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| Crashing Stories (1418 Posts)
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Crashing Stories |
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On 1/25/2000 Bug
wrote in from
(141.213.nnn.nnn)
Leon,
You're not a fool. It takes guts to admit to a story like that. Please accept my sympathy. Everyone measures the risks and takes their chances. You can wear every piece of protection made, ride the best, well-tuned gear, walk the hill first, and still get hit by a car and killed. You had some bad luck, that's all. Get well.
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On 1/25/2000
Hizzout
wrote in from
(4.18.nnn.nnn)
Hey Lindsay, I did the splits just like you did when I stepped on a shotboard the other day. I was trying to place my back foot back, so I could lean back with some style...at least I looked good before I hit the concrete!!
:)
Keep Carvin'
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On 1/24/2000 Adam
wrote in from
(63.192.nnn.nnn)
Terrible Leon,
Wow, Leon... I don't know what to say. First, let me reiterate how I sympathize with your injury. I had a good friend in college with a very similar femur injury so I know a bit of what you are going through. But the advice in my earlier post was not intended for you or at you, Leon-- it was intended for everyone except you, i.e. the riders who might somehow learn from your unfortunate accident. You're right, it's difficult to assimilate all the online wisdom (and otherwise) on ncdsa.com and other sites, but one thing that cuts through the clutter is a story of when it all goes wrong. Too many new riders don't appreciate what can happen when you go down at speed on a longboard, maybe without a helmet, maybe with the assistance of a moving car. Forgive me for using your accident as an "example" to get on my safety soapbox (Hey! There's Fellmy!), but as with the crashing pics we have posted in the past, it does serve to drive home the reason for safety measures. Skating is great and we all skate hard, but we all want to live to skate another day, and I hope the sport of longboarding hasn't lost one of its riders. Get well soon, TL.
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On 1/24/2000
Keith Fellmy
wrote in from
(206.31.nnn.nnn)
Quit-What?
Even with all the safety gear available, injuries can and do happen. I wear leathers, wedge helmet and roller hockey body armor underneath. Hell I even wear extra small soccer shin guards on my forearms. I've had my share of injuries. Not too many on stand up longboarding since i'm still getting the hang of that. I ride a luge and have seen other comrades smack trees, go off ravines (and of course my ass has to go get them), hit guardrails at over 70 mph (huh, did that one myself), hit each other at high speed, take another rider out at the ankles in a race (unintentionally of course). DO I still want to get out and ride as much as possible. HELL YES. Our sport is dangerous, we know it. We wear protection (you are wearing protection aren't you?) and still it happens to all of us. Especially when we first start we do dumb things. But those dumb things are also called "learning". Now we learn what to do and what not to do. Then we know not to do the stuff that might get us hurt bad. When you are young. Yea you feel invincible. I know I was (oops I mean did). Whether it was jumping BMX bikes off of VW Beetles or skating downhill at breakneck speed, or something else that we find interesting, we love a bit of the danger. MACHO that is the word. You would not believe the number of kids that come up to me and think I'm cool. They tell me they want to try it. I say fine. Then I ask the parents if it is okay for them to ride down my 15 mph baby hill. Usually that's as far as it gets. Sometimes they do say okay because they trust me. Then I ask them do they have the proper safety equipment. They always say no. That ends that. Experience and common sense should be your guide. You know more about your hobby today then you did yesterday. What will you learn tomorrow? Okay I'm down off my soapbox. I hope it all made sense.
