Guest poster Don Blount recalls a year-old incident.
The first day of fall brings back memories of the day I first fell. At least the day I fell badly enough to suffer a significant injury. It was Sept. 22, 2009 and I was halfway through a 46-mile ride. The turnaround point was at an area nature preserve and I had gone to the visitors center to look for a trashcan to throw away a banana peel.
A long driveway and sidewalk leads to and from the visitors’ center, and as I was on my way out, a car was on its way in. The driveway is just wide enough for two oncoming cars to pass each other if they go slowly. As the car approached, I moved to get over and onto the sidewalk to be completely out the driver’s way.
I vaguely remember the feeling of falling. I clearly remember the pain of being slammed to the ground. And then the next thing I remembered was someone, the driver of the car, asking me if I was alright.
It took me a bit to collect myself, check my bike and then ride the remaining 23 miles home – with a fractured left wrist.
The gap shown in the photos is what caught my front tire. The sidewalk is about an inch higher than the road surface and that gap is just wide enough to trap a tire.
I watch out for these little road inconsistencies more closely now and work hard at keeping the rubber side down.
Oh man, that must have hurt. Good to hear that this year’s first day of fall was much better for you.
I’m really looking forward to meeting up with you soon now that we’re in Austin.
Darryl
Ironically, SBC donated a bike rack to the Cosumnes Preserve … I don’t know where they ended up placing it — probably somewhere inconvenient … 🙁
The Other Don