18.11.06

My Thursday night commute.....hit by car!

I never thought my first accident on my bike would be this severe. Most of my worries have been if/when is my tire going to slide out from under me? Since it has rained almost everyday in the last 15 or so, you could understand my concern. Well, this Thursday after work I'm heading north on 2nd Steet for the Burnside Bridge which will take me to the eastside. I'm moving at a good pace and just getting to the Ash Street intersection on 2nd, ming you it's twilight but I do already have my front light on just in case. That's when a Lexus pulls out right in front of me as it is trying to bisect 2nd while on Ash. I had what seemed like 3 - 4 options go through my mind in what could have only been maybe 1.5 seconds. It seemed like it was in slow motion, but in fact happened all rather fast like. I turned my bike just slightly in the direction that his car was going and them SLAM! My bike and myself impact his passenger side door at about 15mph, his pace was about the same or a bit faster. The left side of my body must have gotten the majority of the initial impact, because it hurts like hell with some muscle loss and lack of movement in my left arm. From the point of impact I proceeded to roll up onto the top of his car, this causes me to spin head over back in a spirraling motion due to the momentum of his car. I fall to the street landing on my back. I must have used my elbows to brace myself beacause there swollen and have some roadburn. Thankfully I ride with a helmet, because my head smacked the ground pretty hard as well as my hips. Almost instantly there were about 20 people running up to see if I was alright, thankfully there was a firetruck driving down 2nd street just a moment after it happened. So as I laid in the street the firemen checked all my vitals and then had me move over to the sidewalk. Nothing was broken, and for the most part I felt fine so we filed a quick report, I exchanged my information with the guy who hit me, and it was all over. I'm standing on the corner with a bike that had the rear wheel blown off, and the front steering turned at 90 degrees, no brakes and one tire that wobbles really bad, so I walked it back to work. I then walked instead of driving to Borders (which is a few blocks from my work) to get Anne from work. We had a nice bus ride home that evening, and she has taken care of me every since the accident. I think she's pretty damn awesome to say the very least. Anyway, I feel pretty good for getting hot by a frigging car. I hope Mondays bike ride into work on Monday goes better. If I get home Monday night and I havent been hit, we will call it a success. Ciao

6 comments:

Anne and Mike said...

just try not to get hit by any more cars in the next few weeks, otherwise i think i might have a heart attack. seriously babe, it's just not cool--no matter what those bike messengers tell you!

luckily, this ordeal has only cost us: 1 bike helmet (it must be replaced after an impact, even though it appears to be fine), $22 in bike repairs, and a large part of my sanity.

love, annie

p.s. mike, i'm blaming you if this causes my hair to go grey.

Stacey said...

I'm glad you are okay! No more getting hit by cars & freaking Anne out.

Anne and Mike said...

exactly. it was just far too terrifying for me. plus, mike was a little spooked too.

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad that you are okay.

Anonymous said...

Mike. Mike. Heather told me about your accident. No disrespect to Heather, but I really feel much closer to your misfortune after reading your entry. Lexus drivers should be made to pay into a natl. fund in support of all the alternative transportees. Let's call it the 8-cylinder fund. Yeah, and if you have a 6-cylinder, you pay 25% less. And if you have a Jaguar, you'll have to submit afadavits proving you're not a douche. (I must say though, that in the entire history of "8-cylinder", no Jaguar driver has ever been able to prove that) I hope you're alright Mike. I'm pulling (and peddling) for you. Love, Tom

Anne and Mike said...

Thomas, I like your idea on the 8-cylinder fund. In this town just the idea of an 6 or 8 cylinder fund will be a reality in a matter of weeks. We could have a street carnival with some kooky musicians playing and all sorts of great food. And the thing is, people would come and it would ge a goood time. The 8 cylinder fund, I'm running with this one Thomas. I'm feeling pretty alright though, some crazy arm pain still but good for the most part. According to my bike messenger friends, "my cherry has been popped" so I guess this will be the first in many car on bicyclist accidents. I may not be as kind on the next one though. I say good day!