Question:
> Clipless pedals. Big descent. Large drop off. Rocks. Gotta bail. How > do I do it? There’s gotta be a right way and a wrong way. I gotta > believe that I’ve been doing it the wrong way. > bruisily,
What can I say man do what feels right its not something you can practice That would be like practicing not being able to do something. Besides if your doing a serious endo you shouldn’t have enough time to think about how to do it right – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> todd > — > John Hannah > — > John Hannah
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: Collarbones heal pretty easily, soft tissue doesn’t. I wish somebody would have let my collar bone in on that little secret. It took three doctors and $20000 worth of surgery to get mine back together. — Daryl Doan 91 883 93 M700 All good boys go to heaven. All good bikers go to Utah.
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>One way that I’ve heard to practice going over the bars is to take a >beater bike and ride it at full speed into a body of water. Never tried >it, don’t recommend it, but it sounds like fun… in an odd way.
It *is* fun. You can kiss the bearings goodbye, though 
. >(In fact, when I >was in Scotland for a conference, some drunk guy fell out of an apartment >house, fell 8 stories, landed on someone’s brand new mini (i.e., really >small car), TOTALLED it, and the walked away.)
We had a similar thing happen in my college dorm; a drunk fell down the central core of the building, around which the staircase wrapped, from the fifth floor. He landed on a coke machine and crushed it (just think of how tough those are to see how much force he must have hit with), but walked away without a scratch. jim frost — http://www.std.com/homepages/jimf
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>|> Don’t stick your arm out to break your fall, it’s a sure fire >|> way to break your collar bone.
It can be much worse than breaking your collar bone if you lock the joint — you can dislocate your shoulder, elbow, or wrist. Once you’ve done that it often takes reconstruction to stop it from happening again under even moderate stress. Collarbones heal pretty easily, soft tissue doesn’t. >The way to avoid a broken collar bone is to not lock >your arm straight, and to get a smooth roll.
I agree completely. Even if you break the collarbone — I did while rolling out during a very high-speed crash — you will probably protect your head, and I’ll make that tradeoff every time. They can’t fix my head. jim frost — http://www.std.com/homepages/jimf
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> Clipless pedals. Big descent. Large drop off. Rocks. Gotta bail. How > do I do it? There’s gotta be a right way and a wrong way. I gotta > believe that I’ve been doing it the wrong way.
Try bailing on a road bike flying down a steep mountain curve, people walking in the road, and a car comming up the other lane. Missed the people, pretzed the rear wheel, hit the car and sailed over the hood! Be prepared, tuck and roll when you hit…most endos are slo mo so you learn "flying dismounts" ..after many, you can flip and land on your feet every time. My wreck? Busted big toe and a few scrapes…. my beautiful road bike? Two trashed wheels! — _`<,_ (*)/ (*) Ride to Win Http://www.cybernetics.net/users/krider/CSMindex.html
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: Clipless pedals. Big descent. Large drop off. Rocks. Gotta bail. How : do I do it? There’s gotta be a right way and a wrong way. I gotta : believe that I’ve been doing it the wrong way. : bruisily, : — : John Hannah : — : John Hannah If you can do it. Smash front brake and launch yourself, bringing your legs up into a tuck and going over bars(like vaulting a horse in gym class). Land and roll(relaxed), and hope for the best. If your young and athletic you might be able to do this. You will need some courage, complete disregard for the health of delicate parts of your bike, and a lot of practice to imprint the maneuver. BTW: don’t forget to free your feet first. Betty Endos <drinking fluoridated Hudson River water and watching Dr. no>
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> Clipless pedals. Big descent. Large drop off. Rocks. Gotta bail. How > do I do it? There’s gotta be a right way and a wrong way. I gotta > believe that I’ve been doing it the wrong way.
I find the majority of my bailing is done over the handle bars. Since this usually only occurs while descending and my general rule is the harrier the descent the slower I go, I can usually get away with a slow leap frog type dismount and a fairly graceful landing on my feet. (Followed by a quick determination of whether or not your bike is about to seek revenge! In a couple of cases where bailing was unanticipated and my speed was significantly higher I have found grabbing tree branches very beneficial in decreasing the severity of the impending impact with the ground. On my only night ride (until I get some real lights!) I was saved from a very long fall by bear hugging a passing tree trunk (which is a good argument for a head lamp!). Otherwise relax, tuck, roll and hope for the best. I speak from experience when I say that the ability to relax prior to an unavoidable impact is extreemly significant when it comes to avoiding broken bones. This technique allowed me to survive 5 years of motorcycle road racing with several 100+ mph crashes with only minor scrapes (& major) bruises. As for clipless pedals I find that in an emergency my reflexes have already clipped out before I have a chance to think about it. My parting advice is to learn to control your speed so that any crashes occur at a slow and controlable speed. Good luck. Chris
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writes: >Clipless pedals. Big descent. Large drop off. Rocks. Gotta bail. How >do I do it? There’s gotta be a right way and a wrong way. I gotta >believe that I’ve been doing it the wrong way.
Never bail. Theres always a chance of pulling it off, and if you do, it gives the best rush. If not, who cares…yer expected to get hurt in this sport. "Quadruple espresso, please."
