Who Would Have Thought A Stick Could Hurt So Much?

[Nice n Easy Rider]

Yesterday, while riding home from work, I rode over a small (3/4 - 1 inch diameter, maybe 8-10 inches long) stick that was in the road. I was doing about 45-50 mph. My front tire kicked the stick up into my left boot, right about where the big toe is. Man, did that thing hurt! I was almost home so I kept going and when I got home immediately looked at my boot. It was slightly scuffed from the encounter but otherwise there was no visible damage. These are Cruiserworks boots with reinforced toes. The big toe area of my foot hurt for a couple of hours and today it looks like it was stomped on by a horse.

 

Obviously, I would have benefited from avoiding the stick altogether but it was in the shade and I didn't think it was worth swerving by the time I saw it. I never anticipated that I might create a flying missile from a small stick by riding over it and I wonder what might have happened if its trajectory had delivered it to my calf instead. Has anyone else experienced such an encounter with tire-generated flying debris, either your own or another rider's?

[elkroeger]

I took a small bird to the chest once, at freeway speed. Felt like I was in a bar fight.

 

More recently I got stung in my helmet. Impact wasn't bad, but it was sure memorable!

 

One thing about tires shooting debris, is that it can get shot out from under there at really high velocity.

[boatzo]

It is good that you had boots on. I see so many riders wearing sneakers

 

Never kicked up anything with the bike but hit a phillips screw driver once in the cage. The sharp end went straight into the tire and blew it out, I thought somebody shot at me. Glad it was the cage and not the bike.

[Tapatio]

 

Newton's second law of motion. F=MA or force = mass X acceleration

 

A small grain of sand that's traveling fast enough could rip a whole in your body. Never underestimate what speed can do do a small object.

 

 

[Matts_12GS]

My physical therapist knows how to make a 2lb weight really really heavy...

 

Newton's second law of motion. F=MA or force = mass X acceleration

 

A small grain of sand that's traveling fast enough could rip a whole in your body. Never underestimate what speed can do do a small object.

 

 

That's pretty much the whole argument about space junk isn't it?

[Paul Mihalka]

I did not write about it, but the same thing happened to me about a month ago, but worse. Bright sunny day, a tree lined road with patches of sun and darkest shade. Suddenly the bike jumps and I almost loose control. A terribly strong hit on my left leg/big toe. I didn't know what happened so I made a U turn. There was a 3 or 4 inch across log that kicked up, fallen from the storm the day before, I didn't see it at all in the shade. Ended up with a ver swollen very hurting big toe and a somewhat swollen hurting lower leg. For a while I could only walk in sandals and my biggest loosest bike boot. About a week ago the big toe's nail fell off and after that no more pain.

[Gkgeiger]

Years ago I was riding my off road bike (a Husky if I remember correctly) and a stick went through the front of my MX boot. They were Highpoints and it went in just below the metal plate. The boot had to be cut off so the emergency room could remove the stick. It was about 3/4" in dia. and went about 2" into my ankle. Didn't cause any long term problems but hurt like hell at the time.

[bmw_rider]

Took a bird to the shin, I survived with a limp for a few days, the bird gave its all.

[upflying]

Yesterday, I took a rock hit to the bridge of my nose. I was passing a truck on the freeway so I guess I should have expected it. I saw it coming but reaction time isn't fast enough to do anything about it. Thought I had been shot in the head. Glad it didn't hit me in the eye.

[Mrs. Caddis]

Our son's friend was driving home from college for Thanksgiving when he was hit by a tumbleweed. Punched a hole in his fender. I was amazed at the amount of damage it caused.

[eddd]

Yet another reason I only wear flip flops. I would like be so mad dude if I scuffed my boot.

[EddyQ]

This time of year, acorns are dropping like rain off oak trees and hard to avoid. They hurt right through a good jacket at only 40mph. I figure they feel like a decent sized stone if they hit you in the face. Luckily, oak trees don't shade the highways.

[Haynes]

I hit a bee when I was doing about 130km/h. I was hit on the forehead and it felt like a bullet.

[EffBee]

Coming home from Gleno's several years ago, on Nipton Road (for those of you who remember that ride), headed for I-15. Just crossed into CA from NV, eased through the shacks in Nipton, and opened her up. No enforcement for the next 15 miles.

 

Jackrabbit darts out from the left. Got its head with my left foot. Rabbit gave its all, but at that speed, I outdrove the blood trail. Foot hurt like hell all the way home. My toes wanted someone to answer the phone for the next 100 miles at least.

[ka5ysy]

This thread is a great argument for windscreens, full face helmets and hand guards, along with BMW R bike cylinders sticking out protecting your feet and ankles !

