Crashed on group ride

[cyberknight]

Just started the club run today when the guy in front hit a bad pothole causing his wheel to buckle and an instant blowout,i was behind him and tried to swerve around but i hit the kerb as i was heading or someones drive entrance and hit the deck hard.

Very bruised right hip and my right shifter lever is bent + levers knocked out of hood.

WE have taken photos of the pothole, injuries and i will take a photo of the bike damage in a bit.

The ride leaders all stopped with us and tried to get us on the road but the other riders wheel is fubared, mine was rideable all be it with no front brake so i rode with a ride leader to a meeting point where the wife came and picked me up.

When we have gathered all the evidence we shall be contacting BCF ( in my case) to claim against the council, a new right shifter is about £200 + labour !

I will not post to many details as i do not want to prejudice any case .

 

[gaz]

Ouch!!!
Where there new guys in front of you in the group? Pointing out potholes and dangers is a part of riding in a group.

 

[cyberknight]

The group was newer riders and the guy in front said that the hole was not pointed out to him, even so the road should not be that bad as you can see the hard core in the center of the hole.
I was on the tail end of the group as i was running a bit late and had only just got on the back end maybe a few minutes before as i had seen the going up the road.

Co-codamol i had in the cupboard is kicking in nicely

Taken some photos of the shifter and now my right knee is aching a bit .

Already had a look at BCF`s website and i am documenting everything , i have BCF ride membership which gives the same legal cover as CTC membership.

 

[Norm]

The group was newer riders and the guy in front said that the hole was not pointed out to him, even so the road should not be that bad as you can see the hard core in the center of the hole.

The council's response may well be "Well, you should have seen the hole then. If you are riding close enough that you cannot see a pothole that large, you need to take some responsibility..." etc

Don't ask me how I know.

 

[cyberknight]

The council's response may well be "Well, you should have seen the hole then. If you are riding close enough that you cannot see a pothole that large, you need to take some responsibility..." etc

Don't ask me how I know.

Gutted as it is the 2 week old Boardman, at least i still have the virtuoso to ride atm.

 

[Norm]

I guess it's not too rideable, would it take much to get it back on the road?

 

[Glover Fan]

I guess it all depends whether the pothole has been made aware to the council before.

 

[cyberknight]

I guess it's not too rideable, would it take much to get it back on the road?

New RH lever , unless you can replace the shifter lever as it is bent and the brake lever has popped out.

You can get a new shifter lever but it is whether the LBS can service the lever rather than just replace it.I am tempted to take some pliers to it but if it has been weakened by the crash it might snap.Currently it does shift but the bend means that it is bent to the outside and would rub on the brake lever.

 

[HLaB]

Ouch! I've hadn't crashed on a club run but now came off twice in the last month! A few weeks ago the bloke in front sprinted off to draft a truck, unfortunately the truck (no fault of their's) went straight over a speed cushion without breaking, he went straight over the bars His trailing leg brought me down! other than a bite out of my saddle and bruising to my hip and shoulder I escape OK'ish though. Today I was leading the pack just over a climb and onto a fast descent but got caught out by somebody squeezing through to give me a break, skiffed wheels and went down. My elbow is a bit of a mess but it looks worse than it actually is; It feels like I've bruised a rib too :-( More importantly I've rip my rim tape :-(
That enough of my woes, I hope it works out for you cyberknight.

 

[coffeejo]

Ouch. Hope the council cough up.

We've had two falls recently: one was a beautifully graceful sideways topple, caught by the perfectly positioned grass bank.

The other was a plop into some - once again - perfectly positioned mud.

Both bikes were fine. C's pride was damaged, but not as much as V's was by the mudpack

 

[Jezston]

I guess it all depends whether the pothole has been made aware to the council before.

This is the main point I believe.

Can CTC's Fill That Hole be contacted to see if anyone has reported the hole before?

If they have, and the council have been made aware of it and done nothing, then I'd imagine you have a strong case.

 

[E11a]

Ouch Good luck with the claim and I hope your aches disappear soon.

 

[dellzeqq]

if you were so close to the rider in front that you couldn't see the hole, and didn't receive notice of the hole, it's difficult to see how the council is at fault. Potholes exist. We all know that, and we should ride accordingly.

It might be that the council has been informed, and they might be prevailed upon to compensate you, but if not, then I reckon you're out of luck.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Tricky ... you see I'm with dellzeqq on this, whilst the council has a duty to maintain the road surface, you also have a duty to ensure that you're riding in such a way as to be able to negotiate variances in the surface conditions (that would be their defence).
It's with these types of rides/club events, that the law all get's a bit tricky (as anyone whose tried to set-up a club and had ot deal with the issues of litigation will testify).
FWIW, my own outlook (non-legal) is that you have to accept that any kind of group riding comes with a certain amount of increased risk. Close drafting even more so. It's the nature of the beast. If the risk is unnaceptable to you, then don't do it.
You can try and claim against your council, your club or your clubmate for damages caused but I wouldn't expect a good return on your effort (though having been bombarded by ambulance chasers following the merest of shunts, nothing surprises me these days).

 

[billy1561]

Sorry to hear about that cyber mate, but glad no real damage to you at least. Bummer about your new bike too as I know how much you were looking forward to it. Hope you can get it fixed quick and your claim goes through quickly.
All the best for a quick recovery.