Wiping Out - Bike Crash Report 5/18/2010

This post has been a long time coming...and so I apologize for it's "lateness."

Here is what happened:

I was taking part in my first 40K Time Trial on 5/18.  I was pushing fairly hard, while still trying to pace myself a bit.   Later powertap data would show I was at about 90% of my Critical Power/FTP.

This is the route I rode, along with my speed and power data if you are interested.

Entering the corner from 2250 to 750 the second time I swung out very wide and started my turn in.  I didn't stop peddling and didn't bleed off enough speed.  I was going approximately 22 Mph before the crash.  My wide line was made wider while adjusting for a  SSW wind at about 10 miles an hour.  Lastly my inside foot was down, keeping me from leaning correctly, when I did finally stop peddling. 

Anyway, the last thing I remember is my front wheel grabbing the gravel on the far side of 750 and thinking "well, this is going to suck."  I lost control and went forward over the handlebars.  The bike went with me, I pulled it over by my cleats.  The next thing I knew, I was laying down in a ditch full of water with a bike on top of me.  I had to pull my shoes off to get free of the bike.  At first I thought my legs were broken, but it turned out my calves were both just very very cramped from either the impact or pulling the bike over with me.  

I landed on my head and shoulder and immediately felt a good amount of pain in both.  My handlebars were bent completely forward at the stem, but that was an easy repair.  The rest of the bike appeared ridable.

A motorist stopped at the corner.  I was guessing he was going to check if I was ok.  I guessed wrong.  He pointed at me, laughed, and drove off.  What a douche...and in retrospect, kinda like Nelson from the Simpsons.  

I decided to make the repair to the bars and ride back the remaining 5 miles at an easy pace.

When I got back to the car Lana snapped these pictures on my iPhone:

So, I was a bit beat up.  My bike had a few scratches and dings, but nothing too serious.  I also decided to replace my helmet.  It look a huge amount of the impact and might have saved me from a much more serious injury.  Big thanks to Giro for their crash replacement program too, by the way.  A discount on a new lid after all this was very welcome.  The next day I was still running, but on Thursday I was seriously sore.  I was off swimming for about a week because of my shoulder pain but that was the only real impact to my training.  All in all however, I was very lucky.  It could have been pretty bad.

I still haven't gotten my nerve back in the corners, but I imagine it will come back in time.  Until then, I'm pretty much back to full speed on my training and feeling fine.