In 1996 I was commuting to/from work weekly, even into 1997/8 during El Nino.....
One afternoon at about 5:30 coming home , at a busy intersection(which is kinda unusual.. as the town is only 13K strong) , I passed through the intersection fine- going about 20 mph , looking to my left/right(making sure a car was not going to turn into me).
Everything seemed fine, the road started to go on a slight upward angle... and I put my head down for about 5 seconds, or so(to pick up some added momentum going up the light incline). As I was about to look up- IMPACT. It was a blur ........ I had ran into a parked(broken down) car on the side shoulder of the road, busted its rear windshield , flew over the length of the car , and landed in between TWO broken down cars that late afternoon. I was unconsious for probably 10 seconds.. or so. I came to , to find blood all over my hands/gloves / roadway(as a pool of blood layed there into the next year
) , disoriented , and a lady who lived across the street came running toward me to check to see how I was- and had called 911(as she saw the whole thing happen). With in minutes, EMT arrived , took me off to the hospital .......... where I was further assessed , X-rays taken(no broken bones) , only facial lacerations (yes, they do call me scare-face where I live , or Tony Montana ;-) I had to end up paying the owner of the car that I hit , for his broken windshield = $250 ...... in 5 monthly installments of $50 per month. So, every month when I rolled by his house.. with a money order in my hand for him , he got a chance to see my pretty face in action
In the end, I am no longer a "pretty boy" , but a "rough around the edges" , well seasoned veterin who has logged 1000's of miles since , and has actually made me a stronger rider.. more dedicated rider because of that accident. I can honestly now say that I can ride anything/ anywhere ...... I am 100% confident of that- even though I've never been to Europe , but one day I'll go.
...... and I was riding a BELL helmet at the time, which broke in 2 halves.... and probably saved me from being a vegetable right about now. I currently have two BELL helmets that I wear.
...... that road that I had my accident on , later in 1997 that shoulder was turned into an official "bike lane" for about a 7 mile streach of road. Not sure if it was done in response to my accident , or not. Everytime I ride that road( maybe every other month) , I do get goose bumps...... inspiration to continue riding (given that incident/accident) ......... and deep down I know my soul will come to rest in that very town , maybe with a "Qui-Gon Jin" sense of Immortality attached to it , as I know I've paid my dues communting by bicycle over the years- trancending the oil/consumption barrier.
One afternoon at about 5:30 coming home , at a busy intersection(which is kinda unusual.. as the town is only 13K strong) , I passed through the intersection fine- going about 20 mph , looking to my left/right(making sure a car was not going to turn into me).
Everything seemed fine, the road started to go on a slight upward angle... and I put my head down for about 5 seconds, or so(to pick up some added momentum going up the light incline). As I was about to look up- IMPACT. It was a blur ........ I had ran into a parked(broken down) car on the side shoulder of the road, busted its rear windshield , flew over the length of the car , and landed in between TWO broken down cars that late afternoon. I was unconsious for probably 10 seconds.. or so. I came to , to find blood all over my hands/gloves / roadway(as a pool of blood layed there into the next year
) , disoriented , and a lady who lived across the street came running toward me to check to see how I was- and had called 911(as she saw the whole thing happen). With in minutes, EMT arrived , took me off to the hospital .......... where I was further assessed , X-rays taken(no broken bones) , only facial lacerations (yes, they do call me scare-face where I live , or Tony Montana ;-) I had to end up paying the owner of the car that I hit , for his broken windshield = $250 ...... in 5 monthly installments of $50 per month. So, every month when I rolled by his house.. with a money order in my hand for him , he got a chance to see my pretty face in action In the end, I am no longer a "pretty boy" , but a "rough around the edges" , well seasoned veterin who has logged 1000's of miles since , and has actually made me a stronger rider.. more dedicated rider because of that accident. I can honestly now say that I can ride anything/ anywhere ...... I am 100% confident of that- even though I've never been to Europe
, but one day I'll go....... and I was riding a BELL helmet at the time, which broke in 2 halves.... and probably saved me from being a vegetable right about now. I currently have two BELL helmets that I wear.
...... that road that I had my accident on , later in 1997 that shoulder was turned into an official "bike lane" for about a 7 mile streach of road. Not sure if it was done in response to my accident , or not. Everytime I ride that road( maybe every other month) , I do get goose bumps...... inspiration to continue riding (given that incident/accident) ......... and deep down I know my soul will come to rest in that very town , maybe with a "Qui-Gon Jin" sense of Immortality attached to it , as I know I've paid my dues communting by bicycle over the years- trancending the oil/consumption barrier.
