Crashing: How the body reacts
Most crashes are preceded by a massive stab of fear and involuntary expletives as you realise it's all gone tits up and your previously peaceful ride has now, for whatever reason, become an altogether different animal.
Whether it's the instant the car ten feet away pulls out, or the moment you just know you're running into a corner 30mph too hot, or even one of those crashes where you're halfway through and staring at the front wheel before you know it's happening, your body goes into 'fight or flight' mode. Essentially, you become turbocharged to give you the best chance of survival, and this little response is all thanks to our cavemen ancestors who faced death and fear on a daily basis in the form of wooly mammoths and the like.
Medically, the amygdaloid nuclei and hypothalamus in the middle of your brain send the 'disaster imminent' message out and the process begins. You get a massive surge of adrenalin and glucose energy, while your breathing gets heavier all for maximum energy, your heart rate rockets and blood flies to your muscles where it's needed and leaves your abdomen and stomach where it's not (this is what causes butterflies by the way), your pupils dilate, the ciliary muscle in the eyes relaxes letting you see further than normal to make the most of your now super-alert brain. Oh, and your sphincter contracts to minimise possible mess...
So now you're off the bike, mid-crash, and seeing everything in perfect slow-mo clarity. Why the slow-mo? It's all part of your turbo-brain and senses now taking in far more detail than normal.
There's no medical explanation as to why it always goes so quiet at this stage, but it's probably just down to your sudden closing off the throttle and ejecting from the bike which take you away from all the noise you've been surrounded until the instant you crashed.
Then it's back to earth with a bump and it's all over. It's taken a split second and you're still wired to the nuts on adrenalin. On the blacker side of things, this means if you are badly hurt you're unlikely to feel a thing. On the other hand, if you are largely okay, the adrenalin is what gives you the superhuman strength to lift your bike up in front of the 30 pedestrians invariably watching.
Now you're into the comedown phase. Injured or not, you're going to feel whacked out, perhaps a bit spaced-out and anyone who's ever smoked is going to want 20 Marlboro reds as soon as possible, no matter how long since they last touched the evil weed. As for the future, chances are you're going to feel funny about riding again, no matter how well you are physically, but the only way through this is to get straight back on. If you're still dead nervy after a couple of days, get yourself on an advanced training course and get someone who knows their stuff to ease you back into the groove.
Read on for how to avoid crashing on the road
