Does using a the back brake instead of the front save you from flying over the handlebars?

In one word, yes!

When braking, it's advised to use the rear break first, then the front to prevent exactly what you experienced. Too heavy of an application of the front brake only causes a complete stop..and a bad hair day.

You could have lowered your position by bending your arms and shifted your weight towards the back of your saddle to put more weight on the back of the bike when breaking hard.

Why can so many people not spell "brake" or "braking"?

That particular misusage is a constant annoyance.

By the way, I'm told that about 75% of the stopping power comes from the front brake and wheel. It's a good idea to form the habit of using both.

That figure (75% of stopping power) refers to a car...not a bike.

The reason you get thrown over the handlebars is you use the front brake or mainly the front brake) is because it's the forward wheel.

Front wheel stops and bike with rider keep going.

It's more a matter of carelessness and negligence than spelling prowess.

I'm lucky that only happened to me once..when I was good at healing quickly.

Know what you mean about healing. My worst spill outside of a chance encounter with a Toyota was making a short turn at low speed. Just enough toe overlap for foot to collide with the front fender which dug into the tire hard enough to bring the whole thing to a stop. No endo, but a dead drop to the ground with no preparation at all.

Well, my falls have been multiple but only one of them was ass-over-teakettle due to squeezing the front brake.

One of the more amusing events was an Artie-Johnson-Laugh-In-Slow-Mo falls that happened when I couldn't get my clip-in shoes out of the clip-in pedals. I fell over laughing at 1 mph. made it even better be4cause I was riding with a bike group . Only had a few dozen witnesses.

Did you have a spring tune-up done on the bike? when was the last time the bike had a safety check?

Have you had any bike riding classes that would have taught you what to do in a situation like this? I'd recommend it - sooner rather than later.

All of this can be solved by carrying an anchor, just drop it when you want to stop.

Breaks/breaks/broke my leg scrambling after the money bag!

It was definitely due to the back brake. This is because the front wheel is stopping abruptly and causing friction and therefore stopping momentum, whilst your back wheel is still going full force.

This means your front wheel will be pushing down and gripping to the floor whilst your back wheel will still be moving therefore meaning the back of the bike will fall forward.

Include that with your weight, it results in a very painful fall!

Anyway, i hope you are okay mate. Sounds like a nasty accident!

Hope this helps