Southern California - The kid was lucky - me, not so much

Santa Fe Dam last evening: A few people but not crowded and a few riders. I'm coming up on this kid, 13 or 14 yo or so, who's walking in the other bike lane against traffic. I want to make sure he knows I'm coming up so with plenty of distance I yell "bike coming", or something. He stops...turns...looks...waits...stands there awhile...thinks about it...looks very calm and not panicky...plenty of room, then when I'm 10 feet from him (23mph) he takes two steps right in front of me!!!! I had just enough time to react by swerving to the left to where he had been standing and just clipped his arm. Enough to save his life but it put me down very fast and very hard. I'm sure if I had hit him head on he would have been seriously hurt or worse. I saw him standing around while the ambulance was scraping me off the asphalt and he looked fine - for which I am very thankful. Me? A Collapsed lung and a couple of broken ribs and a cracked helmet (thank you Bell).

:eek: :eek:

Wow... thoughts being sent your way for quick healing, genedoc!

So sorry Genedoc! :( Hope yo get better quickly and back on your bike soon.

yikes.......hope you recover quickly! The collision could have been worse.

Holy crap. Sorry man. Heal up fast.

Wow...sorry to hear!
Heal up quick!

wow
Very sorry to hear that...
Heal up fast!!!

:eek: That's awful and I'm sorry YOU got injured. I don't wish the kid injured, but I do wish he had been busted and his parents made aware (which was certainly not your responsibility while being taken away in an ambulance). I hope you recover soon. :o

OUCH! :eek: :(

Wishing you a speedy recovery!

Good reflexes.

Get well soon.

How's the bike?
Where are the pics?

C'mon...you were all thinking it.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

I had a similar accident in the early 90's... I was riding with a group in the evening during the week along the Strand in Manhatten Beach. Speed was probably low 20's. A small child was playing in the sand and decided to get up and cross over to the other side. His mom was napping and didn't see him. I was the third in a paceline. The first rider missed him the second called out but passed by . He was right in front of me. I had two options - hit him and most likely kill him or aim for the sand and lay my bike down (otherwise I would have flipped over hte bars which I didn't want to do) which is what I did. Broke my left hip and wrist. As I laid there in pain, his mother gathered him up and never said a word to me. Of course at the time one was my friends was busy yelling at her... oh well stuff happens!

I pray you heal soon. Give it at least a week before returning to your bike. You know, rest and take care.

Things like this should not happen but it does. I had my incursion couple weeks ago but came away relatively unscathed. Hope you heal up quickly.

Glad the kid is alright, hope you heal quickly. No good deed goes unpunished, eh?

A 13 or 14 year old should know better. I'm sorry about the accident, doc, but I just hope the kid wasn't intentionally messing with you.

I hope you recover quickly and smoothly.

Yikes! Heal quick.

Am I the only one who thinks 20+ on a multi-use trail is too fast? My feeling is save the speedwork for the road. Too many kids, dogs, big wheels, etc. on a MUT.

Really sorry to hear about your incident, genedoc. Hope you heal fast and well.

Jim

Best wishes, and a speedy recovery

Am I the only one who thinks 20+ on a multi-use trail is too fast? My feeling is save the speedwork for the road. Too many kids, dogs, big wheels, etc. on a MUT.

Really sorry to hear about your incident, genedoc. Hope you heal fast and well.

Jim


You may be right. It's only a short piece of my ride and there's usually plenty of room on the dam and I've never had a close call before and always go slower when it is crowded, but I can tell you this - if I had hit that kid head on and killed him, I would feel a lot worse than I do right now. I am very glad I took the hit and not the kid. There are some things you just don't want to have to live with - whether you're in the right or not.


Thanks for the well wishes!

you should have plowed right over him. :rolleyes:

you were going too fast and he was asking for it. i would have at least given him a forearm to the face.

you should have plowed right over him. :rolleyes:

i would have at least given him a forearm to the face.


:beer: :beer:


It seems far too often when a rider tries to be courteous and warn others of their proximity that it ends up back firing into disaster or close to it.

next time hit him. but gentle like.

Glad that you'll be okay :)

I hope you heal quickly. I hate to be a prude, but why didn't you slow down as you approached him? I never assume people hear me coming up behind them even when I announce that I'm coming. I just don't trust people, especially 13-14 yo kids.

That's it - as it happened in my backyard, I'm heading out there tomorrow and finding this punk that caused such injury to my comrade . . . :mad:

All kidding (sorta) aside, just glad that you are alive and kicking, and hope that you heal up fast!!

Am I the only one who thinks 20+ on a multi-use trail is too fast?

Jim
yes

Sorry to hear about that, I am glad you are both going relatively okay. I am sure if you had hit him a lawsuit would be in the works.

Am I the only one who thinks 20+ on a multi-use trail is too fast? My feeling is save the speedwork for the road. Too many kids, dogs, big wheels, etc. on a MUT.

Really sorry to hear about your incident, genedoc. Hope you heal fast and well.

Jim

Depends... (no, not the diapers)

I think you have to expect the unexpected. If you're moving too fast to avoid people's stupidity, you're at least partially responsible for anything that happens. Now, of course, we all know stupidity seems to move at the speed of light sometimes, so some accidents are unavoidable.

I spend alot of time on MUPs, and even when they're marked "Bike Path", there's no shortage of both peds and cyclists that seem to be in HUA mode. My rule of thumb: slow down around people, for your own sake, if not theirs.

Or, just use them as pylons on your own personal moving slalom course, and hope for the best! I've found the little old ladies walking two and three abreast work great as "gates" on your run.

;)

Heal up well!

Get well soon.