Whys of Falls
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Rider Down!
I'm posting my crash today in the Whys topic because I know exactly why I fell. :D
Was doing my normal daily ride along the American River Parkway paved path, getting close to my turnaround point, a nice gravel road along some RR tracks. About 1/4 mile before I get there, there are 2 major lumps in the pavement from tree roots. Normally, I either go in the left lane if no one is coming or I slow down. With the trees all losing their leaves, there I was just gazing off across the field to see if I could see the gravel road I was heading to from where I was. Next thing I know, I'm hitting the first lump (the larger one) at 19 mph! As my feet left the board, my brain decided there was no longer a board under me to control, so maybe start running. I think I got a step or two in before I started going down. I recall watching my board tumbling down the pavement in front of me and thinking "no outstretched arms!". Tucking in my arms a bit, my forearms took the brunt of the fall, just below my elbows. I didn't roll, but came to a pretty quick stop.
My fingers went down as I slowed down and while they hurt for a couple minutes, they have no scrapes at all. My outer sweatshirt got some holes, but the inner one has almost no damage. My left elbow has a small 1/2" scrape, but my right elbow has a long 3" scrape that will take a while to heal. I'm not sure how my arms got scraped up when my sweatshirt has no holes, but they did. Left knee is fine, right one has very minor scrapes. Neither helmet nor face hit the ground. All in all, for a full speed crash on pavement, I surprisingly sustained pretty minor damage. The OneDanGT has a second fender scar.
Of course, being almost at the turnaround point in my ride, I had to ride the full distance back home. I rested up on the side of the parkway for 5 minutes or so and rode home at almost full speed, knowing I was fully responsible for my fall.
PSA: Even if you're on a comfortable path that you've ridden hundreds of times, pay attention and keep your eyes on the road!
GT-S > GT > Pint X > XR > +
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@onedangt -- Oh my! My body feels your fall in empathy! From my late summer fall I, too, had what I think was a rug burn on my leading arm near my elbow -- with no hole in several layers of long sleeves. Since then I have added more elbow gear to my Onewheeling. And you are right about watching familiar trails -- I tend to let my mind wander some taking in the ever-changing autumn, and in consequence running over some pavement knobs and roots I would normally avoid.
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@onedangt Glad to hear you managed to get out of that one mostly unscathed. Can relate to riding home at a turnaround point after a fall. Rest up and hopefully the scrapes heal nicely :)
RIP outer sweatshirt though, it's sacrifice was not in vain.
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@lia said in Whys of Falls:
mostly unscathed
It's the next day and I'm feeling some aches and pains in my right hip and upper arm, but nothing drastic. Agreed, for a 19mph crash, the injuries were certainly minor. Sucks getting old! :D
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Why did it nosedive? I wasn't going that fast, but I did try to accelerate quite hard. Did I overload it? Right in front of somebody too. Facepalm
Edit: clean, dry and smooth tarmac. Battery about 65%.Smiles per hour.
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@theadman -- Hard acceleration can do it.
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@s-leon I'm hoping it was my fault, not a problem with the board, because then I can learn from it and not do it again.
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So, I have always been worried about one specific threat and been amazed that it hadn't happened. Would I be able to run it out, or would I go tumbling? It has happened in my dreams, and I always jolt forward so violently that I wake myself up to my bed shaking. And, so, I never learn if dreaming Bill runs it out.
Well, today it happened in the waking world, it took almost 17k miles, ... and I did run it out!
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@biell Glad you were able to run that out! Definitely agree it’s terrifying to think that can happen.
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This happened to me also.
It wore a groove in the tire, but did not bring me to a stop.
The wood branch was scorched from the heat. -
@biell Happened to me too on my 4206 XR. It didn’t lock up the wheel but it caused a lot of smoke. A mountain biker behind me thought my battery had caught fire. The incident taught me to always carry tools. A similar incident happen to my neighbor last year on his GT but it was a rock that got lodged between his rail and tire and it put him down quick. Having tools we were able to get it out and continue down the mountain. Go Prepared!
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@hanahsdax I usually carry my toolset around with me, too, you never know when you will need it! I get smaller things caught inside my fender all the time, this is why I like mag fenders. I can pull the fender off, clear the debris, and put it back on all without having to stop and get off the board.
The mag fender is also good when rocks get lodged inside the treads. I can push them out with my finger without having to get off the board.
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Bloody knuckles, fresh scrapes on the hard plastic of my armor, and fresh tears on my near-new-used jacket -- from a fall today. Then I got up, Onewheeled about three miles back to the bike, and rode the ebike home to a long, hot bath.
Why the fall? Hmmm... The app says my top speed was 26.7 mph -- I do not believe it. Maybe when the nose went down and I was sliding on the made-to-slide bumper the wheel spun to register that speed. Hitting the pavement my body did not slide much -- shoulder slam, roll onto my back armor, and stop -- nothing like the interminably long slide I took at 25mph. I think I was traveling at 16-18 mph. An hour earlier with a different EGO battery my top was 20 mph. It is possible I might have been accelerating up a slight incline on a bridge over a forest creek. Indeed, the Onewheel itself came close to tumbling down off the bridge into the murky water.
Faulty sensor? I have lately been getting the one-side-only sensor notification. I should check the plug for a solid connection. Actually, I will probably swap out the sensor footpad for the one from the OneDanXR.
The other odd thing is that right at the moment of my fall , my phone went dead. It's an old phone, cast-off from Ruth Anne, and it's replacement battery has not been holding a charge very well. It had been at a seemingly healthy 81% an hour before. So, I do not know if blaming the phone flies, but I don't like that it cut out at the very moment of the fall. An in-hand solution: My Zippo hand warmers have a phone charging port -- kind of like a spare phone battery, I can leave it on charge as I Onewheel along the trail.
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Erm, ... whenever I see this topic getting an update over quite some period and seeing the (rather long) post is from you, sir, I'm having terrible times to cope myself and proceed to read.
Take care! -
@sirgu -- I figure, if I am writing the post I must be reasonably whole. True, I am sore; somehow I bruised my chest. Breathing is easy, though, so no cracked ribs. Thank goodness I am serious about wearing full armor! I got up, mounted again, and rode away.
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@s-leon Glad you managed to ride another fall off!
I hope you manage to fix the issue too. Faulty sensors scare me D:
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@S-Leon said :
... I must be reasonably whole. ...
I got your point right there. Not criticising long posts or whatsoever. Details do matter.
Just that when I note another one like this popping up here I straight off have this cold-chilling premonition about smth unpleasant.
And I'm afraid to see any "2#.# mph" in the context.
Thank god your usage of lots of armour & protective gear is in compliance with your riding style, environments and adventures. -
@s-leon
Never good to hear of a fall but glad you are relatively unscathed.
Been very careful for a while now myself.
I don't even get haptic buzz so that update never really affected me.
Take care and keep up the dedicated riding. 👍 -
@s-leon wow, glad you're ok. 25mph on an XR? :-O
Smiles per hour.
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@theadman -- That was on a Onewheel Plus. Crashed at 25; no crash at 24.6 mph. All that summer I AVERAGED over 20 mph. Lately, I barely edge into the twenties.
