So …

[blamebrampton]

I succumbed two weeks ago and bought an iPad, immediately after succumbing to the lure of a full-time job on a mag that puts out an iPad edition.

Despite it being a luxury, I have been able to justify it as it will pay for itself in New Yorkers alone with the year and I have been getting a lot of writing done on it thanks to the little Logitech keyboard cover I also bought. I was in two minds about buying it a travelling case, as they were yet another expense, but I rationalised it with the thought that since I ride everywhere, I would rather be safe than sorry.

Good call, as things turned out.

It was raining this morning and I hit an oily patch of wet road while turning a corner on my newish town tyres (wide-ish, but slick) and my bike slid out beneath me. It was very dramatic sounding, but that was mostly my helmet cracking, which is what helmets are meant to do. Worth every penny spent on it and it will now join the sainted row of Helmets That Gave Their Lives So I Might Live. (Anyone who tells you that helmets aren't brilliant is talking shit or only ever rides under 10kph.)

A young couple came running up to help, as did Suzanne, the lovely woman whose house I stacked outside. I tried to brush it all off as a commuting incident. They were charming and delightful and pointed out that it might be a better idea to pause a moment until the adrenalin stopped flowing, rather than jog my bike up to the nearby shop for a new helmet before proceeding onto work, as was my initial plan.

Wise advice. As I went to peel my gloves off, it became apparent I had broken a thumb. The left one, and up the top, so minimally awful as these things go, but that meant a day spent having X-rays rather than signing contracts at work. Aside from that, a few grazes and bruises, bike was carefully protected by my body and is fine.

However, having walked my bike back home after thanking my genuinely fabulous rescuers, I decided it was time to face the music. I opened up my pannier and pulled out the travelling case. The iPad is FINE! If you are considering an STM case or a MET bicycle helmet, I strongly recommend both!

Comments

[catsintheattic.livejournal.com]

Ouch! I'm glad that your head and the iPad are fine, and I hope your thumb will heal asap.

Take care! *hugs*

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I broke the least-used digit I have, and the least-damaging part of it. So really, it's a win!

And yeah, hurrah for good helmets and transit bags!

[i-autumnheart.livejournal.com]

Goodness, I'm glad it wasn't worse. Wasn't there a moratorium on any more commuting accidents? Best wishes for a speedy recovery (and yay for helmets!)

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Well, I put a ban on it, but alas, gravity is recalcitrant.

Damn you, gravity!

Thanks, dear. Mostly well, especially compared to previous efforts.

[kareina.livejournal.com]

Ow! Poor thumb, may it heal quickly and completely. Do you wear any sort of protection for your hands/wrists when you ride? I have a friend in California who still has medical issues with a wrist she shattered in a bike accident before her son was born (he is 18 now), and knowing her and seeing what she has gone through has converted me to always wearing wrist braces (like they sell for rollerblading) when I ride a bike. However, I don't know if such a thing would help a thumb, since they stick out of such a brace...

Yay for ipad survival! Most product warranties don't include damage from bike accidents, so it is most fortunate that it didn't take any.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Thanks, dear! I only wear gloves; wrist guards would be hard to work with my style of riding, though I could have used one when I unconsciously punched the ground in the great taxi caper of 95. The thumb was cracked with the force coming through the bike this time, I came down on my right. Most accidents have seen me take the bike with me and the handlebars are usually protective, unlike on your recumbent where they are more exposed!

And yes, it would have been a costly fix!

[shu-shu-sleeps.livejournal.com]

I don't need to make the required comment re Duchesses + bikes = pain, do I...... But very glad to hear your helmet did its job, your iPad is fine and that there were lovely people around to suggest you stop and pause for a moment to assess for damage. Hope the thumb heals quickly.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

It's Fabes's fault, Nathan spent the weekend telling me that he's coming for a visit: I decided to get my traditional crash and break in pre-emptively!

The people were delightful. The one upside of accidents is remembering how good people are!

[raitala.livejournal.com]

Oh dear! I'm glad there were nice people around to help you. Sorry about your thumb, that must be sore. A good thing the iPad is useful for one-handed typing too :)

I'm very glad the helmet and iPad cover both did their job. ♥

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

They were lovely! I will take some flowers round for Suzanne on the weekend. Or maybe she'd prefer chocs ...

