Recoverysolo

I CRASHED & BROKE MY BIKE

11:00·6 August 2020

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

After a crash, check yourself before the bike — chronic injuries like a busted shoulder can outlast any frame damage.
Bike fit matters more than frame quality; a cheap bike dialled to your contact points will feel better than an expensive one set up for someone else.
If you crash and walk away unhurt, treat that as a genuine win — bones don't always heal cleanly, and some injuries follow you for years.
A gratitude journal at the start of the day makes it harder to spiral when training motivation dips after a setback.
Trimming your bike collection down is great for mental clarity, but keep at least one solid backup build for when your main bike is out of action.

TOPICS

CYCLING RECOVERY

I smashed my bike in a crash last weekend. Thankfully I avoided injury but it's left me feeling a little low.

All the kit I mention in today's podcast can be found at www.roadmanresources.com

Support this podcast:

www.patreon.com/anthony_walsh

KEY QUOTES

“I have a shoulder injury from a crash in a bunch sprint in Detroit in 2013. And it still gives me problems. It's still sore. I still can't, like if I'm doing something like a lot pull down, anything like that. It's, the pain is excruciating.”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

“Any day to week I would take a bad frame with a good bike fit over a good bike fit over the opposite... you can have the nicest frame in the world but if you haven't taken time to customize your stem, your bars, your saddle your contact points with that frame it's just going to be a miserable experience.”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

“It's naming, treating, that you're thankful for at the start of the day and the under-laught interior behind this is if we're thankful, it's hard to be spoiled, it's hard to be hateful, it's hard to be in a bad mood. So be thankful for your health, be thankful that you're in this sport because it can change in the blink of an eye.”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT3 SECTIONS

Welcome and Patreon plug

I crashed, I wiped ill and I broke my bike. I need to talk to you about it. Let's cue the intro. The big question is this. How do we use cycling as a tool to improve our health, our happiness and our long changes? That is the question and this podcast will give you the answers. My name is Anthony Welch and welcome to the Rowman Podcast. Roadman, welcome back to another Roadman Bites short form podcast. Thank you for giving me your attention again today. Did anyone get a chance to check out yesterday's podcast? It was our full form podcast on a Wednesday and I interviewed Ronan McLaughlin. Ronan is a teammate of mine, but now Ronanble has the notable honor of... teach-owning Alberto Contador and the very top step of the Everest charts. Everest for anyone that didn't listen yesterday is this sort of sadom masochistic event where you join a bike to the cumulative height in Everest. Why you'd want to do that? I'm not entirely sure but that's the way some of us are wired as in or not exactly wired correctly. But Ronan is the fastest man to ever complete the height of Everest on a bike. That's a pretty cool thing to be able to say. I caught up with Ronan yesterday and in terms of class interview, I really enjoyed it. Before I jump in and I tell you about my heartbreak today, just a little gentle nudge to head on over to patreon.com forward slash Anthony underscore waltch. I'm gonna put the link in the show notes down below. That's what keeps this podcast rolling forward. It's gathering momentum ever so slowly. If you're on the fence and you're tinking about subscribe and please do because it really does make a difference, especially now that the podcast has gone to five days a week. It is an epic time commitment, but I'm getting so much feedback from you guys that it seems like we're moving in the right direction. And the Patreon helps us go in that direction, helps fund the hosting costs, equipment costs, and justify the time I'm putting in. The goal is to try and break even on that Patreon by the end of the year, we're tracking nicely, but please, please, please make a small contribution. Okay, I gotta get a little vulnerable here. I crashed last weekend. One of those crashes, thankfully no one was hurt. One of those things that just happened, a moment of inattention and got up, dusted myself down, thankfully Duderlatt involved, wasn't hurt either. Tore everything was fine, went to go off and ride on the bike and the saddle pillar smashed and it was riding a joint, which it's not an integrated seat post, but it's one of the AERO seat posts. and wherever the impact was, it smashed the C-tube. So if you think about where the saddle is inserted, if the saddle stopped like three centimeters into the frame, whatever way the saddle took the impact, it also smashed the C-tube at about the same point where the saddle pillar finishes inside the C-tube. So my frame is toast and that was heartbreaking. And I'm gonna be honest with you, it definitely hit my motivation a little bit for training in the last few days because it's like, if you're a nice shiny bike and then you're kind of hacking around trying to find a new bike and you're kind of in your head trying to justify oh maybe I'll have a rest day. It's nice to ride a new bike. I'll be the first one to say that. And when the bike is running all smooth as that was and everything's functioning, it's a beautiful thing to ride a bike. And now I'm stuck and I'll get out there in a minute and tell you what, boy, come on. Now I'm stuck riding a little bit of a, It's a good bike, but it's a bit of a gelopy, a shit bike because of the setup at the moment, which I want to chat to you about today. But I think the crash was for me just a reminder of how it's been a lot.

