Thank you Guardian Angel!

[busb]

Was approaching a very busy traffic light-controlled combined roundabout/crossroad on my way home - stationary car in front waiting for the lights to change. I braked stupidly late - front wheel disappeared, I snaked then hit the deck (not the car, fortunately). Got back on before the lights changed & rode the remaining 3 miles home where I had to carry my bike up several steps 1st, No rips in clothing but stabbing pains in my right wrist, bruised elbow & a sore hip. Very little swelling so probably just sprained but will probably go to A & E tomorrow morning.
I'm left-handed - you'll be surprised how much you use your other hand until you can't! Was nothing to do with bad luck - everything to do with being a plonker! Take care people! I am very lucky. Wrist not too painful after 4 hrs but am limping. What a twit!

[gaz]

Sorry to hear of your off, I wish you a swift recovery.

[reohn2]

Sorry to hear of your off, I wish you a swift recovery.

+1 **it happens to everyone occasionally

[busb]

Far more movement now in my hand/wrist but am pretty unsteady on me leg. Will take another dose of anti Inflammatories before bed & take a container up with me so i don't need to hobble to the loo in the night! Will be pretty stiff tomorrow morning. Still no more than minor swelling so probably not even a hairline fracture but will decide if i need to visit A & E or not. Haven't checked the bike but it rode OK. Thanks both for your undeserved sympathy!

[Pastychomper]

The only fracture I've had (that I know about) caused no swelling at all. I just had a sore wrist after an awkward fall and thought it was a sprain. My Dad insisted on taking me to A & E when he realised it was still tender 3 days later, and an X-ray showed one of the two forearm bones cracked straight across.

Anyway, speedy recovery +1. As they say, good judgement comes from experience, experience comes from bad judgement.

[Samuel D]

Not that good tyres rule out bad judgement, but what tyres do you use and was the road wet?

Take it easy for a while!

[busb]

Am much better this morning. Wrist merely sore, hip very stiff. Rang work - suggested I contacted my local medical centre which I did. Eventually got through to be told that a 5 min walk-in appointment wasn't long enough & because I'd not received any formal medical examination, I'd probably be charged £27 to be seen & my best option would be to go to either a clinic in Bracknell or A & E in Reading. Seeing that I've got pretty much full movement in my wrist, I'm more inclined to just rest today & return to work by train & bus tomorrow. My GF's mum is a retired theatre sister & has been advising me (frozen peas on wrist etc) was astounded that they wanted to charge me. Bike looks OK after a cursory look.
If my bike had had rim brakes, I'd probably been more cautious & braked earlier & not come off. My tyres are new 700C 30C SCHWALBE G-ONE SPEED set up tubeless - perfect in the dry but less so in adverse conditions. The road was probably greasy if not actually wet. We are never too old to live & learn. Yup, bad judgement on my part!

[Graham]

A forceful learning experience !!
We all make mistakes = the human condition.

I wish you a rapid return to fine health.

PS. I'm not really surprised that NHS tried to find a reason to charge you. I think that "free at the point of demand" is unsustainable and doomed.

[[XAP]Bob]

A forceful learning experience !!
We all make mistakes = the human condition.

I wish you a rapid return to fine health.

PS. I'm not really surprised that NHS tried to find a reason to charge you. I think that "free at the point of demand" is unsustainable and doomed.

No - Free at Point of use can and should be sustained.

Now the variety of 'use' might need to change slightly, but medical care (particularly urgent care) should not be the preserve of the wealthy.

In terms of scope there are treatments which are not medically necessary which are carried out by the NHS (IVF being the easiest one to pick on, but almost certainly not the only one - and I have no idea how much it actually costs the NHS each year)

OTOH there are treatments which are medically necessary which are not carried out by the NHS - the vast majority of mental health care in the NHS is appallingly underfunded.

[mjr]

my best option would be to go to either a clinic in Bracknell or A & E in Reading. Seeing that I've got pretty much full movement in my wrist, I'm more inclined to just rest today & return to work by train & bus tomorrow.

Call NHS 111 and see what they advise?

My GF's mum is a retired theatre sister & has been advising me (frozen peas on wrist etc) was astounded that they wanted to charge me.