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|> |> > Clipless pedals. Big descent. Large drop off. Rocks. Gotta bail. How |> > do I do it? There’s gotta be a right way and a wrong way. I gotta |> > believe that I’ve been doing it the wrong way. |> |> Don’t stick your arm out to break your fall, it’s a sure fire |> way to break your collar bone. Every year, our collegiate cycling team holds weekly skills clinics for our new racers. We teach the standard stuff like how to avoid being crashed out when bumping wheels, getting elbowed (happens altogether too much, IMHO), etc., and the skill that is germaine to this thread: how to fall over sideways. Find a nice grassy spot, and let yourself come to a stop. You’ll fall over, but that’s the idea. Lean the bike over a little bit first, and flop down on your side. Hip first, then along the whatever-hand side of your ribcage, and then onto your back. Keep your arm tucked in, and by all means don’t fall over on your shoulder; a really hard end-on impact is another thing that can bust your collarbone. This drill is for learning how not to permanently injure yourself if you slide out in a corner. One way that I’ve heard to practice going over the bars is to take a beater bike and ride it at full speed into a body of water. Never tried it, don’t recommend it, but it sounds like fun… in an odd way. The absolute most important thing NOT to do is to land on your head when your neck is in a weak position. From an upright position, your neck is meant to bend forward and backward. Bending forward, it’s pretty well protected, and bending backward is how you break it. Another key to not getting hurt is LOOSE. In a stiff breeze, it isn’t the strong branches that survive, it’s the flexible ones. Cats can survive outrageous falls because they have a chance to relax. (In fact, when I was in Scotland for a conference, some drunk guy fell out of an apartment house, fell 8 stories, landed on someone’s brand new mini (i.e., really small car), TOTALLED it, and the walked away.) So, tuck in your neck, tuck in your elbows, and let yourself take the tumble, because like it or not, you’re going to, and the less you try to resist the inevitable, the less chance you have of breaking something. (If you let your arms flail, you’re going to be one sorry guy; in a hard tumble, smacking a hand on the ground while your somersaulting around is a very good way to turn it into a worthless jello of bone fragments.) Best of luck, and do practice those off-the-back dismounts, too. pb PS btw, I got a lot of this advice from my experiences wrestling and playing football. I saw a guy try to break his fall (while being tackled) with an arm. When the second and third guys hit him, it wasn’t pretty…
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Clipless pedals. Big descent. Large drop off. Rocks. Gotta bail. How do I do it? There’s gotta be a right way and a wrong way. I gotta believe that I’ve been doing it the wrong way. bruisily, — John Hannah — John Hannah
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> Clipless pedals. Big descent. Large drop off. Rocks. Gotta bail. How > do I do it? There’s gotta be a right way and a wrong way. I gotta > believe that I’ve been doing it the wrong way.
Leap off towards the softest area you can find! Try to avoid the thorn bushes. Stay at home and watch TV……. Don’t stick your arm out to break your fall, it’s a sure fire way to break your collar bone. — David Humphreys Department of Information Technology Tameside Acute Care NHS Trust
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>Clipless pedals. Big descent. Large drop off. Rocks. Gotta bail. How >do I do it? There’s gotta be a right way and a wrong way. I gotta >believe that I’ve been doing it the wrong way.
Try this: 1. Place your head firmly between your knees. 2. Kiss your ass goodbye! Sorry. Couldn’t resist. Maybe a rocket powered ejection saddle? 
Maybe a parachute? I actually saw that done on a PBS special once. Guy carried a bike to the top of, I think, Angel Falls. Straps on his parachute and goes for it. He was on the bike maybe 5 seconds. Then it was free fall time! I know this wasn’t serious, but somebody’s gotta do it!
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|> |> > Clipless pedals. Big descent. Large drop off. Rocks. Gotta bail. How |> > do I do it? There’s gotta be a right way and a wrong way. I gotta |> > believe that I’ve been doing it the wrong way. |> |> Don’t stick your arm out to break your fall, it’s a sure fire |> way to break your collar bone. Breaking your collar bone is better than breaking your neck. If you’re forced into doing a forward dismount, and can’t clear the bars with your legs, you want to get that arm out to protect your head, and then shoulder roll it. The way to avoid a broken collar bone is to not lock your arm straight, and to get a smooth roll. If your going fast, or have a heavy pack on, then don’t try and stop yourself with your forearm in front of your face. The momentum will carry you straight over your arm, and the face plant will happen anyway. Always roll through the fall to absorb the energy of the impact. Judo training comes in useful here Getting back to the original question: unclip your feet, and jump off the back of your bike. Try and land on your feet, or if not avoid landing on your tailbone by rolling to the uphill side. If you can’t grab the bike, at least try and knock it over so that it doesn’t get away too far (again preferrably to the uphill side of the trail). Best method of all is to not get yourself in a situation where you need to make a quick uncontrolled dismount. But if you’ve got to go… you’ve got to go. It’s better to dismount ungracefully, than hang on and try and ride through it when in fact you’ve already lost it. Not always an easy one to call. — Mick
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