They are predicting stiff winds this afternoon, but they should be a tail wind so I road in today. Eighteen miles with a 10-12 mph wind in my face was more difficult than I thought it would be. I dropped 3mph to an all time low average speed this morning.

Mark

Someone should steal that guy's webcam. Sorry about the bike, but there's no need to document all of your rationalizations in the greiving process for the world to see.

/I'm feeling a bit snarky this morning, sorry

Usually I bike w/ 6 yr old to his school in minimal clothing and add more as I think I need when it's time to leave there. Today when it was time to leave there it was clear that it was time to fix my rear inner tube, so I went home, did that, decided to continue to skip jacket/tights. No real big deal at ride in time but it was in the 30s apparently which explains why it felt brisker than usual. But it was sunny baby! Or, at least bright reflecting off the cloudcover.

It seems it is more a matter of others being able to relate ... it is the wonder of video and what can be done with it. To share a thought for a person who is more visually aware ... regardless if a select few interpret it as pointless ... there are many who can relate. Should leave some feedback on the video there.

WINDY!

As posted in the mountain forum:
-----------------------------------
On my ride commute home I was riding in the bike lane on Franklin heading north approaching Wash Park next to the school. A motorist pulled up next to me and took a right with me occupying the bike lane.
Suffice to say I went flying.

The end result was an ambulance ride to Denver Health and I met a few nice paramedics, nurses, and doctors. I was impressed with Denver Health.

Anyhow, my damage is as follows:
1) Left knee was opened to the fluid sacs the entire width of said knee. I have quite a few stitches.
Strangely enough, that does not hurt. If it does not hurt I am going to be worried.
2) Small road road rash on my right knee
3) Both palms are bruised badly. Thank goodness for gloves.
4) The small bone in my right arm is broken at the elbow. That is the one that hurts like a crazy.

It could have been much worse. At least my melon was unhurt.

Obviously, my century ride is canceled.

As for my fixed gear:
The car was parked on top of my front wheel. It is toast. My fork and the rest of the bike will need to be expected. That and my leg warmers are done for.
Once again, thank goodness it was not worse.

This incident threw my family for a loop. I have to seriously consider if I will restart commuting after I heal.
Knowing how stubborn I am, I expect eventually I will start riding to work again.

Jebus, DataJunkie! Thank God you're alive! A blatant right-hook? Not to be vindictive--ok, I'll be vindictive!--but I hope they nail the driver's hide to a wall.

re: deciding to continue commuting. I've been hit twice--never injured as badly as you, thank God again--and now ride telling myself that statistically I'm already dead so why not keep riding? Besides, I'd rather be killed doing something I love than die doing something I hate.

Yes, thank goodness you're alive and relatively well.

DJ has more loves than just bike commuting. He also loves his family. Though he could have been hurt just as bad or worse in a car, it's still going to be hard on them seeing him leave for work on the bike for quite some time.

It's a situation I wouldn't like to be in even if you leave out the injurys. Obviously your family is more important than your bike in the "grand scheme" but part of you is your bike riding. From previous posts I can tell that your wife may not be happy with every bike related purchase, but she's not totally against you riding. That may or may not change. I'm sure right now she's just happy to still have you. Since it's going to be a while before you're able to anyway, don't bring it up for a little while.

And in the worst case, there's something magic about a father and a child riding around the park. I'm sure you'll still have that even if you do put off commuting for a good long time. Lay low for a while, take it easy, feel better and enjoy the love of your family. the rest will fall into place in time.

Wow, DJ. Glad to hear that you're alive. It could have been much, much worse.

My ride was uneventful and for that I am grateful.

Damn, Data! Here's hoping you heal well.

Get better first; the other stuff will sort itself out...

No right hooks here, thank goodness. Just a very nasty headwind on the way in, which I hope will become a ferocious tailwind on the way home.

Damn! Glad you're okay, DJ. Hope you heal up quickly; keep us posted!

Thank you everyone.
Y'all are a wonderful group of people. I swear I will be less argumentative. Especially with the pain meds.


I am more freaked out about how my family is taking it. Been trying to calm down my mother since it happened.
I keep telling them worse things happen to motorists in car collisions everyday.

Most right hooks I have been able to avoid due to the fact that the driver does it in front of me. Not parallel to me. Anyhow, I think I will forgo the bike lane and justify myself more further to the left on the streets from now on.

