I never claimed to be good at cycling! On Thursday I crashed at the end of my ride. I had been in Cyahoga National Park for 37 miles and wanted to add on. I decided to work a 5.7 mile segment. At the end of the segment a family pulled out in front of me. I may have been looking down for an instant. Hard to recall. I clipped the child’s bike. He turned into me from the right while his brother was entering the trail from the left. I got squeezed. I threaded the needle but went into the dirt and over the handle bars. Not even sure how this happened. I remember the ground coming up to meet me. Next thing I recall, I was being helped into an ambulance. Apparently, I was unconscious on the side of the trail for 15 minutes. The details took 10 minutes to come back to me. Some of it was constructed from what others told me. I was able to talk to the parents as they helped me into the ambulance. The kids were not hurt nor did they crash. Just me. What those poor kids thought plagues me; I suppose it’s a happy ending since I did not die in front of them. I have a concussion. Left hand is very swollen. Could type as of yesterday. Abrasions on my right hand, face, chest, and knee. A surprising amount of dirt was in my mouth, but the teeth escaped unharmed. X-Rays & CAT Scans showed no breaks. Glasses smashed. My Rapha jersey was unharmed! The bike is fine as far as I can tell. The helmet saved my tail. At least I have something for my efforts. Ended up 2nd overall on the segment; must have passed the end-point just before the crash. Woot! Won’t be able to ride until the hand gets better. Can’t put any pressure or weight on it. In the end, all is well.
