Monday, September 3, 2012

the wreck

 And things were going so well.

Andrew and I were on a long bike ride, heading towards the Canby Ferry. I found the route online but the route led us out of the way. I thought I was being smart by finding a road that cut out a lot of the excessive mileage. The road was SW Petes Mountain Road. We couldn't bike up it because it was just too steep and a little treacherous. Going down felt awesome for a while. I should have been a little more cautious when I saw the "Slow. 10MPH" curves. I looked for a second off to the countryside and thought, "This is gorgeous," and then thought "Oh shit, pay attention to the road." Right then, my back tire fishtailed to the left and my front tire went to the right and I flew off Superman style onto the side of the road.

It happened in a matter of seconds but it felt like 15 minutes or so to me. I hit the ground facedown with my hands and arms in front of me. Somehow my bike tumbled in front of me and crashed against the fence. I lifted up my head and saw the front bike tire pop and my bike collapse a little more. I looked down and saw a small puddle of blood in front of my face. I could see though so that was good. I could also move my fingers and toes and that was good too. I couldn't breathe easily though. Andrew biked up shortly afterwards as I had gotten ahead of him. My priority at that point was conveying to him that I was okay.

Some time later, a physical therapist biked up and was able to assess me. He determined that I was okay to roll over eventually and I knew that I wouldn't need to go to the hospital since nothing seemed to be broken except some ribs. I used my phone to pinpoint my location and I messaged that to Ashes, asking him to pick me up. I eventually and painfully stood up but I needed to not be laying in the dirt anymore.

Ashes came and picked me up and drove me home. Xbox stayed with me while I cleaned my wounds, offering to help but really was helping just by talking to me while I was doing it. Andrew ran out to get more medical supplies. My knees and elbows were the worst. I was worried about my face and head but I ended up with a small mark on the bridge of my nose and a half-inch cut on my forehead. Luckily, I was wearing my bike gloves which completely saved my wrists (and I was also wearing my helmet). The hydrogen peroxide stung a bit but I feel 100x better after I cleaning myself up.

My bike is screwed up pretty bad. My front tire is taco-ed and I think my back tire might also be a bit bent. Also, my pink bike bell was shattered. However, my new-ish solar-powered front light was unharmed. I'll be hurting tomorrow but I still plan on going to work because I have a lot to do. This wreck wasn't fun but it wasn't as bad as it could be. I'll be thrilled if this is the worst bike accident I ever have.

No comments: