Saturday, June 22, 2013

Thank you, Lynn Valley Road

So today I met up with Michael in the Demo forest and we rode another 55k together.  I was feeling pretty good and we finished the ride and had a bite to eat at the End of the Line Cafe where we bumped into an old boss of ours who, oddly enough, is going to be doing the same bike race (and distance) as me in a couple of weeks.
One time we ran the same half marathon, saw each other on the course, and then literally started racing each other (I won).
While we were chatting at the cafe I did notice him and his partner checking out my bike and probably sizing it up once we discovered we were in the same race.  No, I don't have a Cervelo.  No, I don't even have a road bike.  But I've been getting pretty strong and fast and have caught a few decked out people in the last couple of weeks.
Anyways, we got back on our bikes and headed home with me feeling pretty cocky.  We were riding along Lynn Valley Road which is very cyclist unfriendly and I'd already had an encounter with an asshole Jeep.  What's with people?  Yeah, buzz the people on the bikes that have no alternative but the LVR that doesn't have a designated fcking bike lane.  You're a big man!
So I was coming up on an interchange and Michael was riding behind me and we were both going at a pretty good clip and I decided to take my bike up onto the sidewalk as I was passing a dip where a driveway was. Too late I realized the lip was too high and I was coming at it way too horizontally, but I'd already committed to it and that was sort of the last thing I remember.
It happened very, very fast.  One minute I was in control of my bike and the next I was crashing at a high speed with absolutely no control.  I let go of the handlebars and hit the pavement, skidded across the bloody sidewalk and came to rest on a grass boulevard, but not before Michael rode his bike over me.
Yes, you read that part correctly.  He had been riding too closely behind me, I had failed to signal my intention to move up on the sidewalk, I wiped out, he couldn't unclip fast enough, and he had no where to go but... well, across my body.
How did I get a raspberry on my tummy?
I lay there for a while before rolling over.  Michael crashed his bike, freaked out and ran over to me while I still was wondering "did he really just ride over my back?" and "oh fuck, what's broken?".  A woman who had been pulling into her driveway and saw the whole thing came running over.  She was so nice: she asked if I needed an ambulance.  She offered to drive me home.  She offered to get me a glass of water.  I started moving my limbs and realized, aside from a nasty cut on my right new, that I was alright and I told her so.  She seemed reluctant to leave us, but I pulled my bike up, Michael put the chain back on, and we started riding home.  And I started cracking jokes because... I'm not sure why.  At one point Michael asked if I was in shock.
Got home, cleaned up and thanked our lucky stars that the crash had went as well as it did.  LVR is a very busy road and either of us could have fallen into traffic and been hit by a car and seriously injured (or worse).  Michael could have run over my neck.  I could have been clipped in and unable to untangle myself from the bike as much as I had before/during my slide across the sidewalk.
So.  Two weeks until race day.  Here are some things I've learned:

  • either stay on the road or on the sidewalk; it's too dangerous to try and transition up when cars are going past you at 60+ kilometres an hour
  • always wear gloves: mine are pretty scuffed up, but at least it's not my palms
  • people are nice and will help you
  • don't ride too close behind someone in case they go down
  • signal to let people know you are about to do something stupid before you do it
Yeah.  Just very, very grateful that things went as well as they did, considering.  I'm okay, Michael is okay and our bikes are okay.
So basically: Go Bruins!

3 comments:

  1. I'm glad you're OK! Taking a spill AND getting run over is pretty sucky.

    I hope you and your soon-to-be scabby belly recover fast!

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  2. I'm glad you're ok dude, that could have been rough. Biking is dangerous! You should just drive instead. I hear hummers are safe, and people who drive them are super awesome.

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