Mr. Safety
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On 1/24/2000
speedemon
wrote in from
(209.86.nnn.nnn)
hey leon,
you shouldnt stop skating man.ive been skating on and off for most of my life,here and there we would be going down hills on things and i would grab a skateboard and go down on it.two years ago i started shortboarding with a friend.he didnt want to do much,he was afraid of going big and falling.during that two years i sustained a sprained left ankle,plenty of road rash and alot of grass stains.i did tricks and stuff but i loved the feel of the wind and the rush of the hill.i always loved to feel the rush of the bullet(and of course thats all i could do on a 31 inch board with 54mmx100a wheels and some old trucks).i was getting bored with skateboarding,so i put it away.then a year later(november-99)i started going out to the street in front of my house and doing some ollies and stuff,but i was still bored.Then i came to a wonderful site,ncdsa,and 1 month later i was opening the huge box to an s-9 super cruiser.This thing was huge,the trucks were wide as hell and the wheels were big and soft.i was quite amazed,considering i had never seen or riden a longboard in person.this thing rode like hell,super fast,and i had to get used to the flex.the first time i crashed on it,nothing happened to the board,but i got several pulled muscles,and compression injuries(never jump off).i didnt want to board after that but i realized that shit happens,and 99% of the time your bombin the hell out of a hill.you shouldnt stop skating,i did for a while,and once i started longboarding i never stopped.always wear pads--skate for soul,not for people.im out
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On 1/24/2000
Terrible Leon
wrote in from
(12.74.nnn.nnn)
Adam,
I'm sorry you're "frustrated". I'm sure I seem a fool to those who've had the good grace to figure it all out without trauma, but I made an honest attempt at something I cared about, and it reduced me to "baby steps" with the physical therapist. The remainder of the spring semester will be spent learning how to walk like a two-year-old. Naturally, you're "frustrated." How does that feel, Adam? What's it like? Is it anything like the "frustration" I feel? I'm feeling humiliated and very much like a kook. Whether or not I have what it takes to be a downhill hero like yourself, my "attention span" is nothing to be sniffed at. Before I attempted anything beyond my own driveway, I spent many a sleepless night, weeks on end, day after day, searching and pouring over the archives at ncdsa, all in the hopes that I could be a well-prepared, responsible boarder. This is no exaggeration. The search feature works, and I recommend every beginner to use the archives as an endless, all-encompassing source of valuable expert testimony. However, what we read doesn't mean much until we actually get out on our boards and apply what we've learned. Like most newbies, I didn't apply my knowledge very well. Gosh, I had a pair of R-II's, but I had no Idea what tightness would yield what results at 25 mph in 10-degree weather...I have no hands-on experience to draw from! It's hard to convince somebody on paper how tight something should be with so many variables involved, especially when the mercury's near zero and the bushings have shrunk to the size and consistency of a stale piece of dubble bubble...what it comes down to is that I eventually had to try something, otherwise I'd be sitting here for the rest of my life begging people like you for advice. My judgement was obviously poor, but nonetheless, I made an *educated* attempt and I resent any and all suggestions to the contrary, Adam. Snap judgements are best reserved. Some people are better at the hands-on part of it than others. Some people can't sing. Some can't dance. Some can't board. Think I'll take up cribbage.
Leon
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On 1/24/2000
Lindsay
wrote in from
(202.37.nnn.nnn)
I went down to get some beer on my 38" board last night.
Pulled into the car park and went to shift my rear foot onto
the tail for a carving stop. Unfortunately I've gotten used to
a longer board and instead put my foot on the ground and
did the splits.
Hey guess what, my flattie is a physiotherapist how cool is that?
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On 1/24/2000 Herbn
wrote in from
(207.198.nnn.nnn)
I'm gonna start skating with a board strapped to my back.Thats a cool story.
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On 1/23/2000
Lindsay
wrote in from
(202.37.nnn.nnn)
Sounds pretty shitty Terrible Leon, let us know when you're
up and skating again dude.
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On 1/22/2000 Blah Blah Blah
wrote in from
(207.167.nnn.nnn)
Hey Justin, that sounds like a cool trick! You meant to do that, right? (hehe)
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On 1/22/2000
Adam
wrote in from
(63.192.nnn.nnn)
Terrible Leon,
I was saddened to read of your serious accident, and at the same time frustrated since I keep hearing the same reason reported *over and over* for serious crashes: speed wobbles. After more than three years of running this site, it's pretty obvious that peoples' short attention spans don't permit them to read through that vast collection of knowledge contained on ncdsa.com, or even to use the Search function to get at it. It's a bit late to help you Leon, but for the benefit of others who may one day crash and burn from the wobs, I'm reposting an entry I made in the Riding Safety forum way back in 1997:
Stupid Reasons to Fall, part 1
High-Speed Wobbles: If you're into serious speed, then use a truck that's up to the job. Randal Trucks and Seismic Trucks are not susceptible to high-speed wobbles.
Wheel Bite: Wheel bite can easily be avoided by 1) adding riser pads, 2) decreasing wheel diameter, 3) adding cut-outs or wheel wells to your deck, or 4) tightening your trucks.
Loose Nuts: When nylon locking nuts get old they stop doing their job. Make sure yours can not be loosened with your fingers, and always have at least one full spiral of threads above the nylon in the nut. This applies to kingpins and wheel nuts. For trucks that hide the kingpin nut in the baseplate, press out the nut and replace it with the kingpin, reversing the two so your lock nut is now where you can see it.
