mad mike

i've taken to riding very late in the evening since its so hot in the ohio valley these days... 106 heat index here today...

i start about 8:00 pm and go until its too dark to see well with the lighting i have on the bike... and to be seen...

well tonite, i extended it a little too far... i was at 15 miles and wanted more...

and as i was going over a hill, i don't know what speed, but when i've been over this hill in the daytime, i'm usually hitting a bit over 20 mph... tonite, i was feeling pretty good, and was pushing a little harder...

a vehicle came up behind me with brights on...

well, i couldn't see very well and i guess i got a little too far to the edge and dropped off the pavement into a really weedy ditch... my front wheel came to a sudden stop and, well you know the rest...

it was dark and i tried to tuck, and almost made it... i knew i was going face first, so i tried to roll over on my side and hit my shoulder and neck and continue to roll out of it... didn't work quite that way...

i wound up digging a goodly amount of turf with the front left corner of my helmet and my left eyebrow...
a trip to the emergency room, 5 or 6 stitches, a lower back xray, and a chest xray as i was in pain in both areas... a lortab prescription, several new friends in the emergency room crew, and back home, showered, medicated, icepacked and ready for bed....

its gonna be a shiner and my rib cage is raging... nothings broken, just really sore...

as an earlier post said "ALWAYS WEAR YOUR HELMET!!!" i looked at the helmet, you should see the dirt and gravel on it... that woulda been in my skull... worst thing though... the impact of the ground on the helmet caused it to rub the skin off my forehead all the way across, mostly... thats gonna be pretty too when it scabs over...

and i start school tuesday!!! my students are going to have a good time with me on this heehee... not to mention the staff, and my neighbors, and my good buddies that will holler "i tolja you'd putcher eye out!!!"

feels like the meds taking hold...

seey'all

ps... i haven't had a chance to look at the bike, but i did see the front wheel was ruined... i'll look at it in the morning... it wouldn't roll, so i called my wife to bring the pickup and get me... i was only a couple of miles from the house... turns out i couldn't have rolled it anyway, back and ribs are too sore...

bye agin...

PDXJeff

Good times, get well soon.

(51)

Sorry about that crash.

Was there a bike lane? Did the car run too close to you?

I use a rear view mirror. If it looks like the vehicle is going to cut it close, I pull over, or stop. I got sideswiped once. That was enough.

Neil_B

Sorry to read of the accident. I hope you have a swift and complete recovery. Next time take the lane!

solveg

So did the car stop and help you? Or did this happen after it passed you?

mad mike

i moved over to the right edge of the road as the car was passing... in the dark, i don't suppose he knew i'd crashed... he kept going... its all a blur...

seeya....

solveg

I thought about you tonight all during my ride.

I live in a crazy area where all the main north south streets are very* busy. In between these street, there are dead end parks and lakes and maze like roads of houses. Oh, and it's got 2 major freeways as borders, so you have nasty freeway bridges to go over.

Anyway, I've been really busy at work, but I wanted to get in at least a short ride today. Unfortunately, it was something like 94 with 65 humidity today. So I went at night. It was lovely. But with the 35W bridge down, the semis are finding new routes, which coincide with these roads. I hate getting too close to those things, even in my car.

I had a blinkie on the back, reflectors on each ankle, and a hub-generated light. I took the lane when I had to. I was proud. I was thinking of you every mile of the ride.

Until my chain fell off. Hub generated lights are no good for seeing where your chain is.

And then, the last two miles, my little pedal tick came back. 10 miles since it was fixed. I'm going to a different LBS tomorrow that uses a torque wrench. Then if it comes loose again, I'll just get another.

mirage1

Ouch! And oh yeah, your students are going to have fun with that. "How'd you do THAT to yourself?" "I fell off my bike."

Seamus

Glad to hear you were able to minimize the damage to yourself, and the helmet did its job. May I suggest a new helmet and an HID light? 'spensive, but worth every penny if you're going to do much night riding. I'm a fan of Light and Motion, myself.

Jim

mad mike

thanks guys for thinking about me... i appreciate it... gives me a warm, fuzzy... as they say in the psych classes...

yah... they are going to tease me, the students, i mean... i'm all the time teasing them about their broken arms and such... like "i toldja not to try and kiss that girl (boy)!! now see what she did to your arm!!!"

i've already thought about that... i think i'm going to let them try to guess... and see what they come up with... that'll be fun... only thing is though... one of my former students mother was the RN at the emergency room i went to... even though she's not going to be my student this year, she's still in the building... so word will spread...

as for the new helmet... it is cracked right above the left eye, so i plan to get one JUST LIKE IT when my bike gets out of the shop... i took it in this morning... and after a very brief scan, the mechanic says it looks like its in good shape, except for the front wheel and maybe the handlebar... the wheel was pretty much mangled, but the bar he's going to have to look it over closer...

should be ready the middle of next week... i'm adding some REAL LIGHTING... he showed me some lights today that he says are so bright that if they're not dimmed when cars approach, they will flash theirs to remind you to... and i want a BIG STROBE on the back...

and i will.... TAKE THE LANE... the next time i'm out... i learned my lesson on that...

we went back out to the crash site on the way to the bike shop and looked it over... the shoulder of the road is really deceiving... you can't see the ditch cuz the grass is cut even with the road... which, by the way is a sudden drop off of 3 to 4 inches to the grass... and only about 4" of shoulder, then a 2' ditch.... with a high bank on the other side...

so what i did, was drop off the 3 ro 4 inches from the pavement onto the shoulder and then my front wheel slid down into the ditch and hit the embankment on the other side... i rolled (or tried to roll) off the left side of the bike and because of the bank, i couldn't complete my roll and scraped my head/face on the bank on my way down into the ditch... raking the left rib cage over the handlebars and wrenching my back... i guess who really knows...???

from the looks of the helmet, at the holes, the cracks, gouges, and dents... if i hadn't had it on, i'd left a goodly piece of my head and face in that ditch... i'm thankful i conceded to wearing it against my will... now i won't EVER ride without one!!! i'm taking it to school and hanging it up on the wall in my room to help motivate the kids into wearing one...

i talked to an D.O. today about my left eye... my vision is somewhat blurry and the bottom half of the white is really red... he says give it a week and if its not back, we'll have to look for problems...

so i'm not completely out of the rough yet...

i plan to be back in the saddle on my one speed as soon as my back and ribs quit being so sore... and i get to quit taking the pain killers... i'm not sure i could ride straight today... i'm pretty groggy...

i don't understand why people want these... i feel stupid enuff sober... and i'm really stupid with this stuff in my body... but it really does kill the pain... i tried to do without it this morning and couldn't move without hurting badly in my lower back...

seey'all....