Should we use a leash? A story of a board almost in the intercoastal Indian river.

[callenj357]

I was riding my onewheel just after sunset last night, was incredible. I have a torch helmet with the front/back LED lights. So the light from my board and helmet made the ride kinda surreal. I like riding the causeways here in Florida, they separate the beahces/barrier islands and the mainland, going over the intercoastal rivers. Very scenic (videos coming soon hopefully). I have taken the same path many times, but this was the first time at night. It is a pretty fun ride but the walking path/trail does have a lot of dips and bumps. (foreshadowing!)

So i start my ascent up the causeway, things are going great. I have my bluetooth head phones on listening to some Dirty Heads. I am in that Zen state and loving life, when i hit a dip that i was not expecting. Dips are no issue usually for me, when i see them coming, but this one caught me off guard and i was moving pretty fast. Luckily i was close to the railing, so i grab it and catch myself before eating concrete. In that flash, i think to myself, "whew, that was close! good thing i caught myself with this railing.. WAIT is my board really going over the side!!!"

That's right, my board, in what seems like slow motion, starts rolling down the side of the bridge towards the river! I am at the part of the bridge where there is still some land embankments on each side, but they are pretty steep. So of course i do what all of us would do in that instant! I dive under the railing and chase my board down this steep concrete embankment towards the river. Thoughts of it hitting the water and sinking 8 feet to the bottom race through my mind. As i am moving down towards it as fast as i can, i final do get a taste of some concrete. Got some pretty bad raspberries from it and a sprained wrist.

But luckily my board stopped about 2 feet from the edge of the concrete seawall drop off. So i grab it, with hurt ass and wrist, and slowly make my way home on my now scraped up OW.

So i ask, should we use leashes? :smirk:

[fabuz]

Not a bad idea for sure! That's where ow's bro ( @hafeedgood ) finished his run :fearful:

[callenj357]

@fabuz very close to taking a swim indeed!

i can't see needing a leash often, i was half serious really. But i would have liked the board leashed to me last night!

[MichaelW]

Great story! Nearly the identical thing happened to me visiting Ohio (visiting my family) riding in the woods. There was this cool bridge for cars and they had a foot area on both sides that was smooth new wood. Well I got going pretty fast because I was enjoying how smooth these boards were when all of a sudden I hit a warped board on one half of the tire. I immediately started to go down and I grabbed the rail that was on the bridge. Just like you I didn't go down but I noticed that my board was headed off the side of the bridge. There was a large gap down there in the railing. I caught it just in time! Like Bruce Lee I just stepped on it with my foot. So fucking close! An inch or two maybe... The water was deep... It shook me up a bunch... lol... In my case its quite possible a leash would have taken me over the side with it and like an anchor down to the bottom of that deep river! I just thanked the sky and went back to the trails... @callenj357 @fabuz

[callenj357]

@MichaelW I bet that got your heart pumping! I can't put in words the terror i felt when i saw my board tumbling towards the river. At that moment i had complete disregard for my safety and only thought of saving my OW!

With the weight of these things.. a leash could be a safety hazard for sure. From my experience last night, i won't stop riding the causeways, but during lower visibility, i will probably take it a bit slower when i am up on the bridge!

[Code-ster]

They don't work on water...

[DVO]

@Code-ster https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fROq-ZxtvnU

[callenj357]

Just heard from the urgent care. I chipped a bone in my wrist during this incident. Nothing serious.. just means wearing a brace for a while hopefully. Just posting here to all as a reminder to wear wrist protection. I was not (obviously) but will from now on when riding on concrete.

[golfer17]

@callenj357 sprained both of my wrists yesterday in second day of board ownership

[callenj357]

@golfer17 man sorry to hear that. did you get them x-rayed? i thought mine was just a sprain.. and did not go to urgent care until a day after. I went only because it was cheap with my insurance ($25 copay) and i wanted to be sure i did not have any small breaks. The doc at urgent care said he did not see any obvious breaks.. but they send the xrays to a specialist for a closer look. Got the call today that i did indeed chip a bone.. so now i am waiting for an orthopedic referral... ugh.

So if you can get them x-rayed easily.. i would do it to be safe. I did not have much swelling at all.. which is why i thought mine was just a sprain. If they do not heal properly you can lose some mobility.

And i will be wearing my wrist braces.. at least when riding on concrete from now on. (and now my wife gets to say i told you so a lot to me... grrrrrr).

[carvewell]

Brothers and sisters of onewheel this sometimes brutal initiation is eventually a blessing in disguise. Whatever lumps you take from the onewheel, provided you heal and jump back on, will only make you a better rider. My wife and I both got served pretty early on and laid open a knee and skinned some palms. It ultimately just reinforces mindfulness that will serve your instincts and reaction time. It's my theory that you are storing massive amounts of data and muscle memory every time you hop on. The onewheel has some kind of magnet that sucks your consciousness down from your wack ass brain into your center of gravity and limbs. Its Sunday and Im talking about getting into the spirit people. Onewheeling is my religeon!

[golfer17]

@callenj357 Do you know what the treatment is for a chipped bone? Am wondering if I can just keep it in a splint until it feels better..

[callenj357]

@golfer17 i really wouldn't want you to assume that is all you have man. it depends on what bone and if it is chipped or broken.. badly or hairline.. it can range from a wrist splint for 2-3 weeks or a cast including thumb. Some bones in the wrist have better blood flow than others and heal much quicker.

if you are hurting, i would have them xrayed just to be sure.

[golfer17]

@callenj357 Thanks for the insight - wrist was fractured. Now cast is on it and should be getting better

[callenj357]

@golfer17 damn man. really sorry you fractured it.. but very glad you went and had it checked out. hopefully it is not too bad of a break and heals quickly.

[lardnicus]

I reckon it would have been fine in a little water. I've taken mine to the beach, ridden through some pretty deep water and put it under the shower to get the sand off afterwards...

[lardnicus]

@callenj357 Also, definitely get any injury checked by a doctor. A friend broke his elbow but had no idea until he went to the doc for the swelling around what he thought was a bruise...