When I was in middle school, we were having jumping contest in the street (helmets were for wimps). My buddy lined up four bigwheels to clear off our makeshift ramp. He took off OK, and it looked good, but his back wheel caught the last bw which shot his front end to the street and slammed him face-first into the asphalt. He actually slid on his face a couple of feet until he came to a stop.

The neighbor (the adult who was putting up the $5 for the furthest jump) turned him over and he started to convulse and swallow his tongue, so he shoved his wallet in his mouth and called the ambulance.

He spent about two weeks in the hospital and had to go through a few surgeries. His tongue was split down the middle like a snake and they had to sew that back together. He had a few facial fractures and deep cuts and hamburger-like road rash. He actually had what looked like black asphalt in and around the scars that took a couple years to fade, and still has a few false front teeth. You can't really see the scars now (20 years later) unless you're really looking.

And the cheap neighbor never paid up the $5 to any of us.

Believe it or not, the one where my nuts got sucked up in between the brake bridge and the back tire wasn't the worst one ever for me...

1988ish. I was riding ramps alot, and had a really nice 87 Haro Sport Team Model. I had always been able to air in either direction with either foot forward, and whenever I did a one footer variation, I always put my bottomside foot forward, which allowed the cranks to freewheel back, which I was used to from jumping. This worked great for one-hander/one-footers and one footed x-ups, but made one-footed inverts awkward. I really wanted to tweak my one-footed inverts, and maybe even figure out a one-footed lookback.

So I was a big fan of Rick Moliterno, and I knew he ran a coaster brake and aired goofy footed and did amazing inverts. So I borrowed a 36h 7X from Stacey Johnson that had a Suntour coaster laced in it. I installed it on my trusty Sport, and headed to Kevin Ashlin's house, where he had a mini version of the Camarillo ramp in his back yard. The quarter was 9 ft high with a foot of vert, and had a plywood approach with a wedge ramp with a platform at the other end of the yard.

I took it kinda slow at first, trying to get used to the feel of the coaster in the air and upon landing. It felt really really stable in the air, but I figured out pretty early that I needed to get my foot back on before landing or I could be in some trouble. The coaster made can-can's a snap.

So after a coupla hours of feeler airs, I decided to start experimenting with the inverts, as that WAS the reason I was running the damn coaster to begin with. So I headed for the ramp with as much speed as I could, 'cause I figured I was gonna need a coupla feet of air to pull the invert with the coaster, and a coupla feet was about all I could ever do. I felt like Josh White if I got 3 ft. out. So I hit the vert and immediately upon takeoff I drop my right foot off (I'm turning right here), and push HARD with my right arm, collapsing my left arm into my midsection for maximum inversion. BOY did that work well. I was greeted by the curious feeling of my left front peg smacking me in the shoulder. THAT was the good part. Well, that and by all accounts I got about 3 1/2 -4ft of air. The problem started after I maxed out and began the descent. I pull up on my right arm as hard as I can, trying to straighten out my left arm in the process. I was not however prepared for what happened next. Pulling up that hard, combined with my unfamiliarity with the really stable platform the coaster brake provided, caused the back end to bone HARD out over the platform. I landed on the coping on my sprocket (disaster style), with my right foot still off the bike and the bars in my lap, with all my weight over the front. The bike stopped immediately, which was an inertial proposition my body was unprepared to comply with. After all, I still had 9 ft. left to fall...

I landed face first, flat bottom, no helmet, and was just coming to terms with that fact when the bike decided that it too still had 9 ft. left to fall and hit me soundly in the back of the head. I was out cold for over a minute and never rode a coaster brake again. I also never did another one-footed invert again.

I think about this day every time a doctor's office form asks me "Have you ever had a concussion?" To which my answer is always "Too many to count"

87 or 88 grands.. louisville ky....... 1/4's... need atleast 4th to transfer...
well they had bowled out the second turn and the inside was real soft...
i was in 5th or 6th...
dove hard to the inside... to make my move...
front wheel hit the soft dirt..
spun my bars around at once.. sent me over .. superman style... arms out stretched.. legs following behind...... when i realized what had happened,.... the b pros just dropped the gate... graands.. rember.. 3 races on the track at once...

i was asked if i could get up and moved....
i uttered.. somehow.. move.. i cant even breathe....
well after a cool ambulance ride to the hospital...

