this year's wreck

Today was the wettest day in recorded history for Portland. It seemed like a hard rain but it didn't seem that bad so I decided to bike in it.

On the way to work, I was driving and dropped Andrew off near the MAX stop so he could head into work that way. It works out well cuz it's technically on my way to work & the traffic would be ridiculous around his office. Anyway, my car made a couple of new noises which made me real nervous. This weekend, it didn't want to start while we were out running errands. We opened up the hood and determined it wasn't a glaringly obvious problem that could be fixed by two mechanically disinclined gay guys so we closed it. I tried starting it and it miraculously worked. I'm not a complete idiot tho so I know there are problems just waiting to surface. So, when I went home at noon to let Ava out, I switched car for bike.

At first, it was a great ride. There was a definite solidarity with the few other cyclists I saw and the warm rain felt great on my face. I was making good time and headed down the incline on Lincoln towards 50th. The light was still green but I saw it was going to turn soon so I sped up to make it but so did an SUV that I could see out of the corner of my eye. I think he made me nervous or my foot slipped off the pedal. I knew I lost control before I hit the ground. I yelled "Oh shit!" and bounced off the pavement with my ribs and thighs taking most of the blow. I wasn't wearing gloves so it was fortunate that I didn't slide & tear up my palms. My right leg got trapped between my frame & my handlebars tho so I took my bike with me.

Somehow, my left shoe flew off and I got up quickly and hobbled down the road to pick it up. There were a few cars around but nobody stopped. I sat down on the step on the side of Yoga Union and caught my breath. I put my shoe back on and did a quick visual inspection of my bike. The seat was crooked and the bell (pictured above) was busted but it otherwise escaped unscathed. I continued on slowly to work and put in a couple more hours. My supervisor offered to drive me home but I knew I could make it, even if I did have to go very very slow.

I think I may have fractured or bruised my ribs. I don't think they're broken. My right thigh also hurts as my keys were in my pocket when I landed flat on the pavement. I also managed to scrape the skin off the side of my big toe on my left shoeless foot. I've had worse falls and worse injuries but I'm really too old to keep banging myself up like this.