I didn’t see it coming. Nobody ever sees it coming.
It was supposed to be an easy trip. Drive to Indy, fly to Denver, sit for the weekend, fly back to Indy, drive home.
Since I was taking the car to work, I threw my folding bike in the trunk figuring I could get a ride in. Our airport hotel in Indy is out where the old terminal was before they tore it down and built the new terminal on the other side of the airport. Basically there is nothing near the hotel.
I plot a route from the hotel to Fountain Square, a funky neighborhood southeast of downtown. Looks like an 18-20 mile round trip. I can ride there, get lunch, and still be back in plenty of time to make a 3:45 PM showtime.
I was just a few miles from the hotel when it happened. I had just crossed an intersection so fortunately I wasn’t up to top speed yet. One second I’m riding along, fat dumb and happy, and the next thing I know the front wheel is skidding sideways and I can’t control it. A fraction of a second later I realize “Oh f*ck! I’m going down!”
Instinctively I tucked and rode it in. I felt my body hit the pavement. Damn that hurt. I don’t think it was conscious thought, but my parachute training plus years of being a mediocre skier have taught me how to take a fall. Still hanging onto the bike, I rolled and tried to spread the impact out over multiple points.
I felt my head hit the pavement. Thud!
Begin soapbox rant:
If it hadn’t been for $40 worth of cheap plastic and styrofoam we’d be having a different conversation right now because I’d probably be in an emergency room with head injuries. Plus potential loss of my FAA medical for a year if I were knocked unconscious.
Wear your helmet.
I don’t care you think it makes you look like a dork. Head injuries aren’t cool.
I don’t care if it messes up your hair. They’ll probably have to shave it off when they stitch your head.
I wasn’t blasting along on my road bike at 25 mph. I wasn’t screaming down some gnarly singletrack on a mountain bike.
I was on a little city-bike with fenders at maybe 10 mph and I still hit the ground pretty damn hard. I figure I’d have been looking at a concussion and stitches at least, maybe worse.
Wear your helmet.
End of soapbox rant.
Okay, let’s see just how bad this is. I can stand up, that’s a good sign. Walk a little bit, feels stiff but everything seems to be working. No broken bones from what I can tell. Left hip is pretty sore. Probably get a nasty bruise there. That scrape on my arm looks nasty but it’s not bleeding. Not sure how I got a scrape on my right ankle. Must have hit the pedal or the frame.
Hey, what’s that thing sitting out in the middle of the road? It’s my cell phone! Might need that.
I actually hit hard enough to launch my phone out the back pocket of my bike tunic and halfway across the road. Amazingly it was unharmed. I could do a commercial for whoever makes the protective case.
A driver slows down like he’s going to stop. I wave him off. Hope I don’t regret that later.
How’s the bike? Nothing appears to be bent out of shape. The rear wheel spins freely so that’s not the problem. The front wheel is locked. Man I’m lucky I didn’t go end over end. Nothing is obstructing the wheel. Hmmmmmm. The front brake appears to be locked.
It appears that when I unfolded the bike, I somehow got the front brake cable wrapped around the stem the wrong way. Yet it seemed to be working fine before. I always test the bike out before I take it on the road. I’m still now sure why it picked that particular moment to lock up.
I re-route the cable and everything frees up. I climb on and give it a little test ride. All systems are go.
Now a smart man would have called it day and turned back or maybe even called Lyft/Uber/Cab for a ride.
I am a stubborn old cuss, however. I set out to ride 20 miles today and I’m going to ride 20 miles dammit! Which is exactly what I did. Rode to Fountain Square, got lunch, rode back, flew my trip.
A day later and I’m sporting an impressive bruise on my left hip, plus scrapes on my left, shoulder, left elbow, left forearm and right ankle. I’m a little stiff when I walk and my left wrist may have a mild sprain. It only hurts if I try to pick up something heavy with it.
I count myself lucky. It could have been a lot worse. If I hadn’t spread the impact out over multiple points I might have broken something. I think riding it in was the best thing to do.
I always check my equipment before a ride but I guess I’m going to have to be more thorough from now on. Lesson learned.
When I get home I’ll go buy a new helmet. It’s one save per helmet from what I understand. I’m keeping this one as a reminder.