Sometimes denial is good, sometimes not. Sadly, I had two issues move from denial to reality this year. I learned that dogs running close with a human can still get attacked by a mountain lion and I learned that even if a cyclist does everything right, they can still get struck by a motor vehicle.
The latter is the purpose of this post. Or, maybe the purpose is more to help me process what happened last Monday.
I love cycling to work. I bought a nice Cannondale hybrid last September and rode 2 days one week and 3 the next. When I moved to working primarily out of Eagle, 5 days a week became possible. In early May, I upgraded to a beautiful Cannondale road bike. It is carbon fiber and blue/black/and white in color. It is amazing. And fast.
I discussed my safety concerns with many, many people over the last 8 months. Issues included drivers not giving the 3 feet of room between them and all cyclists, speeders, and that fear of not being seen. I always imagined my demise would be caused by a motorist passing too closely, thus causing me to tip over. I never imagined the scenario that did occur.
My ride to work is 10.5 miles. I travel from my house to 13th, get on Hill road and stay there until I turn on Edgewood. Then I cross Highway 44 and turn onto Riverside Drive. The latter is where my sense of safety increases. Riverside has little traffic and a bike lane. On Monday, this sense of security was the same. Within a 1/4 mile of my office, I was pedaling at 17-20 mph-well under the speed limit, though. I saw an approaching SUV get into the left hand turn lane. As I approached, it never once occurred to me that the driver wasn't slowing for me as well as the turn. I was within 10 feet of the SUV when the turn started. I attempted to brake and turn but there just wasn't room or time. The SUV struck my bike frame first and I heard the crack. I believe that my pedal struck the bumper next as there is a nice dent there. This motion propelled me to the hood and then rolled me off to the pavement.
Immediately after, I stood up. First thought-wow, I just was hit by an SUV and feel ok. Wow. Initially I wasn't planning on a trip to the ER. Good old adrenalin. I called work to advise what happened and said I would be there in about an hour. When all the emergency personnel arrived, they asked me to sit on the curb. (Really? It is really far down). Soon after, the swelling set in on my wrist, quads, and the upper left fibula. Called work again and said I was going to the ER as was pretty sure the wrist was broke but would be there at noon. Dork. Within 20 minutes of this, I called again stating I should probably go home.
My ER visit showed what I suspected. The radial distal condoyle fractured. There was a pretty significant hematoma on right quad and a large contusion on the left. They cleaned up some mild abrasions. I didn't strike my head on the windshield or pavement. Very fortunate. The SUV striking my bike frame first likely saved my fibula from fracturing.
Looking at this a week later, I continue to feel blessed, overwhelmed, fortunate, and somewhat guilty. I have a friend who was hit on a bike on Meridian road 3 years ago. The accident was in a 50 mph zone and that is what the driver was doing. Sadly, she also wasn't paying attention and drove up on the sidewalk. Another accident hard to prevent by anything but driver awareness. My guilt stems from being so ok yet complaining about how my life has changed. In 6 weeks, life will be mostly normal. I went home Monday evening instead of going to a hospital room or morgue. The drivers insurance gets to purchase a new bike, upgraded and more cool stuff. But I really want my bike back. And the sense of denial that it wouldn't happen to me.
