Prose of a Pol

So yesterday I went on a nice 20 mile bike ride which lasted about two hours but was supposed to be longer. The ride got cut short because as I was turning onto Central Street off of Somerville Avenue in Somerville the chain on my bike fell off and caused me to also fall in the process. For those not familiar with the area, Central Street is a steep hill. I’m including a few snapshots from Google’s street view but it doesn’t quite do the hill justice. Anyway, as I turn onto Central Street I start pedaling with more force to accelerate myself up the hill and as my right foot comes down I’m met with zero resistance and within half a second am on the asphalt.

Here’s the view of the Central Street hill from the bottom:

Here’s a better vantage point of the same hill from the middle of the incline:

Right after I fell I got up and checked my bike because the fall was so sudden I though my frame snapped in half. As I looked over the bike it looked to be in relatively decent shape. The damage wasn’t too bad but there was damage. The chain was off, the handlebars were twisted at a right angle to the wheels, and there were some road scratches on the handlebars, the rear brake lever was twisted and my rim had a big bend in it.

My skin had a much harsher reaction to meeting the ground so abruptly and I now have a nice Stephen Colbert face injury and a few decent sized road rashes, especially one that covers half my left arm. My right elbow also still feels awkward and is stiff enough that I can’t fully bend it. I’m including a video for those who love to see the battle scars. Be forewarned if you’re squeamish don’t view it!

Overall though I’m OK and considering there were cars right behind me it could have been much worse. The father and daughter in the car behind me pulled over and got me some water and napkins to help me clean up and made sure I was OK. Thanks to them and the other good samaritans who made sure I was OK.

I won’t be able to ride for a few days but should be able to keep writing on a regular schedule. The worst part about the fall was having to take the MBTA (Boston’s public transportation system) to get back to my house in Dorchester. I’ve gotten so used to being completely independent on my legs for transportation that it was a bit depressing to have to get on the train. Anyway, I’ll be taking my bike to the shop tomorrow and hopefully will be back on the road in the next few days. Though I got a bit banged up, as did my bike, I still consider myself wicked lucky because earlier in the day I was flying down Commonwealth Avenue near the BU bridge (my guess is I was going about 30 mph) and avoided getting doored by mere inches. If I had to choose I’d much rather fall flat on my face at a relatively slow speed than getting doored at a ridiculously fast speed!