The Blog of Blues

[blues2cruise]

April 21, 2007

I have become a statistic

I had a plan to meet a couple of riders to go to the Tulip Festival in the Skagit Valley in Washington. The sky was blue with just a few clouds. The sun was making its presence known….for a change.

I took the time to get all my gear on and load up my bike and have it warmed up so that I cold have a nice leisurely ride to the meeting place.

I never got there.

I have become a statistic. I was in a collision.

As I made my left turn from Kingsway onto 10th Avenue, I saw a car backing out of a driveway. I slowed down to allow him to finish, but then he stopped. At that point I figured he must have seen me so I accelerated to keep going, but just as I got to him, he backed out in front of me. I hit the brakes but I was so close when he backed out, the collision could not be avoided. Luckily for me the brakes slowed me down enough to lessen the impact. My front wheel hit his car and caused the bike to fall over onto its left side…and me on top of the bike with my leg stuck under the handlebar.

Ow...Ow…ow…ow…instant pain in my right side. I managed to get untangled from my bike with the help of a woman and the man from the car who hit me. They helped me to walk to the sidewalk. The man from the car was so upset…..he wanted to carry me, but I told him I didn’t need carrying. I believe his adrenaline would have allowed him to do it.

Someone else in another car called for emergency vehicles. Within a couple of minutes the fire trucks, the police and an ambulance were there. Doc accused me of doing this on purpose so I could have the fire men come and pay me some attention. Lol

I then asked if someone could get my bike off the road. Being someone who drives all day everyday for my job, I see a lot of fender benders. I hate when everyone has to stay in the middle of the road to exchange info…all it does it back up traffic. The man from the car went out and lifted my bike and moved it into the driveway. His adrenaline must have still pumping high because he lifted that bike so easily.

First the firemen checked me out and then the paramedics checked me out. Interestingly, one of the first things one of the firemen did was look at my helmet. He was checking to see if was banged up. It has a crack in it so I will have to replace it. Other than having what appear to be cracked ribs, I am ok.

ALL THE GEAR ALL THE TIME

My jacket, helmet, pants, boots and gloves did what they were supposed to do. They protected me from a more serious injury. I also believe my having slowed down in the first place in anticipation of that car backing out, and my hard braking reduced the impact.
I used my cell phone to call Doc.
“Hello-o-o-o-o-o blues2cruise…… How are you?”
“I need some help”.
“What’s up?”
“Can you come over to the corner of 10th and Kingsway….you know my usual route to the freeway….and ride my bike home for me?”
“What happened?”
“I had an incident and I’m hurting too much and my hands are shaking too much to ride.”
“I’ll be there in 20 minutes.”

I let the police officer know that someone was coming over to help me. The police officer stayed until Doc arrived.

I went to the doctor who said it appears I have cracked ribs and to go get an x-ray on Monday. I also had to cancel out on my coaching job for tomorrow. I was really looking forward to it.
I won’t be going to work for a week at least. I should be able to get my sick time reimbursed from ICBC.
Sigh……I was so proud of my record. In the 2-1/2 years I have been riding I have had lots of close calls, but my training and skill set has kept me out of trouble. There are so many what ifs…
If I had not forgotten to take my gloves out to the bike with me I would have already been past that driveway. But, I went back to my suite to get my gloves and that few extra minutes delay put me in that spot.
If I had still kept with my first plan to go to the early morning theory session instead of going riding with people, I would have been long gone.
If that guy had not driven to the store for tobacco, he would not have been in someplace he did not belong in the first place.

If I had won the lottery I would have been in Texas by now. Lol

I can’t dwell on it. The ribs will get better, I will get a new helmet, the bike will get fixed and I will go riding again. I have an appointment Monday morning with the insurance company.

Doc asked me,”How are you going to be in six weeks”? We have a plan for the road trip. I told him I think I will probably be ok by then. He said, “I sure hope so.”
I then said that if I wasn’t, we could just go on one bike. His bike is powerful enough to have me ride on the back.
Doc raised his eyebrows at that, but then he smiled and said, “I don’t have a problem with that; not at all.”
After all the talking and planning and anticipation, there is no way I am missing this trip. It would be too difficult to cancel my vacation time and then get another five week block of time. So if I have to ride pillion then so be it.
I’m going to go take a pill now. And then a friend in my building is going to make coffee.
That’s all for now. Update next week after I see the insurance adjuster.

[Wrider]

Sorry to hear about your accident! Glad you're feeling alright, but hope you get better soon! Also happy to hear the gear did it's job! Like they say, dress for the crash, not the ride! Let us know how things go!
Wrider

[Nalian]

Apparently this is a bad luck weekend - I had my first down last night. It sounds like you're a bit more banged up than me.

Hope you feel better soon. Don't beat yourself up - it wasn't your fault and accidents do happen.

[Veda]

Get well soon, blues. It's also a good reminder for the rest of us to wear our gear.

[JWINC]

So sorry to hear about your accident. Im glad it wasnt more serious and you were able to walk away from it. Best wishes.

[blues2cruise]

Thanks everyone. So long as I don't have to walk anywhere or laugh it's bearable.

I guess this puts an abrubt end to my busyness for a week or so. Since I can't go to work, I might be able to go through paper junk and get rid of some stuff.

Doc was worried I might not want to ride ever again. If I hadn't been shaking so much and hurting so much I would have ridden the bike home.

I will ride again as soon as the ribs don't hurt so much.

My neighbour has aslo invited me to come back for supper later.

[blues2cruise]

Apparently this is a bad luck weekend - I had my first down last night. It sounds like you're a bit more banged up than me.

Hope you feel better soon. Don't beat yourself up - it wasn't your fault and accidents do happen.

Is it in your blog? I guess I better go read it.

[Shorts]

Hey Blues, feel better soon.

Don't think about all the "what ifs" about the timing of when you left your place. I did that a time or two wondering if I still would have had my accident in my truck that same way. I'm not 100% sure, but I think regardless of the timing, there was still going to be a big incident that would be fairly life-altering. Thinking about "what if" would drive a person insane with regret. Fact is, you can't change it, no matter how much you want to. Now matter how well you can replay it in your mind. So you must go forward instead. Take what you are left with and make it better.


I'm glad to hear you're ok except for some cracked parts Take those pain meds as you need and mend up real good.

[roscowgo]

D'oh. sorry to hear it blues. Glad you came through it relatively ok.

[blues2cruise]

D'oh. sorry to hear it blues. Glad you came through it relatively ok.

Thank you. Try not to post anything too funny, ok? It hurts to laugh.