Friday, July 2, 2010

I fought a Mercury Grand Marquis and lost

It has been a while since I posted but I have not vanished. I have still been active in cycling. This last Tuesday I was on my way to work and a car pulled out in front of me. He pulled out of one driveway on West Macarthur and crossed the road right in front of me. He was so close I did not even have a chance to grab a brake handle. Probably a good thing since part of the damage was a brake lever shoved around to the side on my bullhorn bars.

Thankfully I was only bruised. my left shoulder and left hip was bruised from hitting the car. My right knee was bruised from hitting the ground. I am merely fortunate from hitting the car instead of the car hitting me.

The accident was also classified as a hit and run. The driver stopped and asked me if I was ok. He then got mad at me for calling 911 and got in his car and drove off as i gave his tag number to the 911 dispatcher. He drove to the laundry mat where he worked and went inside. He then came out and got his newspaper and went back in. The police officer found him inside reading his paper.

I declined an ambulance ride but went to the emergency room for a checkup as soon as I got my bicycle home. Nothing but bruises and an abrasion on my right knee. Hopefully I will be fine in a week or so. Medical expenses including lost wages from work will be covered by my auto insurance who will go after his for reimbursement.

The only thing I will have to fight his insurance over is the cost to repair my bike. That will consist of a new wheel, two new tires, a new seat, helmet and a new front fork. The shop does not know if the fork is damaged or not but since it is carbon fiber they have determined the only way to be safe is to replace it. Carbon fiber forks can have a microscopic crack and it cannot be detected.

Once the police officer brought the man back out of the laundry mat he offered to buy me a new front rim. Offered me $30 right there. He was shocked when I told him just the tire on the rim was $50.

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