Crashes, bones, and gratitude

I didn't actually hit the deck, so I got lucky whatever way I landed. I landed back on my feet so I had no scrapes or scratches or cuts or bruises, thankfully. Now I'll take that every day, a week, everyone like after a crash is like, oh, how's the bike? But you can get new bikes, bones. So I've broke a lot of bones and crashes for years. Bones, everyone's like bones heal. Bones don't always heal that well. I have a shoulder injury from a crash in a bunch sprint in Detroit in 2013. And it still gives me problems. It's still sore. I still can't, like if I'm doing something like a lot pull down, anything like that. It's, the pain is excruciating. And not that it was ever any good at golf, but it definitely hurts if I swing a golf club. So yeah, like, look, bikes are replaceable. bones are not replaceable. So I got away, Lloyd, and I'm happy about that. But definitely just a solid reminder of how dangerous our sport is. And definitely if you're healthy and you're training at the moment, just take some time to think about how lucky are. And it's something that I encourage clients to do. And it's something I try and practice every morning myself. And it's a gratitude journal. It's naming, treating, that you're thankful for at the start of the day and the under-laught interior behind this is if we're thankful, it's hard to be spoiled, full it's hard to be hateful, it's hard to be in a bad mood. So be thankful for your health, be thankful that you're in this sport because it can change in the blink of an eye. You know, that crash, it was a broken frame, it could have been a broken leg, it could have been a broken neck. Who knows? It's a dangerous sport. Now I'm living in the apartment the last few years and so the last good few years now, One of the drawbacks of apartment living is back when I was living in my folks house, you know, loads of spare room, shared out the back. I had absolutely piled the bike hanging around. I just, you know, probably four or five trying on bikes, other random frames, wheels, everywhere, enough group sets to sort of build a bike for a small peloton. But when you're living in an apartment, you're really trimmed down and I don't a podcast. It was actually a good few months ago now about cycling minimalism and getting rid of stuff you don't need. Which is brilliant for mental clarity, but when you get to times like this now when you're in a bit of a pinch It's it's shit. It's completely shit because I have commandeer my girlfriend Sarah's boy I'm using her boy for training But when she started getting into cycling I took one of my old frames built it up for But I built it up for her whip bars that don't suit me with a stem. That's not the right length for me with pedals that I don't particularly like, with a saddle that I haven't used before. So although I've ridden the frame before and it's my frame so I should feel comfortable and I just feel weird on the bike. So it's not a pleasant experience to go on ride the bike and this for me just highlights the importance of bike face and how unimportant the frame is. You can have the nicest frame in the world but if you haven't taken time to customize your stem, your bars, your saddle your contact points with that frame it's just going to be a miserable experience any day to week I would take a bad frame with a good bike fit over a good bike fit over the opposite of whatever I got I confused myself there but you know what I mean it's like kind of riding around I don't know I don't wear a lot of people's clothes too often but you know I don't know where I was going with that one but you know after a football match or something like that and you have no clothes which you end up borrowing a hoodie and a pair of track suit bottoms off a mate because you're going out after and you just feel kind of weird wearing their clothes.