I will be back after I heal. It may just be the 10 mile all trail version until I get my confidence back.
I expect I will be investing in additional safety gear to make myself feel better. Though I doubt any would have helped in this situation.

My commuting week in review (this after returning from a great 1 week honeymoon in AZ.): Monday: still jetlagged, too tired to ride, drive in and pay $20, Tuesday: mediocre ride in, headwind and 4 flats on ride home, ran out of tubes/patches wouldn't hold, no one to pick me up, walk remaining 2 miles or so home, Wednesday: nearly hit by car in parking deck (my fault) otherwise uneventful ride home in pooring rain, and Thursday: wind gusts nearing 40 mph, long, arduous ride in but successful. We'll see what today's ride home and Friday's ride (s) bring, I'm not holding my breath.

I guess it's payback for the incredible day of mountain biking I had in Sedona.

Sorry to hear about your accident, DJ. I don't feel so bad now about not having any bike lanes where I live.

I was dreading my commute this morning because the wind was howling and the temperature dropped 10 degrees from 5:30 am to 6:30 am. However, it turned out to be a great ride because the wind was at my back about 80% of the ride. My legs were tired, so I took it easy but still had a faster-than-average commute time.

Not too cold coming in this morning, but windy. It looks like it's shaping up to be even worse tonight; I rode from one site to another around 1pm, and the crosswinds were pretty bad.

On ride home yesterday, I was climbing a hill coming up to an intersection. Oncoming car making a left turn stopped. The sun was glaring off the front windshield so I glanced away. Next thing I saw he had turned in front of me just missing me, I ended up clipping his rear fender. He didn't stop.

No damage here, but I'm sure my studded tires left a mark. First time I actually made contact with a moving vehicle.

This was on what I consider the safest part of my ride. Can't let guard down for a second.

First day I've commuted this year. Also commuted on my new fixed-gear. The Williamsburg bridge wasn't as hard to pedal up as I had expected. Other than that, a relatively peaceful commute except for when traffic gets clogged near the end of Delancey St.

glad to hear you're still with us DJ. Take care of yourself.

Strong headwind in this afternoon for most of my ride so if the wind is still around when I leave late tonight I should have a good tailwind.

No matter which directions I traveled I always seemed to be going against the wind...

N.

https://badhuman.wordpress.com

40F, light rain in the AM, snow squalls and wind in the PM.

The rail trail was an epic adventure today. Snow fields, ice sheets, coal mush, and 6-10" of flowing water in sections.

I was going to complain about my two flats today, but after reading DataJunkies post I think I'm quite fine with changing a flat or two after all. Hope you mend OK and get back in the saddle soon.

Geeze DataJunkie!

Is it the radial head you broke? I broke that riding last May. It took me a coupe of months to regain full range of motion, but even now, I still feel weekness/pain at certain angles and activity levels.

Best of luck on your recovery!

DJ glad you are doing well ... that can be a much more serious situation. Good to also know that you still will ride ... that says alot. Hope you get better soon and back on the roads and trails. Good idea to be more defensive in your riding though. Been trying to get that through to my little brother. He is getting it but it takes time. As far as the commute goes , good weather nice ride not to many complaints. Had to practice my own bit of defensive riding though as along the route I follow there are some tough intersections having to travel over 3 other lanes just to get to the turning lane on a busy road.

Get well soon DJ. That was nasty. It's never nice to hear of someone being in a stack, especially a nasty one involving a car.

Staying out of bike lanes I think is a good idea. I never use them in Sydney; I've yet to see one of the 'painted on the side of the road' type that was safe to use.

I got buzzed very close by an SUV yesterday, so was reminded how vulnerable we are on our bikes out there. It wasn't safe to overtake (narrow 1 lane each way road on a bend), I had the lane, but she just went past me, deliberately moving in towards me as she went. I had to go well into the door zone to avoid being hit, and even then there was inches between my shoulder and her mirror. I screamed out as she went past.

The stupid thing is there is a roundabout about 200 metres further on where thee is always traffic. After she went past I was so mad I decided to catch up and perhaps calmly ask her if she realised her behaviour had put the life of a fellow human being in danger. I started sprinting, and was catching her up. I just reached her at the roundabout, and there was a lot of traffic about so she really needed to stop. She didn't stop though! Just pulled onto the roundabout without pausing, causing other cars to take evasive action. I'm not sure if she was just a very inconsiderate driver, or was so scared of me coming up on her tail she decided not to stop!