I had my first bicycle crash yesterday ...
morning near the end of a twenty-five mile ride around Alameda (and a little bit of Oakland):
Google map of my route
A pedestrian crossed the street against the light directly in front of me as I was in the process of turning left from Lincoln onto Grand. I braked hard (successfully avoiding the pedestrian) and the front wheel washed out dumping me on my left side.
Helmet: broken/crushed on left side and broken in the back (Bell Citi, #1 rated by Consumer Reports)
Sunglasses: broken
Left shoe: destroyed itself to save my foot
Left knee: deep road rash
Left hip: very sore
Left wrist: road rash and very-very sore - bike gloves would have helped
Bike: no problems that I have found yet
Thanks to my friends at work for their persistence in insisting that I always wear a helmet while bicycling.
Bicycle helmet linkage:
Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute
The Safety is Sexy Campaign - You'd look hotter in a helmet
Wear A Helmet
Google map of my route
A pedestrian crossed the street against the light directly in front of me as I was in the process of turning left from Lincoln onto Grand. I braked hard (successfully avoiding the pedestrian) and the front wheel washed out dumping me on my left side.
Helmet: broken/crushed on left side and broken in the back (Bell Citi, #1 rated by Consumer Reports)
Sunglasses: broken
Left shoe: destroyed itself to save my foot
Left knee: deep road rash
Left hip: very sore
Left wrist: road rash and very-very sore - bike gloves would have helped
Bike: no problems that I have found yet
Thanks to my friends at work for their persistence in insisting that I always wear a helmet while bicycling.
Bicycle helmet linkage:
Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute
The Safety is Sexy Campaign - You'd look hotter in a helmet
Wear A Helmet
Comments
AARGH! You must be in a lot of pain. I'm glad for the helmet - now I will start wearing one myself (I hate the things). The fact that your shoe is destroyed is disconcerting...and the road rash and soreness and pain sounds awful. I'm glad you're okay but so sorry about the crash.
Karen
Could you construct a forward-facing nausea-inducing piezo siren that you couldn't hear while riding? Everyone within a 45 degree swath in front of you would be brought to a halt, potentially.
If the latter is implemented, it would be even more fun to watch the webcam feed. "Oh look there's a person crossing the road in front of... YEESSS he bent over... it looks like he is throwing up!!! Go Uncle Rich!" ...and you safely pass by on your trek around Alameda.
Edit: please also mount lasers on your next helmet, and then connect gyro-based head-tracking controls to the webcam on your handlebars. I'm your nephew Brian and I approve of this message.