Timmy’s step-by-step guide to crashing

A special feature from the high-flying Timmy Duggan

This first month of racing has been all about getting those sensations back, both physical and mental, as I continue my recovery from my brain injury. There have been a lot of little things in my life I’ve had to relearn. All the goings on in a bike race have been the most difficult and final tests. From the feeling of speed in a time trial to the high speed jostling that takes place in the final kilometers before a sprint, I have been able to remember how I did it before. The one situation I wasn’t looking forward to feeling again was sliding on pavement.

In the final kilometers of the last stage of the recent Vuelta a Murcia, I was bombing down the technical descent to the finish at the very front of the race. The guy in front of me hit some huge bump, caught air and flew off his bike. At 80 kph on his wheel, I of course had nowhere to go but right into him. Miraculously, I came away unscathed but for a sore shoulder. My jersey and shorts did a remarkable job of pretending to be my skin, so that was a plus.

My ski racing experience taught me how to crash well a long time ago. In that split second where I realize I’m going down, my instincts kick in and they are good. I think it’s actually a really cool Zen-like moment. The moment before the crash, this strange, totally relaxed calm comes over me and I just let it happen.

Here’s how my crash instinct kicks in step-by-step:

First the Oh S*!T moment, then…

Step 1 Find a bail-out route to the side, a-la Lance Armstrong when Beloki crashed on the descent in front of him and Lance went straight down the alpine meadow to the next switchback. My options in this case were limited to: parked car on the right, parked car on the left. Neither route sounded good, so I knew I was going down.

Step 2 Aim for something soft. There usually aren’t any big pillows around, but other riders, sliding bikes, grass, and bushes are usually much friendlier than guardrails, light posts, or parked cars. I chose to aim for the big soft bike rider already sliding on the road in front of me. If you can manage to slide on something already sliding, that helps ease the transition from bicycle to pavement.

Step 3 Assume the Evil Knievel damage control position. Tuck the arms and head in like a fetus. I tend to use the Evil Knievel position to land on my shoulder, using the shoulder/back muscles and collarbone as an airbag. I think this is a good point of impact as it saves the head, elbows, knees, wrists. It works great too; I’ve only broken a collarbone three times!

Step 5 Slide, tumble, or roll, depending on terrain.

Step 6 Once you come to a stop, tuck into a really tight ball and cover your head for a few seconds while 150 other riders blow by you or crash on top of you.

Step 7 Make sure all body parts attached and functional. The most important is the collarbone check. Raise both arms up over the head. If you can do that with no pain or movement, you’re good! I waited until I was back at the finish to do this one, so I had a few nervous minutes hoping my bruised shoulder wasn’t broken or anything. It wasn’t. I’m just sore and stiff now!

Other than winning bike races, nothing makes you feel more alive than walking away unscathed from a crash like that. A shout out to God for that one!

Thanks for checking in, Timmy

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 10th, 2009 at 7:24 am and is filed under Features, Garmin Web Site, Home Page, Pearl Izumi Web site and tagged with Murcia, Timmy Duggan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.