I have been cycling almost every day since I have been home. I have tracked out a few routs around the Portland area that I have found to be enjoyable rides. Some of them are shorter than the others, but fun none the least.
Last week I decided to take a longer ride. I started out at the Clackamas Center Mall and went up the 205 bike paths, around the PDX Airport, down to the Portland Water front, and back on the Springwater Corridor. It’s about a 40 mile ride. It’s a fairly flat ride, but enjoyable.
I decided to take a rest day and then the next day I wanted to ride it again. That morning I had a disappointing interview, not a great start to the day, though I did get to eat at Cafe Yumm (Great food, eat there if you get a chance.)
That afternoon I started out on my ride. I parked at the Clackamas Center Mall, and started riding north on the 205 path toward the airport. I was riding quickly and feeling great when I came upon the Sandy Blvd intersection. Little did I know that that intersection was going to make the day a little different.
The Sandy Blvd intersection is a very busy one, which makes it one that I try to be cautious around. The path starts at one corner and bikes must cross over two cross walks to get to the opposite corner. I got to the first corner and hit the cross signal and waited for the light to turn giving me my turn to go. When the light changed I started into the intersection…
The next few details are fuzzy, but this is what I remember. I saw the color red and I heard the sound of metal bending in. Then next thing I remember is laying on the road, a red bumper right in front of me, and my bike no longer underneath me. I did a quick limb and digit check and started looking around.
The first person to come to my aid was a beggar who was holding a sign on the corner, then a girl from the car came and started to talk to me. I suggested we talk on the side of the road and slowly got up and walked to the side while others moved my bike.
The next few minutes everything seem rushed and it took me a little while to clear my head enough to grasp what had happened. Several people came up and told me they saw what happened and many asked if I needed an ambulance since they were on the phone with 911. I told people no and just tried to focus and get all the important stuff done (insurance info and calling someone to pick me up.)
Soon a firetruck showed up and they hopped out and started looking me over and hooked me up to a machine, then an ambulance showed up and they hooked me up to another machine, then the police showed up. They didn’t have a machine to hook me up to, but if they did, they would have.
After they were convinced I was alright they left and I waited for Ken and Dorothy (my uncle and aunt) to come pick me up. Thanks again to them for doing that. The guy who hit me waited with me to make sure I had a way home.
All in all I was very lucky. Yes I was hit by a car, but it could have been a lot worse. I ended up with a scrape on my elbow, a giant bruise on my butt, and small bruises on the inside of my knees. My head was undamaged, except for the few seconds that I don’t remember.
There you have it. Getting hit by a car sucks and it hurts, but it gave me another good story to share with you all.