Cyclists' Palsy?

[Mick F]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-27448972

Just reading about this sad death. They have no real idea why she lost control and hit the wall, but it has been suggested that her hands may have gone numb.

[fossala]

They guessed that is the reason, no proof and they even say that in the artical. I wish that people who have a job that people respect (Dr, Nurse, Soliciter etc) just stick to hard facts.

[reohn2]

From the report:-

Andrew Cox, assistant coroner for Exeter and Greater Devon, recorded a verdict of accidental death.
He said cyclist's palsy - when the nerves in the hand go numb - was the best explanation for what happened.
However, he added there was no "evidence" for it.

Oh dear there's been a fatal cycling crash.
What caused it?
Dunno.
How about ''cyclist palsy''
That settles it then.
Next!
Err
Speculation is the only ''evidence'' they have and as such is only guess work,incredible really and says more about the system of determining someone's tragic demise than anything else.

BTW any road into Branscombe is a descent on narrow undulating lanes with some bad and bumpy surfaces and side lanes/driveways in parts and it can be fast.
I wouldn't ''let the bike go'' down them and would have the brakes cover at all times.

[eileithyia]

Never heard such rubbish, if road surface .is potentially bad could that not be equally a cause for loss of control.

[661-Pete]

Momentary lack of concentration - or even dozing off (yes it can happen on a bike, as well as at the wheel of a car) - could have accounted for this tragedy. Having said that, my wife often gets numbness in the hands when cycling - not enough to prevent her braking. So do I - very occasionally. Possibly a form of RSI, or carpal tunnel syndrome: I'm no medic.

I am mindful of the time, many years ago (in my 20s) when I undertook a hair-raising night-time descent of Holme Moss in the Peak District, and came within a whisker of slamming into a wall. I put that down to fatigue and inattentiveness. It was a close thing - which is why I still remember it!

And there's the tragic story of Fabio Casartelli to consider...

[fossala]

I was on an audax yesterday, ended up riding about 70miles of it by myself. It was hot down here (Cornwall) and my hoods got a bit slippy and my left hand slipped completely as I was really giving it some. I managed to keep the bike upright but it could of ended worse.

No one would of know the cause of the accedent if something happend and I ended up dead. Same here, she could of hit a pothole, slippy hands, day dreaming, felt dizzy, mechanical that is hard to repeat (we all have been there when trying to fix things), sun in her eyes.

What I getting at is numb hands seems quite far down the list of why you would crash. I've had numb hands once or twice while getting bike fitting right, never did I feel like I wasn't in control.

[Grandad]

How can we draw this thread to the attention of the clueless coroner?

[beardy]

Note that the lady's father was cycling a bit behind her. He could have told the coroner something that we do not know, like that she had been suffering with her hands, unable to change gear easily any more.

In my experience you dont suddenly lose the ability to brake with both hands at once. Though I have suffered a gradual loss of use of my hands from the cold and wet, when that happens, I lost the ability to change gear long before I lost any ability to brake, I would have done something about it if that was happening.

Getting back to the father riding behind, possibly the Coroner was looking for something to say that would not make his loss even worse.

[fossala]

Compassion isn't the Coroner's job.

[axel_knutt]

What about epilepsy even, can that be ruled in or out post mortem? There was a case on telly a while back where a cyclist had run out of control down a hill, hit the bridge parapet, and ended up face down in the river 30 feet below after he had an epileptic seizure. He survived with only minor injuries, but if he hadn't already been diagnosed and the following van driver hadn't been there to fish him out of the drink, would anyone have known?

[Edwards]

As we do not know who raised the question of Palsey, but we know the Coroner did not just think this condition up.
The father may have even mentioned it to the police constable.

Relatives tend to find closure if there is some sort of explanation and one of a medical condition is more palatable than saying it was incompetence.

The coroner could just have being showing compassion to a grieving father for the unexplained death of his young daughter.

[fossala]

The coroner could just have being showing compassion to a grieving father for the unexplained death of his young daughter.

But that isn't his job... I may come across "cold hearted" but he should only be talking about facts when he has his office cloathing on!

[Edwards]

He gave the facts as somebody else had stated it could be a plausible explanation. He did not state it was the cause butt was one that had been suggested.

I had to deal with a coroner when my mil died and in my limited experience to do show compassion to the relatives. Done so in the boundaries of facts and witnesses statements.

[Flinders]

Compassion is part of a coroner's job, as is getting at the facts, and not speculating beyond the evidence.
There are some good coroners out there who do both (and some terrible ones too, of course, who can manage neither).

[michael42]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-27448972

Just reading about this sad death. They have no real idea why she lost control and hit the wall, but it has been suggested that her hands may have gone numb.

It could be a ballsy cyclist as much as palsy cyclist though.

Anyone looking at my GPS logs would see I get to about 30-32mph downhill with a wind and that's generally it. The bike doesn't really seem to go any faster at that point, there's no real gear to push it faster at that point. There are few long descents in the area to try and get it faster. I think I would start to brake if it went above. I used to slow much earlier than this when I first started cycling as an adult.

So, if you saw me hitting a wall and my speed was 60kph or something, you could bet I couldn't stop or slow for some reason.

OTOH, I note it's quite a sport for some to hit 40, 50mph on descents. If I saw someone that had a GPS history of that then I would think that better circumstantial evidence explaining what happened than the hand-numbness.