It’s been almost seven weeks since I was hit by a car on my road bike, and ironically, one day after writing a blog post about riding safely during COVID-19. I was following all road cycling laws and safety rules, but unfortunately that wasn’t enough. With the pandemic going on, there’s very little traffic and it seems as though it should be safer. It is not. People are distracted and driving faster, not paying much attention to the solo cyclists or pedestrians outside getting some fresh air. I was trying to get to the bike trails for safer riding and only needed to ride on the bike-friendly 4-lane road for 3/4 of a mile. And that’s when it happened. I was rear-ended by a car. One of my worst nightmares.
What does it feel like?
I don’t think I ever gave any thought to what it would feel like to be hit by a car. There’s really no way to prepare yourself for that moment, especially when you don’t see it coming. I remember a really hard bump and the panicked thought that I had been hit. It’s amazing how many thoughts can go through your head in less than a second. The saying “my life flashed before my eyes” is usually portrayed as you see everything from your past, but for me it was the reality of what was happening, the surreal feeling of wondering if it really was happening, then the OMG moment of contemplating how bad it was going to be. I have no idea how I fell to the ground, I just remember the bump, then being on the pavement. My first thought was about my friend who had been hit, then run over by another car that didn’t see her. I quickly looked behind me and was relieved to see the cars stopping. I was hurt, but I was alive, and hopefully out of additional danger.
The driver stopped and asked if I was okay. As nice of a gesture as it was, I was clearly not okay and asked him to call 9-1-1. A nurse who was in one of the cars behind the one that hit me came over and watched me until the paramedics arrived. I had no idea what my injuries were, but I couldn’t move, and my arm was in a weird position, so I knew it wasn’t good.
I’ll spare you the ER details, but I have a long road to recovery to heal the broken bones, strained muscles, road rash, and bruises. It will be a long time before I can ride again. And yes, I will ride again. I’m not going to allow one inattentive driver to ruin something I love as much as cycling, however this does make careening down jagged rocks on my mountain bike seem a lot safer right now.
What about Strava?
If anyone is wondering if you really think about having someone pause your Strava if you crash, the struggle is real. During the ambulance ride, that did briefly cross my mind. I think it was more about my expensive Wahoo bike computer still attached to my bike. How does this work? Where does my bike go? These are things you never think about. My wonderful friend came and got my bike … uh, pile of bike pieces, so my Wahoo was fine and Strava was still going. As they say, been there. Done that. I guess I’ll need to get the t-shirt.
Adapting to the new reality
What do I mean by the new reality? I mean my new reality as someone who’s been hit by a vehicle and our new reality for this weird world we’re living in now. We are still in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, most of us still required to shelter-in-place, and we have no idea what the future looks like or when we can get on with our daily routines. No one knows what the aftermath will look like or the impact this will have on our lives. Sure, we know some of it, like the economy taking a big hit and knowing it will take years, if not decades, to recover, but there will be so much more.
As much as I want to ride my bike again, I’m truly terrified at the thought of riding on the road. I was walking across a parking lot to go to a doctor appointment, and a truck pulled in to park. At that moment, it was clear to me I have PTSD. I was walking slow and was not capable of making any quick movements to get out of harm’s way if needed. The panic was real.
What will change for me now that I’ve been hit by a car? I’m not completely sure at this point. Instead of speculating on how I’ll change my riding routines, I’ll share some of my thoughts and feelings around the decisions I’ll have to make for future riding.
Southern Tier bike trip
As some of you know, I had planned to ride from San Diego, California to St. Augustine, Florida in September. That has been tentatively rescheduled for 2021. Not only will my recovery take a long time, but I have no way of knowing what will be happening in the world at that time. The trip is dependant upon many things. Convenience stores being open and still in business, time to train to ride more than 3,000 miles in 6 weeks, and preparing myself to ride safely on the road again, just to name a few.
Over the river and through the woods
I love all types of cycling. I love riding gravel on the backroads, I love the challenge of single-track trails on my mountain bike, and I also enjoy some of the easier technical, non-black diamond features. I love bikepacking and bike touring, riding self-contained with all my camping gear. I love commuting and being able to ride my bike to work. I love group rides with my cycling club. I love the freedom of being able to jump on my road bike and ride without having to drive anywhere. And as much as I love riding solo, that will definitely change. I’m sure I will ride solo again, however it will probably not be on busy roads, even if they are considered “bike friendly.” I’ll probably ride on sidewalks some, riding slower and looking out for pedestrians. It seems like a better idea to get a ticket for riding on a sidewalk versus all of the awful things that come with being hit by a car. For longer rides, when I’m feeling 35 or more miles, I’ll probably drive to some backroads and do gravel. I could go on, but I’ll cross this bridge when I get to it.
I’ll save all my safe cycling tips for a separate post. I’m thankful to be alive and hopefully working toward a full recovery. I could have lost my life. A recent article about cycling deaths doubling since COVID hit a little too close to home. Since my accident, I’ve heard of many more and car-related 3 deaths in my area. This is senseless and sad. I had bright blinking lights on and I was visible to any driver paying attention, and I know this because I am also a driver.
A closing thought
As we live in this new world where people are social distancing and needing to get outside for some fresh air, please think about the fact that there are more people outside and they’re trying to stay in their own space. The 150+ people in my area that used to ride in groups are now riding solo or maybe with their partner. Please spread the word for drivers to watch out for cyclists and pedestrians so they don’t end up playing Pacman with us on the roads.