Interesting experiences here re crashing and moving on.

I don't get emotional about bikes generally but after I broke my back I found that much of my trauma and healing were strongly connected to the bikes and riding. I kept the bike that broke me, (as well as the helmet that saved me) and for a while I couldn't even look at it without having a breakdown. I HAD to ride that bike again, it had become an important part of my healing. I sold that bike soon after, but painted my next one the very same colour, faced my trauma head on, had a few real tough rides and crashes, and am back to loving being on a mountain bike, just no big air.

I can see why one would want to ditch something that's so connected to a trauma, a la robatsu. I wonder if that would have been easier on me of if I would have taken longer to "let go". Hmmm.

OP: sounds like everyone's covered things, i would fix it if you're attached to it, buy a new to you bike if you're not. Keep the stuff off this one that you like and sell/trash/give away the rest.

When my dog died, it sucked. I have his ashes in a pretty box on a shelf by the fireplace next to his collar and tags.

Now I have a new dog, she's great and life is good.

There's another bike out there that needs you.

Get another bike. It won't be the same, but it is not suppose to be.

Glad you are ok.

I'm glad you didn't get seriously injured, and sorry this happened to you. My wife was involved in an accident on a bike trail and suffered a concussion and short term (6 hours) memory loss/amnesia. At 10mph her helmet saved her life.

I never ride on a bike trail, too many idiots, kids, animals, etc...make it way too risky, I go out of my way to avoid them. My wife finally realizes it's much safe on the road.

I've also noticed that vintage steel bikes don't hold up well to crashes. 8mph? Carbon or aluminum bikes would certainly hold up.

You also need to re-think your route, your just asking for trouble riding over pedestrian bridges and sidewalks..Most of the time it's most safe to ride with traffic.

To the OP......I have a Schwinn Traveler that I am also quite fond of......I completely understand your pain.

Glad you're ok.

And I agree with DiabloScott......if the frame is bent and the bike isn't salvageable, start watching CL, and looking at garage sales and such......there will be another decent bike out there that needs ya.

glad you're ok.

i think i still have pavement embedded in my palms from a wreck late on the 4th.
and i was almost home.
but that curb came outta nowhere!
ah it was a great night...
trued the front rim; bent my eyeglasses back in shape.
even touched up the paint.
that steel frame is like a tank.
it does still hurt a bit when i laugh.
and breathe.
yeah, drunk 3am riding is great fun... to a point.

Thank you all for your feedback. Thanks Pasterbob for his generous offer of a replacement fork.
You made valid points. I am again glad to be able to walk away from the accident, and have made peace with the destruction of the bike. In some sense the bike served its purpose. It was my daily rider. It got sacrificed and saved my more valuable and dear to me bikes, like the Centurion fiber that I got from Robbietune (thank you Rob) and the Legnano that cudak888 (much gratitude Kurt) helped me fix, which I bought in my father’s memory. It also cements in my mind the value of a beater bike for every day use.
The only special feature about this bike was being the largest frame (63cm) in the stable. I found it to be the most comfortable for tooling around. My other bikes span the size from 56-60 cm. I find the 56 cm not rideable and have been trading them. The 58s are barely ok at maximum post height with aggressive riding position.
Kurt and others have sharp eyes pointed that the frame also maybe tweaked. That was not my original assessment but it made me look again. The top tube is still straight no wrinkle, cracked paint and bulging. I put a straight edge on it and it was straight all the way to the lug. The odd thing is the same is not true for the down tube. When I put a straight edge on it, I was able to see a light from a tiny gap estimated at a few mils. The paint is not cracked, but I can barely feel a small bump in the frame under the lug. So the frame was affected by the crash.
My plan is two fold. Start looking for a larger frame bike on CL or ebay. I will use this bike as the donor eventually. Till I find that large frame, I will fix this bike by replacing the wheel and fork. This will give me a beater bike again for the short term.
Back to observation that Al and Carbon bikes fair better in crashes, it seem to agree with my single data point. We may have to accept that part of what gives steel bikes a comfortable ride is a trade off in the stiffness and strength of the frame. It also seem to make them safer overall in a crash as the bike acts as a crumple zone and absorbs some of the impacted energy that would otherwise be solely absorbed by the rider.
I learned a lot from this incident and from this post.
Thank you all again.