May 28th 2005
On May 28th 2005 I went out for a bike ride in Provo, Utah, and ended with a life changing experience. The day was perfect, the sun was shining, the humidity was low and temperatures were in the 70s. From my apartment near LaVell Edwards Stadium I planned to do a loop through Hobble Creek Canyon. I was on my Cannondale road bike I had purchased just a month before. Life was perfect, I was a bachelor with no commitments and all the time in the world to go out and explore.The Impact
Two miles into my ride I turned onto 900 East heading south and began to settle into my rhythm. Riding along, I saw a car coming the opposite direction pull into the center turn lane for a left hand turn. I said to myself "watch out for that car." I have long had a habit of when I drive or ride my bike of talking to myself about other drivers.At that point the car started turning across the two lanes, not having seen me. It was a slow turn as they had to go across a side walk to pull into a burger joint parking lot. Since I was cruising along at 25 mph I didn't have a lot of time to react to the situation. The driver blocked every possible way out. My only choice was to brake and brace for impact.
I hit the front passenger side of the car and flew over the hood of the car landing about 15 feet past the car face first. As I hit and flew through the air one thought went through my head. "So this is how it all ends." Sliding to a halt, laying face down, I waited for a moment to let the dust settle. I then did a full systems check. Toes - check, fingers - check, head - bleeding pretty good.
The Immediate Aftermath
After the full systems check I decided to try standing. I stood up and started walking it off when a whole bunch of people who had witnessed the whole thing came running over and told me to sit down. As I was sitting there waiting for an ambulance, one of the people brought me my mangled bike broken into two pieces. I was actually more sad about the bike than I was about any injury. By this point I suspected I only suffered from a severe case of road rash and would be ok.
When the police and paramedics arrived they started checking me out, taking statements and getting things sorted. I wish I still had the police reports, they were very interesting reads and all consistent with what I just described. There was one statement that said I did a flip over the car. I would've liked to have see it on film.
I sometimes wonder about the horror the driver and passengers in the car that hit me must have experienced. They probably thought they killed someone. Obviously I was pretty mad at the driver for not watching out. Also the lady didn't have a driver's license. The officer told me I was really lucky that the car was insured, which saved me in a lot of ways.
Injuries
As I sat on the curb and was assessed, the paramedics asked if I wanted to go to the hospital. I honestly didn't know if I should go or not so I returned the question. They were so wishy-washy, I have since experienced the same thing on a couple other occasions. I was relying on their professional opinion, and in the end one of them said I was better off going. Pushing to stand up, my arm really started hurting. I then knew there was more than road rash.At the hospital they discovered a broken elbow, treated me for road rash and gave me pain medication.
Recovery
I tried to get a roommate to take my car and pick me up from the hospital, but he didn't want to drive my car so I he found someone else to pick me up. The first day my aunt came down and checked on me and reassure my Mom I was ok. I was juiced up on adrenaline and pain medications for the first little while.
As everything wore off and the pain rolled in the recovery was slow and painful. In hindsight I should have taken a solid few weeks off to let my body recover. I think I paid for my decision to keep working, pushing hard, riding bikes and generally trying to prove how tough I was. It took several years until my back didn't ache anymore.
Insurance claims and doctor appointments were all part of the recovery. Financially it took almost exactly a year to be made whole for the lost work, broken bike and medical bills.
What I Learned
I have never been a crazy cyclist, but I am a more aware of my surroundings and where I ride. I am safer and better able to be a cyclist and father who doesn't put his life at risk when I am out on the bike.
