depicting the subtleties

ways i've wrecked my bike, chronological order:

-the scorpion. car pulled in front of me, cut me off, and parked. i couldn't stop in time, jumped over the bars, over the median, and onto the sidewalk, where i landed headfirst on the ground. my hands couldn't really catch myself, so i slid on my chest (i had scrapes on my shoulders and the tops of my hands!). i performed a rarely, though beautifully executed dance move on the rough concrete of springfield ohio sidewalks .. the scorpion, wherein you have such momentum that your legs actually arc over your body, resembling a scorpion tail. the driver got out and asked if i was okay. before i could say yes, i noticed i was dripping blood on my bicycle seat. oops.
-doored! i was riding to a university library late one night (1 a.m.ish) to print a paper .. i was riding relatively fast down 15th ave, and someone opened her car door into me. i had bullhorn handlebars (aptly named, they look like bull horns ..?) and her car door caught them. the bars went sideways, i went over them, and my chest hit the doorframe. i rolled over the door and onto the ground, she slammed her door and i heard her scream from the inside. i laid on the ground for a few minutes before getting up and leaning against her trunk. she finally came out and asked if i were okay. nope! the next day i was extremely sore and had a 3" wide bruise from her doorframe from my right shoulder to my left hipbone. ow.

-one two punch to the knee. i was riding fast around some turns on college avenue and my bike slid out on gravel. i couldnt get my feet out of the clips and my left knee was squished between my bike frame and the ground. ow! not so bad though. i was riding again a month later .. downtown columbus, and my phone rang. i got on the sidewalk to answer my phone .. as i pulled back onto the street via an exit ramp of a parking garage, a car came barrelling up and hit me from behind. my bike went under the car, i was thrown 5-6 feet into the street. broken stem and bent handlebars on the bike, and an excruciating injury to the already injured left knee. the doctor a few weeks later said that i had internal bleeding in the joint, and that every time i used my knee, it bled more inside, making for a slow healing process. insult to injury? the cop gave me a ticket for riding on the sidewalk .. if i were riding on the sidewalk, what was he doing hitting me on it? ass.

-black ice! ive been riding all winter on my 42mm winter tires. ive had some minor falls on the ice, mostly fun, with no real problems. i was riding to caffe (sic) apropos the other night when i hit a patch of black ice. again, i couldn't get my feet out of the pedals, and my bike went down. i was trying (subconsciously?) to keep my head from hitting the ground, but there was such momentum that it sort of slingshotted into it. i hit the right side of my forehead/temple on the ground. i stood up and everything was very shaky and spinning, and i felt nauseous. i touched my forehead with my glove and when i pulled my hand away, there was blood on it. third day after the wreck and i still have a bump, a cut, and a chronic headache.

its fun to chronicle all the ways you be hit, be thrown from, fall off, tapdance around your bike. lets hope i can make it injury free this summer during my 1000 mile tour from springfield oh to bushnell illinois to calumet michigan .. !

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Listening to: Remains Of The Day - Under A Banished Sky