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Monday, November 16, 2009

Dude, you should see the other guy...

I am going to consider myself very lucky. You know the classic "car turns left in front of cyclist as cyclist is going straight through the intersection"? Well that happened to me on the way home from work today, but instead of just a close call, I ended up on the windshield, pretty well shattering it and rolling over the car. Now somehow I landed on my feet off to the left side of the car. I was so amazed that I was okay I couldn't believe it. My bike is another story, the wheel no longer being true is just where that begins.

It reminded me of the story last week about the guy from Ridleys and how it's just dumb luck that mine ended up this way.

And all I have to show for it is a little red mark on my knee! Oh and a broken bike.


Edit: Thanks everyone for the comments. I was kind of still reeling from the whole experience last night and I think it still hasn't really hit home yet. I've had a pretty killer headache all day and my neck and upper back are starting to hurt, so I will definitely take your advice about waiting a few weeks for symptoms to show up Trev.

I guess that even though we have the right of way in some situations, it's still important to watch out for drivers for them since they're not expecting to see cyclists. Hopefully we can come to a time where cyclists are common enough in colder and darker weather and we don't have to worry so much about that.

19 comments:

Sandra Yaworski said...

glad you are okay!

Scott G-C said...

Glad you are ok, and just think your get to buy an new bike that some other guy is going to pay for, I hope.

Scott

Unknown said...

holy crap. super close call. way to tuck and role for sure. glad your in one piece.

Tom K said...

New nick name for your: Starsky you might be too young to remember the show. Starsky (or was it Hutch?) used to slide over the hoods of cars during the chase scene.

Glad you're not hurt.

Thomas said...

When will this madness end!

Glad you're ok Clarke, that is insane. Way too close for comfort.

Clarke "the cat" Ellis

Harley Borlee said...

Glad your okay Clarke! Did you file the accedent with the police?

Harley

Trev said...

What the hell is going on? Has there been a new quota announced for required bike accidents lately??

Clarke, really glad to hear you are OK. Make sure to wait a few days or a week before signing anything saying you are physically OK. Sometimes back and neck issues take some time to show themselves and insurance companies know that.

Trev

Dennis said...

Glad you're ok Clarke. Pretty amazing cause we all know it could have been much worse. BTW there is a U of C study that is researching bicycle accidents that might like your input... now if I can only remember the name of the professor... maybe Trev knows?

Stewart Midwinter said...

there have been several similar incidents recently reported on bikecalgary.org. I'm sorry to read about yet one more, but glad to hear you're okay!

RobWoolley said...

Oye, glad you're OK Clarke.

Dallas said...

there wasn't an ERTC bumper sticker was there ?> those guys drive like they ride !
we'll get'em next season !

Darcy G said...

Yikes! Glad you escaped with just a scrape.

Anonymous said...

Cars are soft if you hit them right! Glad you are ok.

Dallas said...

You did file a report and contact a personal injury lawyer didn't you?
Highly recommended.

Clarke E said...

I definitely filed a report, but I'm not sure if I should get a lawyer involved or not. I'm thinking right now that I only suffered a concussion and so far have a sore back. I don't know if it would be worth the lawyer fees. But I'll keep it in mind if the insurance companies start to be unreasonable.

Dallas said...

I'm ready for my next incident/./ spasms, alka seltzer tablet in the mouth to create foaming... oh ya!.
I'm going for an American settlement next time. And hopefully my article makes it into the Herald, titled " Cyclist Injuries awards thousands"...
maybe then drivers will start getting the point when a monetary value comes into play, since they don't seem to care to much for the life of another individual as is.

just my rant..

mgodfrey said...

Remeber that "Right of Way" always loses to "Right of Weight." Hope you feel better soon. Good job on rolling up the hood into the windsheild, actually saw that move on "Manswers" once as the only way to survive getting hit by a car. And you know that show is the height of accurate investigative journalism

Anonymous said...

Hey Dude, glad to hear that you're ok... I got a "one of your team-mates just came into trauma" text from my fiancĂ©. Not the type of text you want to get on a random Monday evening! Hope you’re doing better with the recovery.

Anonymous said...

The courts have reinstated the $4000 cap on soft tissue injury claims for pain and suffering. So any lawyer you hire will be looking for about 30 percent of this and will not do anything for that fee or maybe an hours work so he can pay himself $1200 per hour.

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