This morning I was happily cycling to do my usual swim when in a
momentary lapse of concentration I strayed too close to the kerb and my
bike's front wheel caught in the shallow gutter next to the kerb (must
remember to always adopt a better road position).
It quickly dawned on me that I couldn't move out from the kerb (I think
some cars were overtaking me at the time), and after a few yards of
scraping the kerb with the wheel, I realised I was heading straight for
a metal sign post planted very near the kerb's edge at the approach to a
red light junction. Thinking about it now, I can't understand why I
didn't brake, or perhaps I did but not enough.
The post brought both me and bike to an abrupt halt. I have no idea of
my speed, but it was probably somewhere between 12-14mph. I don't
remember much of the moments before or during impact, apart from briefly
noticing the sign post before whacking it very hard with my left
shoulder just at the collar bone.
I lay there, shaken, dazed and in pain, for a couple of moments, then
gingerly got up. I noticed my front light had gone for a burton, with
bits and batteries scattered along the gutter and pavement. As I
collected these (they're rechargeables - couldn't just leave them
there), I felt as if I'd broken the collar bone and at least one rib.
There was no impact injury anywhere else apart from my left kneecap
which sustained a very slight bruise - not even any broken skin.
I walked to the nearest A&E about half a mile away and was x-rayed after
a short wait. They said there was nothing broken, just some swelling and
bruising. I walked part of the way home and cycled the rest.
As I'm feeling very bruised and the shoulder is still painful I don't
expect to be swimming again for at least a week and probably won't be
doing too much cycling either, apart from maybe a trip to the shops on
the Brommie.
--
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