Bike shopping and gear picks

That's kind of how I feel riding this bike this week. It looks fine to everyone else looking at me. It probably looks like a normal person gone cycling but I feel like I feel dirty. I feel like I need a wash wearing weird stuff. So anyway I need to go bike shopping this week. You'll notice on the roadman resources at the moment that I don't have a bike that I recommend and that's there's loads of bikes I love but I'm just trying to figure out what is the bike I love most what's the bike that I want to recommend to you guys and largely I might answer my own question this week because I'm doing a lot of research on bikes this week and you know I've ridden some absolutely ship bikes for the years especially on sponsor teams from rural from France how the bike it was rose was the brand they're still knocking around hopefully they've got a bit better but they had they won't come out of this short sound boy very well, it was such a piece of shit, the bottom bracket kept falling out of it. So like literally the shell of the bottom bracket, I don't mean like the BB was coming loose in it, I mean the shell, the houses, the BB was coming loose on you sprinted, you were starting to get moving in that after a couple of weeks, it was absolutely disastrous. So that's why I haven't really recommended a bike yet, although I did like the giant a lot but it's not one I absolutely love, there's a couple of brands I'm fishing around that I'd love to try them out before I make a solid recommendation. I added a kill-new indoor section due to roadman resources. If you're wondering what sort of stuff you need for indoor training, I have a pimped out in there. I added in Wahoo element Rome. Is it Wahoo element Rome? Not Wahoo Rome, I think. I'm just excuse the ignorance. I'm just moving over to the Wahoo ecosystem and I'm loving most of their stuff. So I have recommended most of that and trying to figure out and get my head around how I'll do a tech review with a boy computer but I really want to do a tech review of my new Wahoo ROM because I love it. Okay, I've rather than enough for today, I just needed to talk, I needed to vent, I needed to chat about this crash because I'm feeling motivations, just feeling a little bit low at the moment and I didn't want this podcast to be be one of those things where it's like, you know, influencers on Instagram where they just showed a shiny side of everything. Oh my God, isn't life amazing? I'm in the gym. Here I am on my jet ski. Like, I crashed in the rain and draw it out and I broke my boy. It's fucking miserable. Like, I didn't talk to Sarah all the way home. I was miserable. So this is definitely not the influencer glamorous. Isn't my life amazing? This is I had a really shit day, it's getting less shit but every time I see that bike in my apartment I'm still like, fucking, boyk. And you know what, that's one of the only bikes that I've ever actually shelled out cash for, hard cash for that bike. And so that's made it, you know, extra, extra difficult. Roadman, that's it for today's short form, a roadman podcast that will be back to you again tomorrow. In the meantime, check out roadmanresources.com. And if you're a client, it's so head on over to Patreon and make a small donation. Cheers folks, just eat tomorrow.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

what happens to a carbon bike frame in a crash+

A hard impact can crack or shatter carbon fibre in ways that are not always visible to the naked eye. Anthony Walsh's crash cracked the seat tube of his frame and destroyed the aero seat post, making the bike unrideable. Any carbon frame involved in a significant crash should be professionally inspected before it is ridden again.

how to deal with losing your bike in a crash+

The practical priority is assessing whether the frame is repairable or needs replacing, then contacting your insurer if you have cycling cover. Anthony Walsh found it helpful to reframe the loss: a broken bike is replaceable, whereas injuries such as the chronic shoulder pain he has carried since a 2013 racing crash are not. Focusing on the fact that you walked away uninjured makes the financial hit easier to process.

does bike fit matter more than having an expensive frame+

Bike fit matters more than frame price. Anthony Walsh notes that riding his girlfriend's correctly-sized but poorly-fitted bike feels worse than a cheaper frame set up precisely to his contact points would. Getting your saddle height, reach, and cleat position dialled in will deliver more comfort and performance than upgrading to a more expensive frame on a poor fit.

how long does chronic pain last after a cycling crash+

Chronic pain after a crash can persist for years depending on the severity of the injury. Anthony Walsh still carries shoulder pain from a racing crash in 2013, more than a decade later. Early physiotherapy and consistent rehabilitation give the best chance of minimising long-term effects, but some structural damage does not fully resolve.

