speedvegan

my worst nightmare became reality around 7:30 this morning. before i say more i need to assure you that i am OK ! i wouldn’t be sitting here and typing away if i wasn’t, right ?

as a cyclist, there are many things i fear but none compare to being hit by (or hitting) a vehicle. it’s funny how i can just flick off that fear each time i head out for a ride just as i did today. i got up early, got everything i needed and off i went. i had two words on my mind: long ride. there is a nice .5 mile Floridian hill (bridge) 10 miles south of my apt. i was planning to ride to it and do hill repeats. i would then head north about 30 miles and back to my apt for a total of 50 miles. ambitious ? i didn’t think so but as i came up to the first of many little bridges i would have to cross during my ride, i realized my legs weren’t up for the task. i ran a 5k race yesterday and then rode 27 miles. i had not recovered. i quickly changed my plan. i would go to the end of the street and head north. i needed to save my legs (whatever was left of them) for that other 5k i was planning to run on Tuesday.

northbound i carefully watched as many 4th of July-ers were already parked on the side of the road and unloading their beach essentials. my paranoid side took over as i slowed down and watched each car to avoid collisions with doors, kayaks, etc etc. what i didn’t count on was the deep green van i saw in front of me a few minutes into my trek north. the man had been driving on the south bound lane, noticed an available parking spot (not only on the other side of the road, but on the other side of the bike lane !) and decided to u-turn into it entirely missing the fact that a cyclist (me) would be at that same spot as he turned. there were 3 seconds to react. i managed to unclip but it was too late for braking and dismounting was only a flashing thought i had as my front wheel hit the van’s side fender. my head was the first thing to hit the ground. yes – i was wearing a helmet which saved my life and has the crack to prove it. judging from the few injuries on my body, i assume my left knee was second.

i crawled to the sidewalk and sat on the beach wall. i was able to move everything. i glanced over at the guy emerging from his van. i think he looked scared but i can’t recall. two cyclists who were riding in front of me came to help me as did another man (a witness) and a very nice lady who happened to be running by. they were all talking to me and asking what was hurting. i didn’t know. i looked over my body and said “if it’s bleeding, it hurts.” one of the cyclists called 911. i tried to call Jose but started to feel very dizzy. slowly everything became very pixilated and eventually i could only see white. that was by far the scariest part of this adventure. when the paramedics arrived, one of them took off my helmet and my vision came back right away.

everyone around me said i should go to the hospital. unfortunately my boss wasn’t around to drive me (inside joke) so i had to ride in the ambulance. once in the hospital i had the usual cat-scan and x-rays. everything was negative. i was released 2 hours later.

i was going to take some pictures but didn’t want to gross y’all out. i was very fortunate to walk away with a bit of road-rash and a broken bike. i’ll post about the bike later because i don’t feel like crying right now. i have a scrape on the right side of my face. my sunglasses dug a little into my skin and made a nice 2-inch scratch from the side of my eye to the bottom of my cheek. other than that, it’s the usual banged up knee, elbow and wrist.

being involved in an accident is never a pleasant experience, but i was very fortunately to walk away, even if i had to crawl a little first ! i am very happy to be alive and the best part is that my confidence was not damaged. you can be sure that if my knees had cooperated, i would have been back on my (other) bike as soon as i got home. unfortunately, i am now master of the pimp walk and will probably have to take it easy for the next few days. my worst fear right now is not being able to do my tri, but it’s too early to think about that, don’t you think ? a lot can happen in two weeks !