Another lesson, quick on the heels of the last

[Comike14]

Hey all,
OK, so my luck finally ran out.

I was in a one-lane traffic circle behind another car, when another car entered the circle going the wrong way. The lady in front of me slammed on her brakes, and I slammed on mine. Of course, being in a tight circle I was leaning and therefore lost complete control (the tightness of the curve didn't allow the distance for me to straighten up). I wasn't going too fast, nor was I following too closely, but the physics of the situation made for an unfortunate scene.

My bike started going down, and all went slow motion. I saw the rear of the car in front of me approaching, and realized that I simply could NOT be on my bike at impact. Just as my left peg was scraping and the bike was spinning counter-clockwise, I jumped off and flew over the trunk of the car. I could hear my bike scraping and sliding. I vaulted over her car, and ended up landing on the road near the front passenger-side tire of the car in front of me, face to face with the lady from the wrong direction.

When I landed, I instinctively put my hands out (I didn't roll like I should have) and managed to sprain both wrists, and tear some muscles in my biceps and pecs, which absorbed most of the impact. This happened last Wednesday, and I'm still in pretty severe pain. My poor bike slid almost completely under the car, and the appraiser totaled it out yesterday. Today, a salvage yard is picking it up. It breaks my heart.

I've decided to throw in the towel for now. I'm lucky to be alive. Had I stayed with the bike, I would definitely have broken something, if not been killed. As it was, thanks to quick thinking, all my gear, and a lot of God, I broke nothing and lost no blood.

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So, what did I learn?

Again, all the gear all the time. The Kevlar gloves saved me from skin grafts on my hands. The Kevlar itself was worn down to mere threads, but my skin remained intact. My triple-layered jeans did the same for my legs, the armored jacket for my torso, and obviously the full-faced helmet for my noggin. Always, always wear all the gear.

Never grow complacent. No matter how well you can handle a bike, you never know when someone will do something that will require your FULL attention. I was riding into work that morning with the same attitude that I drive a car. That is, I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have, and I didn't allow enough room in the circle to avoid what happened. A car would have been fine, but not so on the bike. Obviously it could have been avoided if the lady didn't go the wrong way in the circle, but it also could have been avoided had I ridden more safely.
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I am lucky I wasn't more seriously injured, and I'm lucky to be alive. Don't let this scare you or discourage you. Just please take my experience and apply it to your riding so you can avoid such accidents.

Again, I'm throwing in the towel, at least for a while. Take care all.

BTW, for the curious, I wasn't charged with anything, but the wrong-way lady ran off and police never caught her. The case is now closed.