Gearoutfitter's Blog

Pulling yourself off the asphalt after a crash, with your blood and adrenaline pumping, the brain sometimes doesn’t function as clear as you want it to. Is my bike wrecked? Is my kit torn? Am I injured? Questions that run through one’s mind, the least and last considered question being the one with the highest importance. Four skate boarders, on a Friday night, had taken their fun to a path commonly used by bike commuters. Travelling home after work, rounding a bend heading down the path at 25 mph, I found myself amidst a party of four boarders. Two had just begun their descent as I quickly approached. Real-time decisions were made and as I passed one made a sharp right turn, slicing into my front wheel. Head over tea kettle I went, down to the asphalt. (Now, I’m not exactly sure what head over tea-kettle means, but if it means tumbling over my bike and my bike tumbling over me as we both tumble along the asphalt, then I suppose it is a good phrase to say in this case). Strangely, after picking myself off the ground, the thought that most concerned me was that I had just ruined the CyclocrossRacing.com kit that my boss had just given me. Fortunately, I had not. Nor did I break any bones or the skate boarder I hit. My bike was bent a bit, with most of the impact being absorbed by my saddle and left brake hood, so mostly I came away unscathed. The boarders were concerned, asking if I was hurt, if my bike was damaged and how much the replacement parts would cost. They conveyed, although I hit only one, that they, as a collective were in the wrong. Maybe they were, maybe they weren’t, but after some reflection and a few beers I think I was in the wrong. They mentioned that the cars don’t like them much on the road and I thought, well the cars don’t like me too much on the road either. I’m glad I had my helmet on. I’m glad my new kit wasn’t ruined and I’m glad the skate-boarders were thoughtful and considerate. Strange how someone’s path sometimes collides with another’s…  Ride on.