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On 1/22/2000
Justin Morrison
wrote in from
(205.188.nnn.nnn)
It wasnt really a crash, but it was still cool.
I was cruizing down a road with a friend in my town. Was't a huge hill, going bout 20-25. I was going down, when my friend passed me. I dont know why, but when I turned to look, I lost my balance. I thought I wasnt going that fast and I could put my foot down to stop my self, only that didnt work. When I put my foot down, it stuck to the ground while my other foot stayed on the board. Anyways, some how I ended up triping over my own feet and flying through the air, my back facing the ground. I was expecting a painful landing, but I was wrong.
I landed flat on my board that was rolling beside me. I ended up laying on my board for the rest of the hill.
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On 1/20/2000
Terrible Leon
wrote in from
(12.74.nnn.nnn)
Beginners *please* listen to what I have to say here...
Terrible Leon (a beginner) got speed wobbles last week @ 20-30 mph, panicked, bailed, fell hard and broke his femur completely in half, now has neat little metal rod in leg for the rest of his life *and* lost half his face and nose on the asphalt. Lesson learned? Everybody remember to wear proper skate shoes with tight laces at all times, wear protective gear (helmet, guards, etc) at all times, and develop a crash strategy before the hill gets you. Know the course beforehand. Anticipate traffic and know what to do when it comes your way. Remember to keep those trucks tighter when it's cold out (bushings shrink), especially when breaking your own speed record. Most importantly...**never** do it alone. I was lucky to have a friend with me to go get the parameds. Hope this helps those who are starting out for the first time. You've chosen a fun sport, but you gotta know how to ride smart. I was stupid and I got hurt.
*Please* be safe and smart, and enjoy.
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On 1/18/2000 eggman
wrote in from
(156.39.nnn.nnn)
Hey! Where is the Spankster? You still out there dude?
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On 1/17/2000
jens
wrote in from
(195.204.nnn.nnn)
I saw this show called "High Five" They were filming the Brazilian longboard-team, and i saw this guy fell off and broke his ankle! Ouch! I think i`ll never bomb a hill again!
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On 1/16/2000 Lindsay
wrote in from
(202.37.nnn.nnn)
Wiped out and pulled the achromial clavicular ligament in my shoulder, took me a quarter hour to put on my shirt this morning.
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On 1/15/2000 The Nipple-Less Wonder
wrote in from
(205.188.nnn.nnn)
Every looked at your board to see what appears to be an hour glass, while bombing in the upper 30's? It is an experience. I have the road rash, and palm scars to show for it. By the way, it may not be the best idea you ever had, to bomb a hill when you are missing some hardware :)
OUCH
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On 1/14/2000 lampe
wrote in from
(195.204.nnn.nnn)
I rode my board, and a foxy lady crossed the street! I fell off and it hurted!
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On 1/14/2000
DT
wrote in from
(209.223.nnn.nnn)
Heres another roll story from two days ago, a buddy and i were racing on this really windy road that has no cars. or so we thought. I drafted and passed my friend going into the second to last turn before the final straight away. were moving in the high 30s and as i come out of the final turn of this one and a half lane wide road, a car was going into the turn at about 35. My line had me aimed right at him, i somehow was able to get out of my tuck and swerve in about 2 seconds time. i cleanly missed by about 6 inches. my friend wasn't so lucky. Since i had just passed him, he was following me and looking right at me, not the road. when i swerved his reaction was delayed and he did some type of quick swerve/dive thing. he didnt get hit by the car(thank God), but landed and went into a roll. he part way popped his shoulder out, had road rash on both hips as well as swelling, and a huge scrape/deep cut in his elbow. he began to go into shock, but remained calm enough to get up and have his shoulder put back in place. An hour later, he was laughing as we drank some cold new castle. he wont be able to skate for a few weeks, but is lucky to be alive. If he would have landed on his gloves and kneepads he could be skating today.
