One minute, you’re riding your bike down Camden’s pretty Chestnut Street, admiring the row of pristine white homes. Your gaze lingers on your friend Rob’s house, and you think about how he is getting married in two weeks, and then….
You glance down and see your front tire in a giant hole, and in less time than it takes to shout out a good swear word, you’re flipping your bike. You have one thought as you somersault through the air: I could get seriously hurt.
Welcome to my new world. Last Thursday morning my front tire stopped dead in a hole and, because I was clipped in to the pedals, I soared over the handlebars (still attached to my bike) and landed on the pavement.
On my head and shoulder.
Seriously hurt? No. A broken collarbone and separated ligament, wrenched back and slightly bruised calf. Thanks to my helmet, no concussion. Thanks to my landing on said helmet, no road rash.
Nevertheless, it hurts and I’m curtailed from real physical activity for six weeks. My mind goes to all the things that could have happened, and at night I feel the sensation of landing on that pavement, although I’d like to forget it. So fast – in a flash – with nothing that I could have done to prevent it.
I do feel lucky. Of all the bones to break, the collarbone is one of the more forgiving. I can still write, walk, talk and eat. I didn’t wreck my bike and I’m recovering pretty well.
And now I have another experience to milk for fiction writing. Because things happen in a flash — they really do — and now I know what that feels like.
Kait Carson
Charlene D’Avanzo 
Oh, ouch! Sorry to hear it. May your body heal fast as rocket.
thank you Margaret! I like that simile!
Heal fast! If that is not possible take advantage of every moment to have someone wait on you. 🙂
good point Gram — it’s another experience entirely to be dependent.
Wow. Just saw you the night before at the Wiscassett Sisters in Crime. Sorry. So who will take this accident on in your book?
Good question, Jewel! and to think I almost bagged the ride because of our library talk… then I said, “No…. get up and go….”
So sorry to hear of your bike accident. I know that feeling of re-living a sudden splat, over and over. It sends chills through me to think of flying over handlebars, clipped into bike pedals, and it didn’t happen to me, but to you.
Best wishes for a fast recovery and I agree, let people wait on you!
Brenda, thank you!!!
Sorry about your bike accident, Vicki. You really are lucky nothing else happened. It is odd how while something like that happens in a flash, it also seems like it’s in slow motion. I was picking up my grands from a neighbors house the other day. My foot got caught on a rug and I went down in slow motion. Landed on the kids who broke my fall. Fortunately I didn’t hurt them. Got a huge bruise on my side where I collided with a chest in the front hall. No broken bones, so very lucky. Like you, I’ll save those feelings to use in a book. Love Gram’s comment. So funny. Take care.
Marsha— you are so right about the slow-mo nature of it! And yet it’s seconds!
I am glad you weren’t hurt. It’s just plain no fun at all to fall — as they say in the CMP ads — EV-AH!
P.S. I must say I’m impressed at you riding a bike through the fairly hilly Camden streets!
So sorry about your accident, Vicki–and so grateful you habitually wear your helmet!
thanks Barb. It really did its job for me!!!
WOW what an odd accident. I love how you are handling this, feeling lucky that it was just an collar bone and didn’t damage your bike.. I wouldn’t been so brave and I’d never get back on a bike. Happy healing.
Ouch, feel better. So glad you were wearing a helmet.