aerobat

Here's a variation on the "man bites dog story". I didn't get hit by a car, but hit one myself. I had help though. The guy made a left turn from the oncoming lane right in front of me. I tried to brake, of course, and managed to slow down enough that I hit his rear fender as he was crossing my lane. I ended up flat on my back in the middle of the street and the **** took off and was never seen again. Fortunately I got away with only minor scrapes and bruises, lucky for me I have some padding. I said I ended up on my back but it was really lower down. My bike wasn't seriously damaged, either. I had to straighten the bars out, not bent, just rotated a bit on the stem, and oddly enough the rear wheel came out of the dropout. I learned a couple of things from this. The first is to really drive defensively. I keep thinking I might have avoided the whole thing if I had been a little more vigilant. Another thing is I was riding my road bike, which I'm still getting used to, if on my hybrid or MTB, I might have been able to slow down quicker. The other thing is to check over your bike over very carefully before you ride off, even if it appears to be OK. I didn't notice the rear wheel was loose right away, as it seemed to ride alright, but only after a couple of blocks it started to drag and I had to stop. That could have caused another accident. Oh well, live and learn, lucky again!
:angel:
By the way, a couple of motorists stopped and asked me if I was OK, and one guy even tried to follow the culprit and (unsuccessfully) get his plate number. That restores your faith in human nature.

Hunter

Wow man sorry to hear that! It is good that some people stopped. Where I am from no one stops for nothing. I had a similar experience once but was on my MTB and hit the rear of a car as he pulled out. Fortunately for me it was a plastic rear end. I did mooe damage to the car then he did to me. Of course his story was I did not see you.

MichaelW

I managed to hit a car that was stopped at a traffic light !
I was 15 yrs old, and riding my racer "In the zone". I stopped at the temp lights behind the car. The lights went green, I went, but the car didnt move. I bent my forks.

After any crash, you should suspect bent or weakened components. 6 months after another spill, I found a crack in my brake levers. I jerked them hard to test, and managed to snap the metal.
A cracked handle bar is a tricky one to get out of, since you cant brake effectively. Bent cranks are bad news to your knees, and a cracked crank can leave you sitting on the top tube.

LittleBigMan

I am so glad you're o.k., Aerobat! Some drivers can be too impatient either to look for us or if they see us, to yield.

Quote:

By the way, a couple of motorists stopped and asked me if I was OK, and one guy even tried to follow the culprit and (unsuccessfully) get his plate number. That restores your faith in human nature.

Sure does!