Duane & Bike vs. Car: No Declared Winner

Most of you should be able to deduce from the title what happened to me yesterday but if you can't, I was hit by a car while biking to work. It's an elaborate story that will keep you on the edge of your seat. For those of you who like visuals, I've included diagrams that should help you see the accident from my eyes.

I was biking down 4th St. NW yesterday morning coming up to 16th Ave. NW. There was a line of cars back to 17th Ave and I wanted to get around them so I hopped up on the sidewalk. I am very cautious when I do this and I always look for people's signals to make sure they're not going to turn in front of me at 16th Ave. I'm very adamant about having the flashing lights going on my bike to make myself more visible when I ride as well.As I approached the A&W parking lot on the corner of 4th St & 16th Ave a car suddenly made a right hand turn without signalling into the A&W parking lot. I had about a second to react before he got me. Luckily I was able to lock up my back tire and swing the back end of my bike around slightly so that when we did collide I didn't hit him straight on with my front tire but more first with the front tire and then sideways with my body. This prevented me from flying over the handlebars and probably saved major damage to my bike.I kept pretty calm after I was hit and was sitting in the driveway of the A&W parking lot as the car kept going. I am confident that he didn't realize he hit me and probably thought that he hopped the curb. He looked in his rear-view mirror and saw me sitting there and then parked his car and came over...not running, very cautious. I think he was shocked that he hit me and was very apologetic. He asked a couple times if he could call an ambulance for me and I declined. He also asked if he could do anything for me, go buy a coffee or something.During his questioning I got up and checked myself over. I didn't really hurt anywhere except my elbow, which I landed on as well as my bum-bum/back. I had my backpack on which I think took a good share of the hit when I landed. I probably looked ridiculous as I was testing my elbow, my back, my bum-bum to make sure I was ok. At this point he again asked me if he could do anything and I wanted to see what damage had been done to his car so I wheeled my bike over to it. He was saying "Don't worry about my car, I just want to make sure you're ok." Nice of him for sure. I left a little dent in his rear corner panel but other than that, nothing. At this point he again asked me if he could go in and get me a coffee or call 911 so I said to him, "No, I'm ok, but would you mind holding my bike for me while I fix it!" Threw him off a little to say the least.

I fixed my bike and all looked well and so I went on my way. As I gained some speed going down 4th Street toward the park I cut through I noticed that my front tire was warped. Dang. I also began to think about the fact that I landed on my back and I had my computer in my pack. Uh-oh. I got to work and the first thing I did was take my computer out and check it. Worked fine. I then changed out of my biking clothes into my work clothes and realized I didn't have my sunglasses. I remember putting them in the pocket of my pull-over and they must have fallen out somewhere in the commotion. URG! There goes $35 down the drain. I then proceeded to check myself out and found my elbow was a little bloody from the fall and the side of my bum-bum that I fell on was pretty tender. Meh. I cleaned myself up and worked the rest of the day.

Today I'm kinda sore still, my bum-bum being the most tender of all. I'm pretty sure it's just muscle bruising and it will go away in time. The downside to that is I have to fly to Georgia Monday morning and I'm thinking the flight could be a little uncomfortable!

What did I learn from this experience? A couple things actually:

1. I probably shouldn't hop up on the sidewalk there to pass cars again (or at any spot where someone might make a sudden turn into me).
2. I didn't know I had such good crash skills (but still no bow-hunting or computer-hacking skills...it's a good thing Karyn still digs me).
3. I think I need to find a way to protect my computer should such an instance happen again, car or no car.
4. I was long over-due for something like this. If you've ever biked (or driven) in Calgary you'll know what I mean.

I have to say that I was a little disappointed that I my crash wasn't as spectacular as it could have been. In hind-sight, it would have been kind of fun to go over the handlebars and maybe crunch his front windshield as long as my injuries wouldn't have been any worse. Maybe if it happens again I'll get my wish, though I'd prefer it never to happen again!

D