Hit a Truck

From last week Wednesday afternoon well into the next morning, I felt like a hit a truck. I biked into the back of a Jeep Wrangler. This post is about that event, not because I was want to write about it, but because my wife, as is her want, said "There better be a blog post about this." Every time I do something out of the ordinary, my wife says "There better be a blog post about this." I cannot disobey my wife, so here is the post. 

The last thing the wife said to me, as I headed out for a ride last Wednesday afternoon, was to be careful. I thought of giving my typical response, but since my fall last June 14, I have decided I should not tempt fate using my former comeback that Careful is my middle name. Here is how the events transpired. I left for my bike ride and a few minutes into the ride I heard a clicking noise. I was looking down and behind me as I rode to see if I could get a sense of what was causing the noise. I knew a car was ahead, but I thought I was too far behind to take a look, and bam, next thing I know I feel my face being planted against the back of the vehicle. My first reaction was about my glasses, as they were crooked, but fortunately not broken. It was difficult getting up as my left hip and right leg hurt a great deal, I think I fell on the hip. A woman who was going by stopped to ask if I was alright and said she could give me ride, but I noted I would call to my wife. I thanked her for asking, and she noted she had done the same thing awhile back. I called, and my wife asked what happened, and I responded it is a long story. I told her I was a few houses up from the river. I stood in the driveway and waited. Looking at the mess of my bike. As my wife was driving southwest on Exchange Street, she came across, about two blocks from my location, an ambulance, two police cars and a gurney. 

Bent fork on my old bike

When she arrived I told her what happened, and I think she immediately shook her head, her red hair flowing side to side even with the strong wind. I was all achy and my neck hurt and shoulders hurt a great deal. I got home and put some ice on my hip and then the neck, but since my head hit I thought I should be seen by a medical professional. A trip to the Urgent Care in McFarland, noted that due to my age, head injuries and neck injuries should have a CAT scan, so off to Stoughton Hospital we went. It was my version of Gilligan's Island of a three hour tour. The bad news was I was fully inflamed, the good news was, much to the surprise of the wife, is that I did in fact have a brain. 

Perhaps the most exhausting part of the whole scenario was the lecture I received on my way home from the crash. I cannot recall everything that she said, but one thing was about how with the kids grown she thought we would be done with injuries, but I "had more than risen to the occasion" in that matter. I don't think she meant it as a compliment. Although the thought passed my mind to thank her for the compliment, but I thought it best not to be a smart ass with her at that time. She concluded that the reason I did not mention what happened was I would be too embarrassed. That night we took the bike out of the back and the next day looked at it, and reloaded it in our vehicle.

I loaded it up to take it to a bike shop in Fitchburg, where they noticed how bent the fork was. After a quick look, they decided that it would be up near half the cost of a new bike to repair. The person also said, I was actually lucky the fork bent like that otherwise my injuries would have been much worse as the fork took the brunt force, and I would have gone over the handle bars into the back of the Jeep. I then started to look at new bicycles. Knowing my oldest son is a bike guru, although at work, I thought I would take a chance on a text to ask him about advice on a couple bikes. I used a thread, which I did not intend, from the prior night that included both he and my wife. 

With my new bike

I get a text, which I thought was from my son, saying comfortable seat and handle bars should be a priority, and fatter tires will give more stability. It turns out it was from my wife. I tried out the comfort bike that Trek had on sale, the Verve 2. I rode it, with the salesman who was on another bike I would try, more like my old Specialized Crossroads. We rode part of the Capital City Trial, which I was instrumental in planning. He made a few adjustments to seat and handle bars. We switched bikes and just five minutes on the other, the comfort of the Verve was unmistakable. I thought my muscle memory would have me prefer the other bike, but perhaps because I was still stiff, it felt difficult to ride. 

I rode the Verve on my first bike ride of any significance on Friday, April 14. It does not feel like I go as fast as on the old bike, and I was switching gears more than I did on the old bike. On Saturday, I did most of my standard bike route. On the route there is a speed level counter. I used to get about 20 mph on my old bike in 14th gear. Disappointingly, today I was able to get to 22 mph in 24th gear. Part of me likes the more comfort position, but I also miss bending low and putting my forearms on the handle bars to increase speed. However, with the new bike I can ride with one hand on the handle bars more easily in my older age than on my older bike. Perhaps I can get back to riding without hands (my wife is now shaking her head even more). The tires are also much wider, allowing better grip on the road, but also for off paved surfaces. I still have to figure out how fast I can take a turn.

Bicycling can be a fun activity, but I have heard of many local persons about my age who have sustained serious injuries while biking. With the condition of my feet, I have been unable to walk much. I am hoping the feet improve such that I can also walk some days instead of biking. If I walked into the back of a park vehicle, I don't think I would hurt as bad.