Not too much pain, I'm more focussed on stopping stiffness creeping in from the wallop down my right side, so it's an evening of manky yoga and barre work. Imagine ballet by a stiff meerkat …

I love my helmet! But must buy a new one.

[nevernot-broken.livejournal.com]

Can you still knit?! Glad you are ok and having seen Dad's helmet after he headbutted a windscreen I totally agree - everyone should wear them all the time...

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Hee! Important question! Not today, and probably not over the next few days, but once the immediate swelling and pain recede, I'll give it a go! Thumb is splinted for now, review next week to see how long we'll want that for. I imagine I'll be useful for non-fine stuff, but I am still on nursedarry's second lace sock!

My one-handed typing has been refined through years of cat wrangling ;-)

[sinden.livejournal.com]

Glad you're okay and that everything else -- aside from the helmet -- survived as well!

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Thanks, dear! Bit sore, but mostly fine! I have been coveting a Specialized helmet, this could be my chance!

[furiosity.livejournal.com]

ouch, i hope you heal up soon!

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Cheers, dear! It should be a quick fix: lovely straight break in the top joint with no displacement. Good thumb, it may have a biscuit!

[fragrantwoods.livejournal.com]

Glad you're all right--sounds scary! That's awesome about how much an iPad can take :-) FIngers crossed everything heals fast, and yay for it not being worse!

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

More stupid than scary: I had literally just thought to myself that since I had changed out my knobbly tyres for slicks, I should probably drop speed given the conditions. Mr B tells me that I clearly cursed myself. Probably right!

Thank you, and yes, yay!

[quatrefoil.livejournal.com]

So glad that you and the iPad are (mostly) fine, but I am starting to wonder why you have this particular death wish. As long as I've known you you've been injuring yourself via bicycle.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

In fairness, I rarely injure myself, I usually have significant assistance. When it's my fault, the breakage count is historically lower!

And given the number of times I've been hit by cars while inside other cars, swimming is the only statistically safe mode for me to travel. Which, if the weather continues same, should be possible ;-)

[shocolate.livejournal.com]

Glad thumbs and iPads are intact!

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Left thumb only mostly intact, but will be fine soon, iPad awesome for one-handed typing!

[twotopcats.livejournal.com]

Gosh! :O Thank god it was only your thumb that broke. Very lucky.

So nice to hear people came out to make sure you were okay. You'd be surprised at how many people don't stop and help others when they appear in distress/or could be hurt.

I have to admit I did laugh when I read your post simply because you have an accident and had to ensure your beloved Ipad was okay. Hurray it is. :)

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I did check myself and my bike first ;-)

People have always been kind to me when I have had accidents. I don't understand how anyone could do otherwise with anyone in need, it's human!

[winnett.livejournal.com]

Oh no!!! I'm sorry to hear it, but glad you're mostly okay. The thumb makes me flinch. I hope it heals fast.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

It should. Thank you!

[emmacmf.livejournal.com]

Blimey, glad you're ok! I don't wear a helmet, but my bike is built like a tank, and I only cycle on bike paths at about 6 miles per hour. If I was nipping along on the road, then I'd be wearing one!

Hope your thumb soon feels much better!

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think that there are styles of cycling that lend themselves to helmet-free, but get so sick of wankers telling me they make no difference in a real-world accident. I had one crash without a helmet; still don't remember 1994 ...

if we had cycle paths, i could ride my lady bike to work!

[turnonmyheels.livejournal.com]

I am so glad you are okay! Your experience is one of the reasons I get scared to death riding my bike

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

just listen to that sensible little voice that says 'given the roads are crap, slow down!'

[ecosopher.livejournal.com]

immediately after succumbing to the lure of a full-time job on a mag

Ha, I see you, slipping that in amongst the bike accident and the iPad and the broken thumb! Yay, new job! (Also yay, helmet and intact head and iPad). Hope you heal quickly.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Hee! Yeah, I am going to die with the five day a weekness of it all, but the team and mag are delightful, so I will do my best to cope! Thank you! I usually do: excuse for lots of milk and broccoli! (Er, not together …)

[ashindk.livejournal.com]

Ouch! That sounds painful. I'm glad to hear that you wear a helmet when you bike. I wouldn't bike anywhere outside Denmark without one. And even here I wear one, when I use my citybike. But on the cargobike that I use when I commute with my youngest, I don't bother. Maybe I should. I always put a helmet on the kid, after all.

