I was trading emails with an old client this morning who was seriously injured in a mountain bike accident some time ago. To the extent that anyone can ever “recover,” he has recovered. But it was a long process.
I’ve written on cycling and bicycle safety on ScottsdaleTrails before [Cyclical Conflict]. I know of several cyclists who have been seriously injured or killed by aggressive or inattentive drivers.
I do a lot of cycling and I’ve been hit a couple of times. But with no serious injuries, I’ve been lucky.
The last one friction-burned the skin off the lateral malleolus (bump on outside of ankle) where the car’s plastic bumper hit me as I went by at about 40 mph. Another inch or two of forward motion from the driver (I yelled as he turned left in front of me) and I’d have been in really bad shape. Over the top of the car and into the rocky ditch on the way down the hill.
I was biking yesterday, stopped at a light. A cyclist passed me from behind and shouted a friendly greeting as he turned to the right onto the cross street.
I was studying his bike rack to figure out why he had what looked to be a mannequin leg strapped to it. Then I realized it was a prosthetic and he was hauling ass (no pun intended), pedaling with just one leg!
I guess I should stop complaining about pretty much everything I complain about, and as they say, just get out there and do it…safely and carefully, though.