Me too. I'd be raising merry hell about that, contacting PALS, NHS Choices and/or the local Healthwatch - assuming it was an NHS clinic.

Bike looks OK after a cursory look.
If my bike had had rim brakes, I'd probably been more cautious & braked earlier & not come off. My tyres are new 700C 30C SCHWALBE G-ONE SPEED set up tubeless - perfect in the dry but less so in adverse conditions. The road was probably greasy if not actually wet. We are never too old to live & learn. Yup, bad judgement on my part!

Yeah, sorry. More powerful braking is useful up to a point but you're always limited by the available friction, so always brake early to check out how much grip you have - if you discover there's more grip than you feared, you can always brake less but you might not be able to brake more!

[crazydave789]

hot baths, kills the pain but also speeds up the bruising process as it kills off damaged cells quicker. damaged cells take three days roughly to die off.

anti inflamatories at first then once the bruising starts to come out switch to paracetemol type meds as NSAIDS aspirin/brufen etc.. hinder the bodys repair processes.

keep both moving and use them, a 2 inch crepe or cohesive bandage is handy for adding a bit of support to a wobbly wrist if you can find someone to show you how to apply one properly. cohesive is like a rubber crepe that is self sticking so is more solid.

it takes a day or two for everything you've rattled about to let you know about it so expect a few more niggles during the week.

being left handed in a right handed world we develop near ambidextrousness compared to our right handed neighbours. being sinister has its advantages, I can do most things right handed if I have to.

[foxyrider]

Amateur!

Big lesson you've learnt but might not realise - donkt put your arm out to try to save yourself!

I had an off just over a month ago, damp tram tracks, straight on the deck. Banged my knee and elbow, bit of abrasion to clothing. Biggest injury however was a hip joint sprain, hardly any bruising but walking was a pain for several weeks.

Of course back on the bike it was super cautious - especially with the cold and icy conditions in December hereabouts and your confidence does take a knock. Back to 'normal' now but still super cautious of those tram lines, try to avoid them but some rides have to interact with them.

Speedy recovery

[reohn2]

A forceful learning experience !!
We all make mistakes = the human condition.

I wish you a rapid return to fine health.

PS. I'm not really surprised that NHS tried to find a reason to charge you. I think that "free at the point of demand" is unsustainable and doomed.

No - Free at Point of use can and should be sustained.

Now the variety of 'use' might need to change slightly, but medical care (particularly urgent care) should not be the preserve of the wealthy.

In terms of scope there are treatments which are not medically necessary which are carried out by the NHS (IVF being the easiest one to pick on, but almost certainly not the only one - and I have no idea how much it actually costs the NHS each year)

OTOH there are treatments which are medically necessary which are not carried out by the NHS - the vast majority of mental health care in the NHS is appallingly underfunded.

+1

[bovlomov]

During the recent cold spell I came off on black ice - on a cycle path by the brook, not on a road. It happened so quickly that I had no time to do any of those things that make injury more likely: tensing up, putting out an arm etc. I suppose I must have hit my head, because my upper and lower sets of teeth knocked together, my woolly hat fell off, and a while later I felt a slight tingling sensation, as if someone had hit my head with the palm of their hand.

I was prepared for stiffness and bruising, but there was nothing, other than a slightly dirty patch on my trousers where my thigh had landed.

A lady walking her dog asked me if I was OK, and then why I wasn't wearing a helmet. I explained my reasoning and she listened as if she was interested. That's not happened before.

Lessons learned:
1) It's colder along the valley, and the paths aren't gritted. Beware, even if the roads aren't icy.
2) Woolly hats save lives.
3) It could have been a lot worse.

[gaz]

A few weeks back I had a minor off on the way in to work. A wetter morning than I'd usually choose to ride in on. Back wheel slid out at the end of a twisty turny maneuver around the gate to the swing bridge over the canal lock. Low speed, landed on my side, left arm out.

A bit of an ache in my left wrist for the next few minutes, mud on trousers, nothing else to write home about.

Notes to self:
1. Wet plywood is not a grippy surface.
2. Remember that wet plywood is not a grippy surface (I've fallen off here before).
3. Remember wooly hat status for subsequent post on forum (most likely too warm to have been wearing one but I cannot be certain).