An iPad is the such a lovely little gadget. I love mine, and use it for everything. Reading, writing, emails, calendar, notetaking, everything. And It's more solid than it looks. Mine has been dropped several times and has survived. I'm glad that yours did too.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I am pretty much the same: Denmark, parts of Holland, Firenze and some parks are OK for helmet free if I am riding at a slow pace on a lady bike or cargo bike: never if I am fanging around on a mountain bike or road bike. Because as shown again: I am quite capable of damaging myself without cars.

I find cargo bikes are lot more stable than road bikes, but I do tend to wear a helmet whenever I am taking out any of the younger kids I associate with even if we are riding lady bikes around the park, just to reinforce with them that it's a normal thing. However, that's in an Australian context where helmets are compulsory. I think that in Denmark, there's a lot more room for contextual education in that sort of thing: Danish drivers are saner!

IIRC you were one of the people who said the iPad was awesome when I was thinking about it first the other month. SO true. The language materials alone are worth the purchase, and I am getting a lot of writing done, too.

[lokifan]

Yay for unbroken ipad and protective helmet! Thumbs mend themselves, unlike brains and electronics, so this sounds like a win, on balance. Get well soon!!!

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Exactly! Least expensive mangling managed!

Thanks, dear!

[chamekke.livejournal.com]

Yikes! I'm sorry to hear about your accident, and your broken thumb, but relieved to hear that it wasn't any worse. And that your iPad survived! Sounds like your helment AND the case did their jobs beautifully. (And how lovely that you were looked after by that friendly young couple :-)

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

They were fabulous. People are generally very good, I find. And yes, big fan of the helmet and case people! Worth every penny spent!

[zeitgeistic.livejournal.com]

I am so glad you are okay after the bike accident. Also, iPad is fine, yay! :)

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I intentionally didn't look at it until I was back home, because the people who were helping me were all a bit freaked out and I thought I might upset them if it was cracked and I burst into tears ;-)

[alex-s9.livejournal.com]

Thank fate you're OK.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Fate and the MET bicycle good company!

[winstonmom.livejournal.com]

I am glad your Ipad and noggin came out alright. Regarding your thumb, count your blessings. Last February I was using the mandolin thingy for slicing onions in my kitchen when I saw something flying off. I cut a chunk of my right index finger off, I bled like a stuck pig from 7pm till midnight. I never realized how much I used said finger until then. I am alright now since the human body is wonderful and I grew my finger back :)

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

OW! Oh, that is the classic cook and art director accident (they do it using the old school scalpel and metal ruler trick). SO NASTY! You poor thing! Glad it grew back well!

I had a friend when I was a teenager who taught me the definition of degloving through a cycling-based demonstration: he is the reason I never wear rings when I ride and always wear gloves for as much protection as possible. Mostly worked!

[auntpurl.livejournal.com]

Oh my goodness! That is awful. I'm so sorry! Falling off a bike is a terrifying thing; I'm very glad there were people around to help you and tell you to take a moment and take stock!

I'm very glad you're otherwise all right. Thank goodness for providence, good bike helmets, and nice people! Much prefer you alive and well!

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

It wasn't that scary: it was all my own silly fault for not slowing right down given the crappy conditions, slick tyres and laden panniers. Even as I was accepting that I couldn't stop the spill and doing my standard tuck and roll for minimal damage, I was telling myself that I was an idiot, which made the whole thing much less stressful: our own mistakes are so comprehensible!

The people were ace. They were Aunt Purlish in their loveliness!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_inbetween_/]

OH!

I was reading in reverse, as you do on LJ. Fucking hell, another accident, glad it went okay and only the finger but not the ipod broke ;P
Also congrats on a full time job, I seem to have missed that.


(I'd like to see a video of you on bikes; I know that ppl in OZ have 30x more accidents than here, if not more, because the "live" more, but still).

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I thought we had more accidents because our motorists are INSANE ;-)

Actually, I have been thinking about doing some bike videos for safety stuff and defensive riding, but will need to buy kit that I feel comfortable strapping to me while I am on the road. Can probably afford that later this year now the work situation has improved!!

And you didn't miss it, that was my first quiet announcement. Still terrified about the whole five day thing, thank goodness the people are nice! It's been years since I went to work EVERY day!

And if I fail to get my act together and come back to comment on your Eddie entry: yes. I blame politics. It's very sad.

[mrsquizzical.livejournal.com]

yikes! glad that the rest of you, and your devices, were ok!

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Me too!