bobthib

Well, I'm feeling pretty crappy about now. My buddy, 70, who got me into this sport last March, was sideswiped by a car as he was making a left, 1/2 mile from his home. He sustained a mild concussion, a broken collar bone, and some road rash and bruises. He is currently in the hospital for a few days of observation.

I feel bad because of his accident, but particularly because he asked me to ride with him today. He is training for a marathon, and his trainer wanted him to ride 1 1/2 hrs today.

He's not very fast, and stops often for stretching, gu, etc. I rode with him several times in Dec, but with the recent cold spell here in So Fla, neither of us had ridden since the first of the year. He's diciplined enough to go spinning instead. I on the other hand, found excuses to do other things. So when he called thursday, I told him that if my wife would ride with us, we would take the tandem. She's new to riding, so 1 1/2 hrs at his pace is perfect. And the weather report was 70 deg. Perfect. But I told him that if she didn't ride, I needed a hammer-fest real bad, and that I would join the A ride with the club.

Friday night we got some bad news about my grandson, and my wife decided to not ride today. I called my buddy and left him a message that plans had changed and I was going with the club ride. I also called his wife and left a message with her. He didn't get the messages, and he called me at 7:15 AM to find out where he would meet my wife and me. I told him I was sorry, but that she decided not to go, so I was going out with the club.

While on the ride, we passed him going the other way and we waived. He was about 2 miles from his house at that time. That was probably about 10 or 15 min prior to his accident.

Here is the real rub. If my wife and I had been riding on the Tandem, he would have driven over to our area and he would not have been on that street at that time. Funny how those things work.

The good thing is that he only broke his collar bone, and it was a clean break and it had reset itself. No surgery was needed. Also, it was his left arm. He's right handed. He'll be off the bike for 6 weeks. A real set back to the training schedule. But if he had broken a hip, well that would be a much different story. Thank God for small favors!

10 Wheels

Thanks, praying that he heals quickly.

kimconyc

Your friend if 70 and he will recover from a broken collar bone in 6 weeks?!

Please PM me his DNA sequence please.

He is super fortunate. It could have been way worse.

RT

Best wishes for a quick recovery.

Flatballer

"Your message is too long, please shorten it and try again."

RichinPeoria

hope he feels better soon
Riding when he's 70 ... thats great and makes me feel good. I hope I can do that.

Torvidicus

Hope he recovers quickly, and don't feel guilty about missing the ride with him you weren't driving the car.

bretgross

+1!

bobthib

That's what the Dr said. It was a clean break that reseated itself. I told him to have them check his Mg and vit D3 levels and be sure they are high normal. That will help the bone healing process.

Rice923

Don't feel bad about not going on the ride with him. I was in a similar situation as you, except my friend (in a car with someone else) got into a car accident and didn't make it. Had I decided to go with them, I would've drove and the outcome would likely have been different.

There's things that happen beyond our control. It's not your fault. I wish the best for your friend.

Caad 8

So what you're saying is you ditched your 70 year old friend to go ride with other people? I don't want to seem like a downer here but what if he died, your ride together would have saved his life.

rollin

Hope he recovers soon. As to feeling guilty, don't. I doubt that your presence on the ride would have made any difference. You could be lying next to him.

Braden1550

He's obviously feeling bad, unnecessarily. We don't have the ability to say what "would have" happened.

So shaddappa ya face.

I wish him a speedy recovery and hope that he is left with enough time to train for his marathon.

plasticmaam12

Your 70-yr. old riding partner sounds like a trooper. My guess is that he will be fine.

jcpups608

stfu

bigtea

Best wishes for your friend's speedy recovery. Seventy years old...running a marathon? Who is this guy, Jack Lalanne?

Regarding a hip fracture, you are right about that.

rumrunn6

how did get get 'side swiped" making a left turn? is it possible he was at fault and perhaps shouldn't ride solo any more? sometimes I get complacent and lazy about turning my head to look before making moves.

milliron

You didn't hit him, you have nothing to feel guilty about.

Hope your buddy heals fully and quickly.

bhchdh 

May your friend heal well and soon.

Nachoman

I love seeing old people out on bicycles. I hop;e he heals quickly.

txvintage

Best wishes to your friend for a speedy recovery.

I'm betting he would enjoy the company of a visit so he can tell the story.

Reynolds 

You don't know what could have happened if you were with your friend in that ride. Maybe both of you returned home safely, maybe both were involved in a terrible accident.
When I was hit 3 months ago, I was 10 mins late due to a flat. I thought, if I hadn't flatted, that car wouldn't have hit me. But then thought that maybe 10 mins earlier a truck could 've hit me head on (happened to a cyclist not long ago, the truck driver got asleep) and I could be dead.
No sense brooding about "what if" in these cases IMO.

TJClay

Ya you do sound like a downer, or more like dick. It's not bobthibs fault.

coasting 

what a load of hogwash, sanctimonious douchbaggery!

It's not the OPs fault that someone else hits his friend and him being there would not stop the car. way to be sympathetic.

OP, stop beating yourself up. hope your friend gets well quickly. go visit him often if he is incapacitated. people appreciate that when laid up in bed.

Yaniel

sorry to hear about your buddy and hope he recovers quick! but like everyone except the one ****** has been telling you, this isn't your fault at all. We can't predict the future and maybe he would have been hit on another street even if you were with him, you never know. regardless its a bad weekend for south florida, i was riding on key biscayne this morning and the second bridge was closed, get home to find out a cyclist was killed by a driver. Key biscayne is always packed with cyclists on the weekend so you won't be caught off guard by one if you're in a car, plus the entire thing has a bike lane. no excuse for this https://cbs4.com/local/cyclist.bicycl...2.1431731.html