So on my last ride on the tri bike before CDA, with less than 20 minutes to go, some idiot woman turned right in front of me and took me out. Hard. I saw her, coming south as I was heading north at around 25Mph. Danville Blvd. is very fast where I was - for those familiar, it was north of Stone Valley Road, just south of Livorna. She made her left turn right in front of me. She didn't slow down. I saw her, looked at her, yelled "I CAN'T STOP", but she kept coming. I hit her in the front bumper. My front wheel exploded. I was airborne, cleared the hood of her car, and hit head and shoulders first. My helmet did it's job, craking in five places.
An off-duty sheriff was driving by, his wife saw the whole thing. He was on the phone with dispatchers in seconds. As I was rolling on the ground, the older woman emerged from her car. "I didn't see you!" I don't recall what I said, but the next words out of her mouth were - "you were in the shadow. You should have been wearing a brighter shirt!" Right. Because the bright green, red and blue Bianchi Motorex jersey was not bright enough..
I felt the pain in my knee first. I couldn't bend it, my feet hurt. I tried to get up but the deputy stopped me and told me to lie down. Then I felt the pain in my shoulder. They wanted to take my helmet off, but I was more comfortable lying on this asphault with it on. The EMTs were there in minutes. They checked for neck and back injuries, put on the neck brace, put me on a back board and got me in the back of an ambulance. The CHP interviewed me briefly in the ambulance before he went back to interviewing the witnesses. The homeowner who lived on the corner was kind enough to grab my bike, he gave me his card so I could come back and pick it up.
They cut up the jersey in the ambulance, iced my shoulder and offered me morphine. I declined. In five minutes I was in the ER, ten minutes later I was in X-Ray. They made me comfortable, gave me some blankets, and I waited for the news. My knee felt better, but my shoulder hurt like hell. It didn't look separated or dislocated - so I was optimistic. Ten minutes later, the doctor came back. All the injuries are muscular. He put me on some anti-inflammatories, gave me some muscle relaxants (just in case), and told me to take it easy. I should feel better in 4-5 days. I felt damn lucky.
I am still in for the race, but how is my bike?
I went to bick it up from Clint, the homeowner who was kind enough to hold it for me. He told me that he was working in his garage and heard me yell, and heard the crash, heard my wheel explode. He said the woman that hit me was not local, and that it looked like her car hadn't been washed in three years. "The windshield was really dirty, and with the sunrise and the glare..."
The bike looked pretty bad. My front Carbon Tilium was cracked in three places, it pretty much exploded and absorbed a lot of the impact. The rear wheel was caved in on one side from hitting the bumper. The base bars were bent, the seat was scuffed. The Reynold's forks had a little scuff on them. But the frame.
The blue Yaqui Carbo is nearly brand new. Built it up in March. There were no visible scratches or scuffs on the right side. But the left side has some paint on it (from the Toyota) and a dent in the chain stay. The downtube has a significant ripple about five inches from the head tube. It's a complete loss.
So here I am. Two weeks from toeing the line in Coeur d'Alene, my upper back and shoulders are in agony, my knee, elbow and shoulders have some nice road rash, and I am without a tri bike. I am confident about my body - I will heal. I still have my road bike, but it is not nearly as fast. So here's my mission. Can I possible get a new frame and new wheels in time for CDA? Well, I should know on Monday.
Special thanks to Bell for making a great helmet, to Clint, who held my bike for me, to the off duty sheriff who controlled traffic and to my mother-in-law for bailing me out of the hospital.
Wish me luck, and everyone else, keep safe.
John
An off-duty sheriff was driving by, his wife saw the whole thing. He was on the phone with dispatchers in seconds. As I was rolling on the ground, the older woman emerged from her car. "I didn't see you!" I don't recall what I said, but the next words out of her mouth were - "you were in the shadow. You should have been wearing a brighter shirt!" Right. Because the bright green, red and blue Bianchi Motorex jersey was not bright enough..
I felt the pain in my knee first. I couldn't bend it, my feet hurt. I tried to get up but the deputy stopped me and told me to lie down. Then I felt the pain in my shoulder. They wanted to take my helmet off, but I was more comfortable lying on this asphault with it on. The EMTs were there in minutes. They checked for neck and back injuries, put on the neck brace, put me on a back board and got me in the back of an ambulance. The CHP interviewed me briefly in the ambulance before he went back to interviewing the witnesses. The homeowner who lived on the corner was kind enough to grab my bike, he gave me his card so I could come back and pick it up.
They cut up the jersey in the ambulance, iced my shoulder and offered me morphine. I declined. In five minutes I was in the ER, ten minutes later I was in X-Ray. They made me comfortable, gave me some blankets, and I waited for the news. My knee felt better, but my shoulder hurt like hell. It didn't look separated or dislocated - so I was optimistic. Ten minutes later, the doctor came back. All the injuries are muscular. He put me on some anti-inflammatories, gave me some muscle relaxants (just in case), and told me to take it easy. I should feel better in 4-5 days. I felt damn lucky.
I am still in for the race, but how is my bike?
I went to bick it up from Clint, the homeowner who was kind enough to hold it for me. He told me that he was working in his garage and heard me yell, and heard the crash, heard my wheel explode. He said the woman that hit me was not local, and that it looked like her car hadn't been washed in three years. "The windshield was really dirty, and with the sunrise and the glare..."
The bike looked pretty bad. My front Carbon Tilium was cracked in three places, it pretty much exploded and absorbed a lot of the impact. The rear wheel was caved in on one side from hitting the bumper. The base bars were bent, the seat was scuffed. The Reynold's forks had a little scuff on them. But the frame.
The blue Yaqui Carbo is nearly brand new. Built it up in March. There were no visible scratches or scuffs on the right side. But the left side has some paint on it (from the Toyota) and a dent in the chain stay. The downtube has a significant ripple about five inches from the head tube. It's a complete loss.
So here I am. Two weeks from toeing the line in Coeur d'Alene, my upper back and shoulders are in agony, my knee, elbow and shoulders have some nice road rash, and I am without a tri bike. I am confident about my body - I will heal. I still have my road bike, but it is not nearly as fast. So here's my mission. Can I possible get a new frame and new wheels in time for CDA? Well, I should know on Monday.
Special thanks to Bell for making a great helmet, to Clint, who held my bike for me, to the off duty sheriff who controlled traffic and to my mother-in-law for bailing me out of the hospital.
Wish me luck, and everyone else, keep safe.
John