolutely the worst when it comes to this, and 2-3 years later the roads become sh*t like the old roads.

[Fred]

Yeah Steve, the bridge "sealings" are always a major kick in the ass indeed.

Yesterday on the 170 km trip I saw some "interesting" things as far as bridges are concerned :
- on one occasion there were 3 bricks laying on the road just after a bridge...
- another time there was a speed bump, the kind in plastic, quite tall, just after the bridge and only on the right side of the road, so clearly it was made for people who come FROM the bridge, not on to the bridge... Those road "engineers" clearly don't ride bikes, or have a very strange sense of humor...

[felix]

Cheers for carrying out this test for us! Glad you are ok. If i learned one thing, it's don't look left on bridges.

[jape]

Glad you got the 'obligatory off' over and done with and safe enough Fred. Makes you sweat a bit eh? It will probably be about another 500 km before you forget the lesson ...
Well done with 'atgatt' too.

Another reason why helmet cams should be mandatory!

[Nuhaus]

Glad to hear you and the bike managed to get through the crash with only bumps and scratches. Especially impressed that you went out as soon as possible to finish the ride properly.

I think you might have mentioned it before, but I'm curious to know if your gear includes gloves and some kind of riding pants. I've had 2 "offs" and each time have all but ruined my gloves and saved my hands. I strongly agree that riding boots are a big necessity. I've been trying to get a certain friend of mine *cough* to wear them for a while now, I am at least happy he now wears a helmet.

"don't know how and where I hit my right leg,"

Did you have the rear foot pegs down?

[euphonius]

Dear Fred,

Let me add my voice to those welcoming your post and the news that you are okay after this getoff. Thank you also for posting such detail, and for offering your insights.

I too would be keen to know what you are using in the way of gear, what you are happy with, what you are not, and where you got what you liked! Further to Nuhaus's question about riding pants, if you were wearing them, were they zipped into your jacket? Did this help to keep them from sliding off?

This is NOT the kind of ride report we hope you'll be posting in future, but with no small number of newb riders in this forum (I count myself in that number), I hope you don't mind if we mine your misfortune for all it's worth!

cheers!

[moilami]

Thanks, interesting crash report and good attitude you have.

[ChinaV]

Thanks for sharing your experience and the lesson learned, it's a good reminder going into the season that accidents do happen quite often in China. I'm glad you weren't hurt and the bike is back on the road. We need another sticker from Felix and Supersignet.... CCC the China Crash Club, seems that most of us qualify for membership .

Cheers!
ChinaV

[Barry]

Just ran into this video from a helmet cam! If you watch carefully you'll see how lucky he is to still have his right foot!