Rider Down. But Why, and How...

One of Milly's own Riders hit the deck hard over the weekend. A compatriot from the old Bicycle Doctor Ride of the early 90's, which means I first met him more than twenty years ago. Finding yourself laid out on the black top, a terrible pain in your chest from some broken ribs, other more usual pains typically collected when soft skin meets hard ground, surrounded by medics, police, and the odd curious onlooker, is bad enough. All that sensory overload is one thing. Worse though, and even though you may not realize it right away, is the sure knowledge that you have not a clue about how you came to be there. That you crashed is clear enough; the pain and the attention drive that point home. But whatever precipitated that crash is as obscured as that one unfound object in those Eye Spy puzzle books you used to labor over when the kid was younger.

Colorado Boulevard in Eagle Rock is a hectic street, a street in desperate need of some attention if ever there was one. Any number of reasons, singly or combined, could have led to this crash. A wheel-grabbing rift in the pavement, a pothole, an inattentive driver. There are cars pulling into and out of local businesses, and from many side streets. There are pedestrians trying to cross the busy thoroughfare, and not enough safe places for them to do so. There are big buses with drivers who will literally run you into the curb, then pretend not to see you when you ride up alongside them and throw invective after curse against their closed window. Always there is too-and-fro traffic. As chaotic as it sounds, and as any rider can attest, things mostly work out.

Realistically, no one expects a ride to be entirely risk-free; crashes can occur on any street, no matter how "safe". But that does not mean that we should accept streets and conditions that do not meet a certain level of design, minimizing potential risks. Earlier this year, Walk Eagle Rock ran a series of terrific stories concerning the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists along Colorado Boulevard as it cuts through Eagle Rock. The stories looked at problem areas, and considered potential solutions, in advance of LADOT street enhancements which were to be unveiled in August.

Anyway, back to the incident in question. I can't imagine the confusion, questions and doubt of not knowing "what happened." This is not the first time a rider has gone down along this stretch of roadway. I myself nearly came to grief there, years ago. Most of us, sooner or later, hit the deck somewhere, but hopefully when these instances happen they will be minor, and will come to serve as a learning experience. Broken bones mend, broken skin heals and in short time we can move on. Not knowing the how's and why's leave no room for examination. To me, broken ribs suggest a collision of some kind, not a simple rider meets pavement crash. But that is just me speculating. Perhaps witnesses have already solved the mystery in a police report which is yet to come to light. Perhaps, and I hate to believe it, witnesses just couldn't be bothered.

Sometimes what you don't know bothers more than what you do. 
Heal up Mr. Fong, and to everyone else, be careful out there.