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On 1/13/2000
Speedy
wrote in from
(129.8.nnn.nnn)
LoL, Yeah, grades are a good thing! (Haven't been here in a few) Um, on rolls: Agreed, at hish speeds, you're gonna get hurt, and pads do help. I'm one of those people who don't do a lot of hard-core bombing and just ride wherever whenever. But if you're moving fairly slow, and DO roll, pads can REALLY suck. Especialy if you're used to rolling withough them. Ok, one more thing: Quick way to evaid cops at low speeds: Step off with pusher (back) foot, lean forward and simultaniously put the front foot the ground and pick up your ride. Insta-pedestrian. One more funny story: My bro and I where riding past a churche, and heard a voice bellow out something about "NO SKATEBOARDING".We hopped off, and looked around for the voice in the most perplexed manner. "Sucker". We held up the bird and turned around a few times to make sure he saw, where ever he was, and ditched. To this day, we don't where that jerk with the PA was!
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On 1/12/2000 Herbn
wrote in from
(207.198.nnn.nnn)
To bad it wasn't your phyics prof. you could have explained to him it was an experiment or at least some sort of proof of some complicated gravitational therom, and got a grade out of the slam.
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On 1/12/2000 Luke
wrote in from
(150.228.nnn.nnn)
Hilarious!
I've got a similar stair/hill event in between my home and work (SE corner of the Capitol building in Denver) that varies from easlily skateable on even a shortboard to totally soggy or covered with leaves & rocks. No wonder--people generally just sweep the sidewalk; not the grass. Hmmm. Usually it is a quite stylie portion of the commute: shirt, tie, nice frontside longboard carve--but when it's bad, it's bad and all too public. Oh, well; next summer I hope to start ollieing it (on shortboards, anyway).
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On 1/11/2000
Spacer
wrote in from
(205.188.nnn.nnn)
So I used to go to this preppy college in Maine...one day in the very beginning of the semester I was pumping my way across this sidewalk on my 80's Shmidt Stix short board (mind you, I had just puffed a little of the wacky tuh-backy) when I see my music theory professor waving to get my attention.
Now the sidewalk I was on ended at some stairs that descended a small hillside that was about 8 feet high (which ain't nothin compared to ME, at the time). My prof was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs.
To the side of the stairs was a little dirt path worn into the grass about a foot wide. I'd shot this path before with no prob, so I didn't think twice about sending it (thereby giving my teach a little taste of just who the hell he was about to be dealin with for the rest of the year).
So, hot-shot that I was, I steered for the top of the dirt path realizing, as if in a dream, that maybe I had a little too much speed. Oh well, here we go.
So I shoot the path cleanly, dropping down the face with the agility of a great cat, gaining even more speed and anticipating the slide I was about to begin which would bring me to a stop right in front of my Professor.
Danger, danger Will Robinson...
I spot a few loose stones just where the dirt meets the pavement. My rat-bones stop short and I'm pitched up into the sunny skies of Maine in early September. While in the air, super-man style, I note the presence of my professor off to my left and contemplate the landing....
well, the contemplation proved fruitless, as I came to a grace-less crash on my hands, chest, and hips. I rolled a little, came to a stop and stood up, staring in dissociated wonder at the blood that began to appear on my palms. My professor (a timid fellow with Birkenstok's and a tweed jacket with leather elbow patches on) obliged me,
"are you ok?"
"ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, yeah, I guess so."
He hesitated not in dazing me even further with a little lecture about the up-coming semester, changes to the syllabus, the inspiration a young lad could find at such a pillar of the academic community...
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On 1/10/2000 Lindsay
wrote in from
(202.37.nnn.nnn)
Is the boss around? No? Here's how you learn the roll...
1. Kneel down on your right knee, left foot on the ground so that left knee is at bent 90 degrees, like a natural-foot drop knee stance
2. Touch the ground next to your left foot and curve that arm with elbow pointing forwards, creating a 'wheel rim' to roll on
4. Duck your head and look to the right as if your trying to stick your head under your right armpit, curve your back
5. Tip forward, keep that right leg tucked to your butt and that left arm rigid
You'll roll on the 'wheel' created by your left arm, onto your left shoulder, diagonally across your back, off your right hip and back into the drop knee stance just
like you started in, and it will look extreme!
You can do it in reverse for a backward roll. Later you can try it on mats or the lawn from standing position.
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On 1/10/2000 eggman
wrote in from
(156.39.nnn.nnn)
Yeah, the roll.
I have an old skateboarder mag that has that technique. I guess that was the way to protect yourself before the days of the "pad". I also have an old skateboard saftey film. These guys would sew cotton "pads" to their clothes.. Talk about a good way to goof up your 501's! It is good to be livin in the duce tripple oh.
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