[Kitsap]

I broke my right big toe while riding over a stick while mountain biking six weeks ago. It was still connected to the tree it grew from so it yanked my foot free from the clipless pedals The toe turned a whole bunch of cool colors that I usually don't like to see on my person.

[Boone60]

Several years ago my buddy Gary was about a hundred yards ahead on a HD, out on a two lane highway. His tire kicked up a diesel engine wrist pin that mostly stopped traveling when it hit the cross brace on my Bell Star helmet. It felt like a mulekick to the jaw, and I had to stop and get my bearings for several minutes. Never ride without a fullface helmet since then. Gary still has that wrist pin, keeps it like a trophy of a round that hit it's target. Nah he wouldn't do that, I don't think...

[MotorinLA]

Yesterday, while riding home from work, I rode over a small (3/4 - 1 inch diameter, maybe 8-10 inches long) stick that was in the road. I was doing about 45-50 mph. My front tire kicked the stick up into my left boot, right about where the big toe is. Man, did that thing hurt! I was almost home so I kept going and when I got home immediately looked at my boot. It was slightly scuffed from the encounter but otherwise there was no visible damage. These are Cruiserworks boots with reinforced toes. The big toe area of my foot hurt for a couple of hours and today it looks like it was stomped on by a horse.

 

Obviously, I would have benefited from avoiding the stick altogether but it was in the shade and I didn't think it was worth swerving by the time I saw it. I never anticipated that I might create a flying missile from a small stick by riding over it and I wonder what might have happened if its trajectory had delivered it to my calf instead. Has anyone else experienced such an encounter with tire-generated flying debris, either your own or another rider's?

 

Took a silver-dollar-sized washer hit to the front portion of the tupperware on the freeway a couple of months ago. It bounced out from the tire of the car ahead of me and ricochet off the front of the bike with a resounding PING! Put a 1/4-inch deep gouge in the plastic. Hate to think what it would have done to me, if it had struck any part of my body.

[mig]

Had a cat drat across the 2 lane highway in the early morning, tried to avoid it but it hit with such force that it scattered the lower fairing and cowl on my honda ST. but the most painfull was a bee right between the eyes at high speed, in the small opening between my sunglasses. slamed my head back. By the time I got home my left eye had swollen shut and i had a dark red spot and headache for a day

[ArmyGuy]

When I read this title I had a flashback to my childhood. I had to cut a switch once and receive a good 'spanking' the first time I'd thought to drop the 'F' bomb in front of my dad (I was only 9 at the time). I cut the thinnest piece of wood I could find, thinking it wouldn't hurt as much....boy was I wrong. Anyway, back to the story....

[Fubar]

A flying beetle, about 1 1/2" long, hit me in the right shoulder years ago. Saw it but didn't think we would collide. About 50 mph. Impact knocked my hand violently off the throttle. Felt like someone had hit me with a baseball bat. Left a bruise nearly 6" across. Quite sore for a few days.

Also got hit with a rock thrown by middle school kids waiting at a bus stop. Caught me right below the collar bone. Some ran when I locked it up and did a 180. The rest ran when I drove through their group. No more rocks though. (I stopped every day for a week to let them know I remembered them)

[R67]

I hit a small stick doing 50 on some nice twisties. Front tire passed over fine, but the rear caught it in such a way that it rolled under the tire like a ball bearing. Nice adrenaline rush. Did the speed limit for a full day after that!

[ragtoplvr]

Years ago hit a robin in the shin, the beak penetrated my Jeans and went to the bone. By the time I got home to clean, disinfect and bandage I had blood run down into my boot, sock completely soaked, no more than 15 minutes. Nice bruise too. Hurt for a couple of weeks. Robin was DOA.

 

Rod

[sgendler]

I took an owl to the head at about 40mph in the Santa Ynez valley, once. I startled it up from the side of the road, but it couldn't gain enough elevation. I had to stop and make sure my head was still attached, but otherwise no damage to me. The owl didn't survive the encounter.

[SWB]

Yesterday, while riding home from work, I rode over a small (3/4 - 1 inch diameter, maybe 8-10 inches long) stick that was in the road. I was doing about 45-50 mph. My front tire kicked the stick up into my left boot, right about where the big toe is. Man, did that thing hurt! I was almost home so I kept going and when I got home immediately looked at my boot. It was slightly scuffed from the encounter but otherwise there was no visible damage. These are Cruiserworks boots with reinforced toes. The big toe area of my foot hurt for a couple of hours and today it looks like it was stomped on by a horse.

