Over the Handlebars: A Lesson in Physics

Yesterday I was on a recovery ride with my friend Craig when I had an accident on the way back home. We were on River Road riding towards Manayunk and all was well... yay. Craig was riding slightly ahead and turned around in time to see a kid ride out of the driveway or yard right in front of me. I never saw him until he was a foot away from me and before I had time to think there was impact and I was suddenly on the ground. WTF just happened?

I hit the kid on a bike going about 15 mph, not terribly fast, but fast enough that it sent me over the handlebars and onto my head and left shoulder/back area with a resounding thud. I was laying on my water bottle and rolled off of it and then realized I wrecked My head hurt like hell and I needed a minute to figure out if I was hurt or not - I wasn't able to focus on Craig as he came towards me, but I don't think it was a concussion, just the adrenaline starting to kick in. I got up and was a bit shaky, but everything seemed to work on me, except my shoulder was really sore, but I had full range of motion so it wasn't separated and my clavicle wasn't broken. Whew, I am one lucky duck! The kid was a bit shaken too, but OK and he kept saying he was sorry and I truly think he meant it. He realized he messed up and probably won't go riding into streets without looking again! The bike was a different story. Part of my shifter snapped off, my wheel was dented and bent, and my helmet was cracked. To compound these problems, I had a flat, but the wrong CO2 cartridges so Craig went on ahead and got his car and came back for me and took me home.

Today I am sporting some mild road rash on my shoulder and back and a REALLY sore left shoulder/neck/back and I'm taking the day off from riding to fix up my bike and rest up. I took my wheel into Breakaway Bikes to get it trued up to fix the wobble, but I can no longer use it for racing, only training. Guess I'm buying this extra set a bit early. Joey had a new helmet he was going to give me, but it was a little too big (damnit!) so I need to acquire one immediately.

Total cost of crash:
Wheel true - $10
New helmet - $125
New wheelset - $550

So, for all the parents out there, PLEASE remind your rugrats to always look both ways before riding or running into the street, not matter how quiet or infrequently traveled it is. Safety first!