and a messed up EKG that said i was not alive.. i asked them to redo it......

may not have been gruesome or gory .. but a cracked sternum sucks a whole lot!!!!!!!!!!!!

it was way back in fall of '79 and I was riding an old Schwinn mag Scrambler. Down by the riverbanks there used to be a bunch of really cool trails that we rode as often as we could. I was there one day doing some jumping feeling all cool about myself when a bunch of kids rode up.
Well the trail was sort of a J-type off a big hill from the street, the jump itself was actually another trail that crossed over the one.
These kids thought it would be cool for them to lay down on the backside of the jump and watch me fly overhead. Heck I thought it would be a cool idea too so I made my way to the top of the hill and got ready.
I figured since there was a bunch of kids on the other side of the jump I better get some speed; so I did.
Everything went smooth as butter until I got in the air, that's when I looked down to see some kid all curled up in fear fetal style thinking I was going to crush him or something.
I think I may have started to laugh or something I'm not sure, I do know I looked down a little too long and hit the ground all sorts of funny-eyed.
The old saying "it's all funny until somebody gets hurt" applied there as when it landed I tore up my knee something fierce.
I was cussing and swearing limping all the way home.
I guess as far as crashes go it really wasn't too bad but hobbling around junior high school for a while sucked.
It's just one crash that I really vividly remember from waaaaay back in the day.

Post reply of the year....

In case you wanna hear THAT story... post #23

http://www.vintagebmx.com/community/index....20&start=20

Still to this day Watching Willie Huebner land on his head crossing the finish line at the 83 worlds chills me to the bone. Watch the Jov Jag Vids... Gosh, its just amazing he got up and realized he won the main. He was from here (MN) so I have a soft spot for that crash..

Was riding out of the city park and the sidewalk had a bit of a lip to transfer to a bridge. I hit the lip did a bunnyhop only to watch the front rim fly off the bike. Landed on the forks flew over the bars slid face first on the pavement. I had a road burn from my cheekbone down to the bottom of my face, Road rash on both arms as they were under me when I slid. I still have a small part on my wrist that hair does not grow. The next day I went to see Motley Crue at an outdoor concert place the sweat did not feel too good on my face.

By the way the forks were landing gears and they were fine after the wreck.

This is one of the worst I have seen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LDYsdTgz5U

Crashapaluza, gnarly stuff toward the end

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AIVaEm58E8...feature=related


For some reason I can't remember my worst crash?

That's a painful one and it takes forever to heal. And it's not like you can avoid things that make it hurt, like sitting up out of bed in the morning, turning the wrong way too fast, sneezing. Yeah, that sucks.

That's Bill Madden in Pittsburgh... ugh! He told me he doesn't remember anything about that crash except that he had over-jumped that jump before and felt like he had enough speed to clear it...

Richard Vogt
bmxmountainbiker

I don't remember the year, '84?, Pliska might know. Opening day at Riverside BMX in Clackamas, OR, Darrell Young was at the gate during practice, it was just starting to sprinkle rain.
Darrell comes down the first straight, rails the corner and hits the infamous doubles in the second straight.
His rear wheel starts to rise as he is floating over the dubs, as he starts to come down, his front end is parallel with the ground.
His front wheel hits the second dub and the front end is sheared off at the head tube and Darrell goes smashing into the ground.

One of the craziest things I ever saw. 24 years later, I am glad he was/ is OK.

I do not remember if it was 1987 or '88 it was an NBL National at I think Homestead FLA?

This kid was racing and he must have had the ends of his grips worn off... He was racing with his pinkies stuck inside his handlebars and he crashed in one of the asphalt berms and it severed off his finger.

I remember the paramedics walking by with his handlebar with his pinky stuck inside packed in ice going into the waiting rescue.

Mike

There's an old story from San Diego's Kearny Moto Park from sometime between 82' -85'.
This story has been tod so many times but with no 100% clairity,
that it's becoming more of a urban legend.

A guy is on the gate and something snapped on his bike.
Either a crank, frame, or seat tube.
A part of the bike allegedly tears up the upper leg of his pants
and lacerated his family jewels with one suposedly coming out.

I thought for years it was about long time racer Shawn Campbell.
I saw him in early 2008. It's definately not him.

To me, this is the worst. I had never seen a bike snap like that. Gnarly.

JC

Uh, did you see him naked or what?