Originally Posted by
DataJunkie
Thanks valygrl. What happened with your hit? Did it take a long time to get comfortable again?
I think when I return I am going to pick up a mirror for commutes.
Oh and I forgot to mention that I was hit hard enough that my shoes unclipped and flew off my feet. That fact amuses me greatly. lol
Ugh. One of my shoes (Shimano SPD Sandal) stayed attached to the pedal, but the upper sheared halfway off the sole. I pretty much only had a head injury - everything else was very minor. The concussion was pretty bad, though, I was out for a while, and got helicoptered to the ER.
The mirror is a good thing.
http://www.rei.com/product/736839 this one has great visibility, doesn't interfere with any hand position (although you do want gloves), and takes about 1 second to install/remove, with no permanent hardware.
It took me a while to be comfortable with any sort of traffic. I just felt scared for a few months. For a while, I just rode by myself, so that any weirdness I was feeling wasn't imposed on other people, and so I could have total control of my riding position on the street - with others sometimes I had to do things to keep with the group that i didn't want to do, like roll thru yellow lights. I still look behind me a lot more, and take evasive action very proactively. I use big arm waves to make sure people about to pull out of driveways/side streets see me. I try really hard not to ride next to cars when there are driveways - I'll sacrifice my momentum to keep out of the right-hook zone. I don't do the thing I was doing when I got hit, which was making a left turn across a big road, I stood in the middle two-way turn lane (the suicide lane, haha) waiting for the 2nd side of the road to clear). Also, when I got hit, I was wearing all black. I was riding a touring bike with panniers, so I would have thought I was visible - almost as big as a motorcycle! - but apparently not. SO I don't wear all black anymore.
I have always been a pretty cautious rider, now even more so. But I'm mostly settled down. I think it took about a year, for me.
Busy streets with lots of parking lots are the worst - sounds like you got caught by the classic 'right-hook' which is obviously one of the big hazards of that type of street. Maybe you could find a longer/safer way to work?
Anyway, take care of your injuries, you'll be back in the saddle soon. My reaction probably doesn't have anything to do with what you feel - just let yourself work through it and be patient with yourself and your family, who are traumatized too.
take care...