A Minor Accident

Well, I had a bit of an off on my bike. The driver in front of me stopped suddenly to turn right, He had no right brake light and didn't indicate. By the time it registered with me I was very close to his rear bumper. I braked so hard that the bike stood up on it's front wheel. I then desperately tried to moderate my braking, steer and stay on board. All in the space of less than a second. The result was my rear wheel bouncing back down a few times.

It didn't take me long to realise that more braking and more steering was needed. So I took the chance and applied more front brake, and of course went back up onto the front wheel with a trip over the handlebars looking imminent.

Well I missed him. Just. For my troubles I got too far up on the front wheel and ended up toppling over sideways with the bike on my right leg. The car behind me stopped, thankfully, protecting me from any other traffic coming along. The driver in front? Well he just drove off. Either he was unaware that I had fallen or he didn't care. I didn't get the have time to get his number plate.

So picked the bike up, no mean feat at 180 kilos, started it and moved to the side of the road. The nice chap behind me pulled over too and asked if I was OK. I was a little winded, more than a little flustered and was beginning to think I might have done something to my foot. He gave me his details as a witness, and I rode home, my foot now throbbing.

Jo took me to the hospital. The X-Rayed me. No breaks but it looks like a bad sprain. I got a day off work for my troubles and now I need to ponder a phone call to the insurance company.

My beloved bike? It must be well designed. My new (1 day old) rear brake toe rest is bent beyond repair. There are a few scratches here and there but at a cursory glance it looks OK. Nothing that can't be replaced or repaired. Having said that, I haven't had a good look yet. The bike is where I left it on the driveway when I got home and right now I can hardly more than hobble around the house so I will have to wait till my ankle is a bit more serviceable before I do a proper inspection.

Crap!