So… I got hit by a car. Incidentally, I got hit by a car of the same make, model, AND color as the car I drive—a green Chrysler Intrepid. Wtf.
Picture this, a month into my return to Regina I settled into a nice comfortable workout routine where I would lift on Mon, Weds, Fri and run cardio on Tues, Thurs, and Sats. For extra cardio on my lift days I would bike to and from the gym.
On June 15, approximately at 7:00 pm, I was heading south on Winnipeg and Dewdney. I looked up and the cross walk at the intersection was blinking the walking sign. I looked to my left, the oncoming car was slowing down. So I proceeded into the intersection on my bike. The driver, intending to turn right, is aware of the red light but not aware of me, sees a opening and guns it. The car slams into me and my beautiful Gary Fisher Tiburion bike which I had just purchased 3 weeks prior to the incident.
If TSN was analyzing this accident, they would freeze frame the exact point of impact. Ultra dramatic slow motion replays would show that for the briefiests of micro-seconds I was in mid air, as the Intrepids bumper makes contact with my front tire… turning its once perfect circular form into a mis-shapened U. The bumper of the car forces my knee into my bike frame which forces the bike frame into my right shin.
My body flops on the hood while my bike and my legs are still entangled. I slide off and instinctively use my hands to shield the blow. My hands hit the pavement and haphazardly I roll through the fall. I relax and lie flat on my back. I look to the right to notice that his tire is a few feet from my head. I can see the handle bars of my bike just inches from my feet. As I look to the right I feel comforted that my body and my bike lying in front of his car as well as that pesky red light is preventing him from escaping the scene.
I look up at the blue sky, while my helmet is propping my head just above the pavement and utter in both pain and disapproval… “Shit”
I get up to assess the damage. My bike looks mangled but in reality only the bike fork and tire sustained any damage. My knee has a peculiar ugly bruise as does the upper thigh of my left leg. My right shin had a welt the size of a large mango, which turned into an unsightly bruise that spanned my entire shin. I still sport the remnants of that bruise now. No broken bones, dislocated shoulders or large lacerations- only a cut up palm and some road rash on my forearm. I literally, walked it off.
The guy gets out asks if i'm okay. Not wanting to disclose any information regarding my injuries, in case I want to sue his ass for everything he's worth, I change the subject by asking, "hows my bike?" I made sure I used a tone that indicated that either he or his insurance will soon be replacing it. He says its fine, then he picks it and realizes that my handle bars are at a 45 degree angle while my front wheel is facing forward. I grab the bike from him to see if the bike can still be ridden... it goes about 4 inches before it completely halts. The wheel is so mis-shapened it permanently rubs against the brakes.
The driver is nice enough to throw my bike in the trunk and give me a ride back home. We exchange info and I go home to bandage myself up.
So i got hit my a car and I lived. Feeling like I just got a second lease on life, I felt like i shouldn't be sitting around wasting my second chance... so i go to the gym.
Picture this, a month into my return to Regina I settled into a nice comfortable workout routine where I would lift on Mon, Weds, Fri and run cardio on Tues, Thurs, and Sats. For extra cardio on my lift days I would bike to and from the gym.
On June 15, approximately at 7:00 pm, I was heading south on Winnipeg and Dewdney. I looked up and the cross walk at the intersection was blinking the walking sign. I looked to my left, the oncoming car was slowing down. So I proceeded into the intersection on my bike. The driver, intending to turn right, is aware of the red light but not aware of me, sees a opening and guns it. The car slams into me and my beautiful Gary Fisher Tiburion bike which I had just purchased 3 weeks prior to the incident.
If TSN was analyzing this accident, they would freeze frame the exact point of impact. Ultra dramatic slow motion replays would show that for the briefiests of micro-seconds I was in mid air, as the Intrepids bumper makes contact with my front tire… turning its once perfect circular form into a mis-shapened U. The bumper of the car forces my knee into my bike frame which forces the bike frame into my right shin.
My body flops on the hood while my bike and my legs are still entangled. I slide off and instinctively use my hands to shield the blow. My hands hit the pavement and haphazardly I roll through the fall. I relax and lie flat on my back. I look to the right to notice that his tire is a few feet from my head. I can see the handle bars of my bike just inches from my feet. As I look to the right I feel comforted that my body and my bike lying in front of his car as well as that pesky red light is preventing him from escaping the scene.
I look up at the blue sky, while my helmet is propping my head just above the pavement and utter in both pain and disapproval… “Shit”
I get up to assess the damage. My bike looks mangled but in reality only the bike fork and tire sustained any damage. My knee has a peculiar ugly bruise as does the upper thigh of my left leg. My right shin had a welt the size of a large mango, which turned into an unsightly bruise that spanned my entire shin. I still sport the remnants of that bruise now. No broken bones, dislocated shoulders or large lacerations- only a cut up palm and some road rash on my forearm. I literally, walked it off.
The guy gets out asks if i'm okay. Not wanting to disclose any information regarding my injuries, in case I want to sue his ass for everything he's worth, I change the subject by asking, "hows my bike?" I made sure I used a tone that indicated that either he or his insurance will soon be replacing it. He says its fine, then he picks it and realizes that my handle bars are at a 45 degree angle while my front wheel is facing forward. I grab the bike from him to see if the bike can still be ridden... it goes about 4 inches before it completely halts. The wheel is so mis-shapened it permanently rubs against the brakes.
The driver is nice enough to throw my bike in the trunk and give me a ride back home. We exchange info and I go home to bandage myself up.
So i got hit my a car and I lived. Feeling like I just got a second lease on life, I felt like i shouldn't be sitting around wasting my second chance... so i go to the gym.
1 comment:
Sheesh, nothing can keep you from the gym, huh? I notice drivers in Regina largely ignore pedestrians. I was hit jogging in front of a car and was almost across the lane and the guy had a stop sign anyway and still hit me.
Very minor though, nothing like your dramatic encounter. I find it sad you basically have to assume everyone behind the wheel could do something stupid at any second - because so very often, they do.
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