 

Obviously, I would have benefited from avoiding the stick altogether but it was in the shade and I didn't think it was worth swerving by the time I saw it. I never anticipated that I might create a flying missile from a small stick by riding over it and I wonder what might have happened if its trajectory had delivered it to my calf instead. Has anyone else experienced such an encounter with tire-generated flying debris, either your own or another rider's?

 

WoW! Nearly the identical thing happened to me today, except I'm pretty certain what I hit was a some sort of steel bar (maybe a truck's tire iron), and I was moving at 75MPH in the car pool lane. I had just moved over to split lanes, and I saw it about 1/2 second before I hit it. I'm not sure if it pushed my foot up into the shift lever, or the bar came up and over the top and got me. In any case - same deal, big toe and half the upper instep just got creamed. I briefly thought about continuing on, but instead pulled over killed the engine, and after about 10 minutes of trying to figure out if my foot was still attached to my leg, nearly fell off the bike into the freeway median.

 

Interestingly - we all talk about how bikers should help bikers, about a dozen sport bikes went by me about 2 minutes after impact, but no one bothered to stop and find out why the BMW rider was slumped over his bike, nearly passed out.

 

Anyhow, my previously surgically repaired foot with steel screws and other metal is REAL sore and swollen, but the bike's no worse for wear. Fortunately, I think my foot took the entire blow thus saving the bike. Shifting on the way home from work last night was a BI***CH - tried to use the edge of my boot to shift, but still hurt.

 

No moral to this story, really. Don't run over tire irons or other simulated debris, and if you do, at minimum, it's gonna hurt real bad. I was real blessed that it didn't hit the bike or tire elsewhere and knock me down. I had on my old military steel toe boots I use for riding - they almost certainly saved me a whole lot more pain. ATGATT forever.

 

The two things I thought about were "man I hope I didn't just destroy my left ankle - again!" and then "aww... crap, I just put that new front PR2 tire on yesterday". But it had no cuts or other damage.

 

I will probably take a day or two off riding until shifting hurts less.

 

Stay safe out there, folks.

 

- Scott

[Mike]

Long ago, well beyond the statute of limitations, I took a bumblebee hit to my full face helmet, at about 120 mph. Given his forward motion, the impact speed was about 120.012 mph. Snapped my head back, like a stout punch to the face. I wasn't hurt at all, but it's a vivid memory, despite having occurred over 20 years ago.

[Lineareagle]

Does this count?

While herding cattle in the Big Sky country, jumped off my horse to open a gate. Landed on a cactus that put a thorn through my boots and into my foot at the arch.

 

Of course I yelped and jumped, promptly breaking off the thorn below the surface of the leather but still lodged about 3/4" in my foot.

 

Much grimacing as I tried to get my impaled foot out of cowboy boot that was basically nailed to the sole of the boot.

[rgraham]

Getting ready to "split lanes" at 75mph?

[SWB]

Getting ready to "split lanes" at 75mph?

 

California carpool lane; it's different out here. I wasn't so much trying to move faster, as I was trying to get out and away from traffic before the next exit. I don't like traffic merging behind me, ahead of me, next to me.. heck I don't like other vehicles anywhere near me and if lane splitting at 75 mph puts me in a better situation, then that's the safest move for me.

[EffBee]

Second recollection.

 

I was working for Cycle World and we had a 1976 R90S that we were testing. Frankly, I'd fallen in love with the bike (which I ended up purchasing from BMW after the test). I'd taken it from CW's coastal Newport Beach offices on a long Saturday ride, ending up at my parents' home so I could show my dad the bike. I was heading back to the office to drop the bike off in the CW garage (I lived in an apartment and had no protected parking) and head home. I was on the 55 Fwy, at about the McFadden exit when 100 yds. ahead of me a truck lost a partial load of phone books. This being SoCal, these weren't exactly the Podunk Pages. There was about a half a tree in each one. I dodged the first one, but hit the second one square on under full braking (about 40mph). It slammed the front forks to their limits, and I bent the right half of the handlebar. But I stayed upright.

 

IIRC, I got that $3900 Beemer for $2500, but had to buy the replacement bars and new front wheel myself. I think I paid what I thought was a ripoff price of $100 for both. Man, do I regret selling that bike.

[DrMikey]

This is one of those lessons learned in my youth. Was on my way back from Camp Pendleton after 4 years in the USMC when I came upon a construction zone that funnelled 2 eastbound lanes in to one. The left lane was being resurfaced, and there were those big rubber cones between lanes. Well, this was on the great plains. I was bored, and got to thinking how it might be fun to use my USMC-issue combat boots to kick one at 55mph and see how far it might go.

 

OWWWWWWWW!

 

No fracture or sprain. Musta been a good thing to kick it soccer-style. I kept the bike, a Yamaha Seca 750, upright, but I have never since come within a half lane of one of those cones.