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KEY QUOTES

“I have a shoulder injury from a crash in a bunch sprint in Detroit in 2013. And it still gives me problems. It's still sore. I still can't, like if I'm doing something like a lot pull down, anything like that. It's, the pain is excruciating.”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

“Any day to week I would take a bad frame with a good bike fit over a good bike fit over the opposite... you can have the nicest frame in the world but if you haven't taken time to customize your stem, your bars, your saddle your contact points with that frame it's just going to be a miserable experience.”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

“It's naming, treating, that you're thankful for at the start of the day and the under-laught interior behind this is if we're thankful, it's hard to be spoiled, it's hard to be hateful, it's hard to be in a bad mood. So be thankful for your health, be thankful that you're in this sport because it can change in the blink of an eye.”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

what happens to a carbon bike frame in a crash+

how to deal with losing your bike in a crash+

does bike fit matter more than having an expensive frame+

how long does chronic pain last after a cycling crash+

I CRASHED & BROKE MY BIKE

KEY QUOTES

Welcome and Patreon plug

Crashes, bones, and gratitude

Bike shopping and gear picks

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

NEVER MISS AN EPISODE

READ THE GUIDE

RELATED EPISODES

TAKE THE STRESS OUT OF TRAVELLING WITH A BIKE

3 TIPS FOR BEATING TRAVEL FATIGUE - VLOG #015

RETURNING TO CYCLING TRAINING AFTER ILLNESS | ROADMAN CYCLING

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TAKE THE STRESS OUT OF TRAVELLING WITH A BIKE

BEATING TRAVEL FATIGUE: THE CYCLIST'S PRE-EVENT PROTOCOL

LOWER BACK PAIN ON THE BIKE: CAUSES, FIXES, AND PREVENTION

LIKED THIS EPISODE?

I CRASHED & BROKE MY BIKE

KEY QUOTES

Welcome and Patreon plug

Crashes, bones, and gratitude

Bike shopping and gear picks

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

NEVER MISS AN EPISODE

READ THE GUIDE

RELATED EPISODES

TAKE THE STRESS OUT OF TRAVELLING WITH A BIKE

3 TIPS FOR BEATING TRAVEL FATIGUE - VLOG #015

RETURNING TO CYCLING TRAINING AFTER ILLNESS | ROADMAN CYCLING

RELATED CONTENT

TAKE THE STRESS OUT OF TRAVELLING WITH A BIKE

BEATING TRAVEL FATIGUE: THE CYCLIST'S PRE-EVENT PROTOCOL

LOWER BACK PAIN ON THE BIKE: CAUSES, FIXES, AND PREVENTION

LIKED THIS EPISODE?

I CRASHED & BROKE MY BIKE

KEY QUOTES

1.Welcome and Patreon plug

2.Crashes, bones, and gratitude

3.Bike shopping and gear picks

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

NEVER MISS AN EPISODE

READ THE GUIDE

RELATED EPISODES

TAKE THE STRESS OUT OF TRAVELLING WITH A BIKE

3 TIPS FOR BEATING TRAVEL FATIGUE - VLOG #015

RETURNING TO CYCLING TRAINING AFTER ILLNESS | ROADMAN CYCLING

RELATED CONTENT

TAKE THE STRESS OUT OF TRAVELLING WITH A BIKE

BEATING TRAVEL FATIGUE: THE CYCLIST'S PRE-EVENT PROTOCOL

LOWER BACK PAIN ON THE BIKE: CAUSES, FIXES, AND PREVENTION

LIKED THIS EPISODE?

I CRASHED & BROKE MY BIKE

KEY QUOTES

1.Welcome and Patreon plug

2.Crashes, bones, and gratitude

3.Bike shopping and gear picks

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

NEVER MISS AN EPISODE

READ THE GUIDE

RELATED EPISODES

TAKE THE STRESS OUT OF TRAVELLING WITH A BIKE

3 TIPS FOR BEATING TRAVEL FATIGUE - VLOG #015

RETURNING TO CYCLING TRAINING AFTER ILLNESS | ROADMAN CYCLING

RELATED CONTENT

TAKE THE STRESS OUT OF TRAVELLING WITH A BIKE

BEATING TRAVEL FATIGUE: THE CYCLIST'S PRE-EVENT PROTOCOL

LOWER BACK PAIN ON THE BIKE: CAUSES, FIXES, AND PREVENTION

LIKED THIS EPISODE?

Welcome and Patreon plug

Crashes, bones, and gratitude

Bike shopping and gear picks

Welcome and Patreon plug

Crashes, bones, and gratitude

Bike shopping and gear picks